Perspective is handled deftly by the author. As Arnott moves from fisherman Karl and his dome-headed seal, to the gin-swilling private detective, to the police sergeant being ruthlessly divorced by his wife, we are confronted by characters that are in equal measure, tough and beautiful. And importantly, Jack McAllister becomes a somebody. Arnott confidently borrows from the genres of crime fiction, thriller, romance, comedy, eco-literature, and magical realism, throws them in the air, and lets the pieces land to form a flaming new world.
Flames sings out with joy and sadness. Utterly original in conception, spellbinding in its descriptions of nature and its celebration of the power of language, it announces the arrival of a thrilling new voice in contemporary fiction.
Goodreads Review
4.1 rating based on 3,335 ratings (all editions)
ISBN-10: 1925603520
ISBN-13: 9781925603521
Goodreads: 37853131
Author(s): Publisher: Text Publishing
Published: 5/1/2018
A young man named Levi McAllister decides to build a coffin for his twenty-three-year-old sister, Charlotte—who promptly runs for her life. A water rat swims upriver in quest of the cloud god. A fisherman named Karl hunts for tuna in partnership with a seal. And a father takes form from fire.
The answers to these riddles are to be found in this tale of grief and love and the bonds of family, tracing a journey across the southern island that takes us full circle.
Flames sings out with joy and sadness. Utterly original in conception, spellbinding in its descriptions of nature and its celebration of the power of language, it announces the arrival of a thrilling new voice in contemporary fiction.
