Book

From the Wreck

Jane Rawson

When, in 1859, George Hills is pulled from the wreck of the steamship Admella, he carries with him the uneasy memory of a fellow survivor. Someone else – or something else – kept him warm as he lay dying, half-submerged in the freezing Southern Ocean, kept him bound to life.

As George adapts to his life back on land, he can’t quite escape the feeling that he wasn’t alone when he emerged from the ocean that day, that a familiar presence has been watching him ever since. What the creature might want from him – his life? His first-born? Simply to return to its home? – will pursue him, and call him back to the water, where it all began.

Haunted by his memories and the disappearance of a fellow survivor, George’s fractured life is intertwined with that of a woman from another dimension, seeking refuge on Earth. This is a novel imbued with beauty and feeling, filled both with existential loneliness and a deep awareness that all life is interdependent.

From the Wreck was long listed for the Miles Franklin Literary Award and the Voss Literary Prize. It won the Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. It was shortlisted for the Barbara Jefferis Award, the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction and the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature and was on the Locus Recommended Reading List.

In 2019, From the Wreck was published in the UK by Picador.

‘The power of this singular novel lies in Rawson’s ability to meld seemingly disparate narrative elements into a convincing whole that movingly explores themes of loss, loneliness and guilt.’

Guardian

‘This strange story of love and loneliness, which explores how we all long to belong, is simply wonderful . . . Jane Rawson’s writing is uncannily good — an original blend of speculative fiction, chilling horror and emotional empathy, fluidly carrying the reader along on a remarkable journey.’

Daily Mail

‘An absorbing, disturbing read, full of deep currents and lurking fears.’

Adrian Tchaikovsky

‘It’s hard to find the right words to praise this novel. I think we need a whole new critical vocabulary to be invented. Rawson recreates a vanished historical world with utterly convincing characters as well as inhabits the mind of a cephalopod alien and make us feel, in both cases, yes, that’s exactly how it is. Jane Rawson’s writing is mysterious, chilling and tender. The book is a sort of miracle.’  

Lian Hearn

‘Rawson’s clear, lyrical prose—with its deep undercurrent of empathy—creates a breathtaking and revelatory reading experience. From The Wreck borrows from science-fiction, history and magical realism, forming a whole that is utterly unique and distinctly Australian. This is a masterpiece.’

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