Publisher's synopsis
Brilliant, daring, and demonstrating a jaw-dropping versatility of voice and point of view, The Boat is an extraordinary work of fiction that takes us to the heart of what it means to be human, and announces a writer of astonishing gifts.
The Boat takes us from a tourist in Tehran to a teenage hit man in Colombia; from an aging New York artist to a boy coming of age in a small Victorian fishing town; from the city of Hiroshima just before the bomb is dropped to the haunting waste of the South China Sea in the wake of another war. Each story uncovers a raw human truth. Each story is absorbing and fully realised as a novel. Together, they make up a collection of astonishing diversity and achievement.
Awards
- W.A. Premier’s Book Award • Shortlisted • 2008 • Fiction
- Australian Book Industry Awards • Winner • 2009 • Newcomer of the Year
- Dylan Thomas Prize (UK) • Winner • 2009 • Fiction
- Melbourne Prize for Literature • Winner • 2009 • Best Writing Award
- NSW Premier’s Literary Awards • Winner • 2009 • Book of the Year
- NSW Premier’s Literary Awards • Winner • 2009 • New Writing
- Prime Minister’s Literary Award • Winner • 2009 • Fiction
- Qld Premier’s Literary Award • Winner • 2009 • Australian Short Story Collection – Arts Queensland Steele Rudd Award
- SMH Young Novelist • Winner • 2009 • Prize for Writing for Young Adults
- Australian Book Industry Awards • Shortlisted • 2009 • Book of the Year
- Commonwealth Writers’ Prize (Regional) • Longlisted • 2009 • Best First Book
- Qld Premier’s Literary Award • Shortlisted • 2009 • Fiction
- Victorian Premier’s Literary Award • Shortlisted • 2009 • Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction
- Kathleen Mitchell Award • Winner • 2010 • Prize for Writing for Young Adults
