Book description
'a masterful achievement'
Magpies
We have come here to scratch for gold.
Once we had a house, a
business and a Packard sedan,
but they are gone now, seized by
the bank.
The year is 1934, the time of the Great Depression. The place is a
settlement of miners' dugouts far from the nearest town.
Fifteen-year-old Neil and his parents have come from Adelaide, hoping to
strike it lucky, but the gold is elusive. Then the American Ivan and his
daughter Kitty arrive, mysterious and aloof. Soon rumours spread: Ivan
killed a man; Kitty helped him rob banks. Neil is drawn to them despite
the rumours. But Kitty saw him shoot the apostle bird. How can he
convince her that it was an accident?
Tensions come to a head when a digger is found dead, his gold missing,
and angry miners form a mob to hunt the Americans down. Neil knows the
nearby creeks and scrubland, and he can lead Ivan and Kitty to safety -
if they let him.
The Apostle Bird
is an evocatively written and compelling study of prejudice, honour and
courage from Garry Disher, bestselling author of The Divine Wind
and The Bamboo Flute
. a masterful achievement' Garry Disher grew up on a wheat and wool
farm in South Australia. He has an MA in Australian History and has
lived, worked and travelled in England, Italy, Israel and southern
Africa. In 1978 he was awarded a creative writing fellowship to Stanford
University, where he wrote his first collection of short stories. Garry
worked as a writing lecturer between the years 1980 and 1988, before
becoming a full-time writer. His publications include short stories,
literary novels, crime thrillers, anthologies and award-winning
children's titles.
