The Swan Book
The Swan Book is the third novel by the Indigenous Australian author Alexis Wright. It met with critical acclaim when it was published, and was short-listed for Australia's premier literary prize, the Miles Franklin Award.[1][2]
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Alexis Wright |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Darren Gilbert |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Publisher | Giramondo Publishing |
Publication date | 2013 |
| Media type | Print (paperback) |
| Pages | 339 pp |
| ISBN | 978-1-922146-83-0 |
| OCLC | 849317121 |
| Preceded by | Carpentaria |
Plot Introduction
The Swan Book is set in the future, with Aboriginal people still living under the Intervention in the north, in an environment fundamentally altered by climate change. It follows a girl who is pulled from a tree as a child after having been lost and gang-raped, and how she grows up raised by a European immigrant and seemingly guided by swans. After the death of her guardian, she is betrothed to a boy who grows up to become the first Indigenous President of Australia (Prime Minister has been abandoned in this future), and later marries him, despite retaining a childlike mind even as an adult.
Awards and nominations
- 2014 shortlisted Victorian Premier's Literary Awards — Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Indigenous Writing[3]
- 2014 shortlisted the Stella Prize
- 2014 winner ASAL Awards — ALS Gold Medal
- 2014 shortlisted Miles Franklin Literary Award
- 2014 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Christina Stead Prize for Fiction
- 2016 winner Kate Challis RAKA Award
Reviews
External links
- Official listing for the novel at the website of Giramondo Publishing.
Footnotes
- Webb, Jen. "Living wound: The Swan Book". Australian Book Review. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
- Gleeson-White, Jane. "Going viral". Sydney Review of Books. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
- "Lucashenko wins 2014 Vic Prem's Literary Award for Indigenous Writing". Books+Publishing. 2014-09-04. Retrieved 2020-12-09.