An excellent choice for our book club. I found myself racing through the pages, heart rate rising with each turn of the wheels as they outrun the fire and taking the journey of acceptance and maturity with Sam.
Sign really draws you in with its vivid portrayals of both characters and landscapes, while evoking poignant memories for anyone who grew up as a child in the 70’s and 80’s in Australia. A gripping and enjoyable read!
Well written, this is easy enough and interesting enough to read for long stretches. A distinctly Australian feel, but without being forced or cheesy. How the book would conclude wasn't certain until almost at the end. I felt the overall feel was bleak. Of course, it isn't a feel-good story, but the sense of drama seemed to be lacking. There were tense moments, but more or longer tense moments would have built suspense better. What bothered me most was how Sam could go unrecognised by people when he had such a noticeable feature. A couple of other things didn't feel right either. The author can certainly write well, it's more that some of the details needed work. I received my copy as an ARC from the publisher with no requirement for a review. My comments are my own views.
I stayed up at night to finish this book in one sitting. I simply couldn’t put it down. This author is top of my list for every reason. Thank you Colin Dray.
Silent Sam and his sister Katie get dragged accross the country through snippets of Australiana by their increasingly erratic Aunt. Open the windows Dettie! Dray's skill lies in letting the reader, with their grown up viewpoint, run ahead of the narrative willing young Sam to catch up. We identify with all the characters, young and old, visible or hidden, imagining what each must be going through as the saga unfolds. Just like no one can hear Sam, Sam can't hear the reader yelling at the page urging him to figure out what's going on. As Sam's understanding ratchets up so does the tension. The readers expectations continually morph or are completely skittled by a Dettie curve ball with new possibilities cart wheeling off from each revelation.
A wonderful debut novel, I hope there are many more.
