Rhubarb

by Craig Silvey

Overview

Meet Eleanor Rigby: tiny, blind, and left behind. Led by her zealous, overprotective guide dog, Warren, she courses constantly through the places she knows. Tired, mired, and sequestered from the world, Eleanor can’t shirk the feeling she’s going nowhere slowly. Until, of course, she recognises something in the sound of Ewan Dempsey, reclusive and compulsive maker and player of cellos, who impels in Eleanor a rare moment of caprice…

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781760991401
Publisher:	Fremantle Press
Publication date:	07/07/2022
Edition description:	Third edition
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Craig Silvey grew up on an orchard in Dwellingup Western Australia. He now lives in Fremantle, where at the age of 19, he wrote his first novel, Rhubarb, published by Fremantle Press in 2004. In 2005, Rhubarb was chosen as the 'One Book' for the Perth International Writers' Festival, and was included in the national Books Alive campaign. Silvey also received a Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist Award. He has since released his bestselling, and award-winning novels, Jasper Jones and Honeybee.

Editorial Reviews

‘… the novel has the charm of early work such as Gustave Flaubert’s Novembre and Jack Kerouac’s The Subterraneans.’ —The Weekend Australian

‘ … both sad and hilarious … a daring and moving work.’ —The West Australian

‘Written with wry humour and great depth of perception, this moving and often hilarious novel is a must-read.’ —Melbourne Weekly

From the Publisher

Craig Silvey’s poetic debut novel is a first-rate fit for audio, thanks to the deep, shivery voice of Humphrey Bower. Bower becomes blind Eleanor Rigby and agoraphobic cello player Ewan, two people who find each other. In addition, Bower voices all the lonely people in the world the couple inhabits, including Eleanor’s mother, a TV addict; Frank, a depressed widower; Bruno, the faux-Italian; and others. The setting of Western Australia and the deep, dense journey into the consciousness of each character provide a sense of place, photographically accurate or dreamscape surreal. The novel is breathy in its staccato-short sentences and florid in its convoluted, lush language. Even its sometimes confusing plot shifts are overcome by Bower, who rides the story like a surfer on a magnificent wave. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

OCT/NOV 07 - AudioFile