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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Amid the chaos of sweeping bushfires, Persia gives birth alone at home with tragic consequences. Traumatised and grieving, she travels north, and encounters Ahmed, a refugee fleeing deportation and his past in Pakistan. So begins a road trip to the dead heart of Australia, a journey that transcends the limits of ordinary experience. In Persia and Ahmed's world, ancient winds wreak havoc across generations, lightning ignites flames that both destroy and rejuvenate, and water drowns then delivers. Hearts break, days are leavened with loss, laughter kills and cinnamon preserves. Lightning is an odyssey across continents and centuries that explores identity and connection, and our yearning to reveal ourselves even when cloaked in crippling grief. A glorious feat of magic realism, and a moving meditation on finding hope in the rubble of our lives, Lightning celebrates the way our stories and their telling keep us alive when all else is pulling us under.' (Publisher's blurb)
Notes
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Dedication:
For Isabella and Poppy,
gentle suns warming each day, bright stars in every dark night.
For Valerie, my mother, friend and fellow traveller across the page.
And for Dad, who left partway through but sat beside me until the last word.
Ever loved, ever missed.
Affiliation Notes
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This work is affiliated with the AustLit subset Asian-Australian Children's Literature and Publishing because it is partially set in Iran, and has Pakistani characters.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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What You're Reading
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: Good Reading , June 2014; (p. 72)
— Review of Lightning 2013 single work novel -
Review : Lightning
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: Good Reading , December/January 2013; (p. 33)
— Review of Lightning 2013 single work novel -
Painful Journeys on Diverse Paths
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 27-28 July 2013; (p. 21)
— Review of Lightning 2013 single work novel ; Traces of Absence 2013 single work novel -
Well Read
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 29 June 2013; (p. 28)
— Review of A Wrong Turn at the Office of Unmade Lists 2013 single work novel ; Lightning 2013 single work novel -
The Dead Heart
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , July-August no. 353 2013;
— Review of Lightning 2013 single work novel
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Lightning
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 1 June 2013; (p. 22)
— Review of Lightning 2013 single work novel -
A Novel Journey
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 7 July 2013; (p. 26)
— Review of Lightning 2013 single work novel 'An awakening during travels inspired Canberra author Felicity Volk, Karen Hardy writes.' -
The Dead Heart
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , July-August no. 353 2013;
— Review of Lightning 2013 single work novel -
Well Read
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 29 June 2013; (p. 28)
— Review of A Wrong Turn at the Office of Unmade Lists 2013 single work novel ; Lightning 2013 single work novel -
Painful Journeys on Diverse Paths
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 27-28 July 2013; (p. 21)
— Review of Lightning 2013 single work novel ; Traces of Absence 2013 single work novel
Awards
- 2013 winner The Fellowship of Australian Writers Victoria Inc. National Literary Awards — Barbara Ramsden Award
- 2009 ACT Arts Grant For the research and writing of this novel.
Last amended 23 Jun 2016 16:15:17
Settings:
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cIran,cMiddle East, Asia,
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cAustralia,c
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