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When the Night Comes

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When the Night Comes

By: Favel Parrett
Narrated by: Ben Winspear, Marta Dusseldorp
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About this listen

 Longlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award 2015.
Shortlisted for the Australian Book Industry Awards 2015, The Indie Books Awards 2015, ALS Gold Medal 20125 and the ABA's Booksellers' Choice Award 2015.

Running away from the mainland was supposed to make their lives better. But, for Isla and her brother, their mother's sadness and the cold, damp greyness of Hobart's stone streets seeps into everything.

Then, one morning, Isla sees a red ship. That colour lights her day. And when a sailor from the ship befriends her mother, he shares his stories with them all - of Antarctica, his home in Denmark and life onboard. Like the snow white petrels that survive in the harshest coldest place, this lonely girl at the bottom of the world will learn that it is possible to go anywhere, be anything. But she will also find out that it is just as easy to lose it all.

For Isla, those two long summers will change everything.

Favel Parrett delivers an evocative and gently told story about the power fear and kindness have to change lives. Coming of Age Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction Sailing
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I found the novel tedious. And it’s only a short book. No connection to the characters and an almost complete absence of plot. Disappointing to be honest.

Great narrators.. easy to listen to.

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** I am reviewing the audio copy of this book.**

This book had me a bit confused at first.

It’s kind of written in snippets. They sometimes seemed to be out of order or random. I even checked if the audio book was reading in the write order.
Once i realised that this was the way the book was meant to be, i got the hang of it.
Things were explained as i went along.
I loved the description of life on the Nella Dan. The way they described her as she like she had a life of her own was also very interesting. The end was so sad.
I also liked reading about Ila and her brother’s life. I don’t think we ever learn his name.
Also watching how Beau kind of became a father figure to Ila and her brother. How Ila ended up following in his footsteps.
Parts of the book left me feeling sad, and we’re never told why things didn’t work out for Beaux to be able to stay with the little family in Hobart.
The narration although a little quiet in some parts was top notch. I like the multiple narrators for the different points of view.
All in all a good read. I would read more from this author in the future.

good story, but it had me confused for a bit!

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I wanted more... I nearly gave up thinking it was too hard to connect with the characters or the story. I thought the ending would be worth it. But sadly, no. It just drifted off into the vague Tasmanian fog.

Beautiful writing but no depth

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This book is beautifully narrated by Dusseldorp and Winspear. I found the story a little difficult to follow and expected to know more about Isla and her family.

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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.