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Melding personal, family and colonial history, Wood's evocative and lyrical prose explores the past and place, searching and belonging, love, loss and grief. The Alphabet of Light and Dark is more than an historical novel; it's a novel about history.And as the waves take her apart, piece by piece, she watches the message of the lighthouse spelling itself out on the surface of the water. Its message is composed in the alphabet of light and dark. Flash, eclipse, flash, eclipse. If we see only the light, we are blinded; only the dark and we will never find our way.A tiny coin found inside a Cloudy Bay oyster, a postcard of a white-haired child leaning against a beached dinghy and a coconut peeled and carved once upon a time on the Batavian coast. These trinkets, found in a sea chest, and the fragmented memories of her grandfather's tall tales are all Essie Lewis has left of her family history.After her grandfather's death, Essie returns to Bruny Island, Tasmania and to the lighthouse where her great-great-grandfather kept watch for nearly 40 years. Beneath the lighthouse, she begins to write the stories of her ancestors. But the island is also home to Pete Shelverton, a sculptor who hunts feral cats to make his own peace with the past. And as Essie writes, she finds that Pete is a part of the history she can never escape.'Absorbing, subtle, impressive writing.' Debra Adelaide'Wood's writing is sinewy, physical and elemental.' Liam Davison riting.' Debra Adelaide'Its lyrical probing of several dimensions of Australian/Tasmanian experience make it a fitting recipient for this award. Wood's achievement in her sustained evocation of the bleak Bruny Island landscape and the surrounding seascape is tremendously potent and effective.' Stella Clarke'The author has that special quality which just jumps off the page. The voice is strong and the sense of place so powerful.' James Bradley'Wood's writing is sinewy, physical and elemental. She is very good when it comes to the melding of family mythology, storytelling, and colonial history into something which serves a range of purposes. A novel about history rather than a historical novel.' Liam Davison
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Previews available in: English
Subjects
Fiction, Grandfathers, Lighthouses, Literature, Sculptors, Fiction, general, Grandparents, fiction, Australia, fictionPlaces
Bruny Island (Tas.)Showing 3 featured editions. View all 3 editions?
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The Alphabet of Light and Dark
2010, Allen & Unwin Pty Ltd
eBook
in English
174115331X 9781741153316
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The Alphabet of Light and Dark
January 1, 2006, Allen & Unwin
Paperback
in English
174114065X 9781741140651
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- Created April 30, 2008
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April 6, 2014 | Edited by ImportBot | Added IA ID. |
August 10, 2010 | Edited by IdentifierBot | added LibraryThing ID |
April 24, 2010 | Edited by Open Library Bot | Fixed duplicate goodreads IDs. |
April 16, 2010 | Edited by bgimpertBot | Added goodreads ID. |
April 30, 2008 | Created by an anonymous user | Imported from amazon.com record |