Monday 30 September 2019



An incredible piece of writing. I've read The Dry and loved it, but I have to say, I think this is Jane's best book yet.
The writing is, as usual, exquisite. The author draws you into the pages of the book and transports you to the scorching harsh world of the outback and what a fascinating place that is. So alien to me but brought to life so vividly because of the descriptive writing, that I really felt I was there.
'The headstone threw a small shadow. It was the only shade in sight and its blackness was slippery, swelling and shrinking as it ticked around like a sundial. The man had crawled, then dragged himself around as it moved. He had squeezed into that shade, contorting his body into desperate shapes, kicking and scuffing the ground as fear and thirst took hold.
He had a brief respite as night fell, before the sun rose and the terrible rotation started again. It didn’t last as long on the second day, as the sun moved higher in the sky. The man tried though. He chased the shade until he couldn’t anymore.
The circle in the dust fell just short of one full revolution. Just short of twenty-four hours. And then, at last, the stockman finally had company, as the earth turned and the shadow moved on alone, and the man lay still in the centre of a dusty grave under a monstrous sky.'
How beautiful is that? And the book is chock full of descriptions that make you stop, re-read them and close your eyes, and you're in the Australian outback, you can feel that sun beating down.
In the story, we have three brothers and their extended family. Just enough characters to keep it interesting and for everyone to come to life. It is the elder brother Nathan, that tells the story, through his eyes, and what a wonderful, soulful, lonely character he is. I wanted to jump into the book just to hug him.
The plot is full of intrigue and mystery and the addition of the Stockman's Grave just gave the whole book an extra edge of ghostly suspense. The plot is very believable with the lies and secrets that surround this family and this is one of the things I really loved about the story, it is totally believable. Nathan tries to unravel the mystery of his brother's death and the reader follows him, also trying to make sense of what happened.
This is a captivating, emotional, amazing book and I hope they make this one into a film. The best book I've read this year so far, I loved it.

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