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Carpentaria

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Carpentaria

By: Alexis Wright
Narrated by: Isaac Drandich
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About this listen

 Carpentaria is Alexis Wright's second novel, an epic set in the Gulf country of north-western Queensland, Australia. Wright's storytelling is operatic and surreal: a blend of myth and scripture, farce and politics. The novel teems with extraordinary characters - Elias Smith the outcast saviour, the religious zealot Mozzie Fishman, the murderous mayor Stan Bruiser, the moth-ridden Captain Nicoli Finn, the activist and prodigal son Will Phantom, and above all, the queen of the rubbish-dump Angel Day and her sea-faring husband Normal Phantom, the fish-embalming king of time - figures that stride like giants across this storm-swept world.

Winner of the 2007 Miles Franklin Literary Award.

©2008 Alexis Wright (P)2008 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd. Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Thought-Provoking

Editorial reviews

A rich and inventive tapestry of interwoven tales set among the aborigines of northwestern Queensland, Australia. Author Alexis Wright experiments with both form and language to create a startlingly original story that's both tragic and comic, using tales that blend the political with the mythological, the local and the universal. Although sometimes challenging, listeners are likely to enjoy the trip, and the novel coheres in startling ways at its center. Performer Isaac Drandich's deep, friendly voice provides an accessible narration that counterbalances some of the more challenging material.

Critic Reviews

"Wright breaks all the rules of grammar and syntax to sweep us along on a great torrent of language that thrills and amazes with its inventiveness and humour and with the sheer power of its storytelling. It's brutal and confronting and it's sad and funny at the same time. Like the Gulf Country itself, this is big enough to lose yourself in." ( Sydney Morning Herald).
"A swelling, heaving tsunami of a novel: stinging, sinuous, salted with outrageous humour, sweetened by spiralling lyricism and swaggering with the confident promise of a tale dominated by risk, roguery and revelation." ( The Australian)
All stars
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Carpentaria held my attention from the very start.... this intriguing, sometimes lovely, sometimes sad and sometimes shudderingly terrifying, but always honest story, brought back wonderful memories of my time living in Arnhem Land and the magic, the pride and deep connection to their spiritual roots, which is an integral part of the people of The Carpentaria.

One of my most favourite Australian reads!!!

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I loved how the story developed and couldn't stop listening. It has some tough parts tho but seems pretty honest. It's a story you can listen to twice as there are many details in it.

Great Story!

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This is a stunning and powerful book. It is a must read for all Australians

Stunning

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Wonderful magical story that every Australian child should hear. What an amazing insight into indigenous Australian dreaming. Thank you I am a better human for hearing this story.

Every Australian should read this book

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What a great book to listen to. Alexis absolutely captures the complexity of relationships and brings it together in a great story.

Love this book

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I really loved this book. I did find it hard to follow and stay engaged in the story at times (and had to begin chapters again many times) but overall a wonderful story of country. Thank you

Beautiful story

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Carpentaria has captivated my attention from the start. Wright’s writing is beautiful, eerie, sad, and funny. Drandich’s reading dramatises the story and its people perfectly.

Highly recommend

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Was a little bit tricky to follow at some stages and at first i thought i was not going to get through it....but stuck with it and found myself hooked...amazing insight into dreaming and culture....

amazing insightful story

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Reading Carpentaria gave me a glimpse into the tragedies of dislocation and alienation for all the people in this deep and complex story.
Running underneath is faith in ancestral beliefs giving intimate knowledge of the land and sea.
I was blown away by the complexities held together with intelligence and compassion by Alexis Wright, the way she used language and the slow exposure of brutality and exploitation.
I heard Alexis Wright speaking on the ABC about her search to find the right voice for the story she wanted to tell. This helped me appreciate the book.
I did find it rather long at times. I would recommend Carpentaria to those willing to read with an open mind and open heart.
I am writing this very mindful of the the debate around this day so called Australia Day.

Illuminating and intriguing

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I listened to it three times around in succession and I would thoroughly enjoy reading it another three times.

The story was there for the telling and the narrators maintained it’s integrity and authenticity, bringing it alive in a way just reading the book wouldn’t.
Loved it and can’t wait to read more of her books.

Brilliant, just bloody brilliant

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.