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Paperback
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Preservation, based on the true story of the wreck of the Sydney Cove, sees master storyteller Jock Serong turn his talents to historical narrative.
On a beach not far from the isolated settlement of Sydney in 1797, a fishing boat picks up three shipwreck survivors, distressed and terribly injured. They have walked hundreds of miles across a landscape whose features—and inhabitants—they have no way of comprehending. They have lost fourteen companions along the way. Their accounts of the ordeal are evasive.
It is Lieutenant Joshua Grayling’s task to investigate the story. He comes to realise that those fourteen deaths were contrived by one calculating mind and, as the full horror of the men’s journey emerges, he begins to wonder whether the ruthless killer poses a danger to his own family.
About the Author
Jock Serong is the author of Quota, winner of the 2015 Ned Kelly Award for Best First Fiction; The Rules of Backyard Cricket, shortlisted for the 2017 Victorian Premier’s Award for Fiction, finalist of the 2017 MWA Edgar Awards for Best Paperback Original, and finalist of the 2017 INDIES Adult Mystery Book of the Year; and On the Java Ridge, shortlisted for the 2018 Indie Awards.
On a beach not far from the isolated settlement of Sydney in 1797, a fishing boat picks up three shipwreck survivors, distressed and terribly injured. They have walked hundreds of miles across a landscape whose features—and inhabitants—they have no way of comprehending. They have lost fourteen companions along the way. Their accounts of the ordeal are evasive.
It is Lieutenant Joshua Grayling’s task to investigate the story. He comes to realise that those fourteen deaths were contrived by one calculating mind and, as the full horror of the men’s journey emerges, he begins to wonder whether the ruthless killer poses a danger to his own family.
About the Author
Jock Serong is the author of Quota, winner of the 2015 Ned Kelly Award for Best First Fiction; The Rules of Backyard Cricket, shortlisted for the 2017 Victorian Premier’s Award for Fiction, finalist of the 2017 MWA Edgar Awards for Best Paperback Original, and finalist of the 2017 INDIES Adult Mystery Book of the Year; and On the Java Ridge, shortlisted for the 2018 Indie Awards.
Industry Reviews
'Serong's prose is evocative, his dialogue convincing.' * Sydney Morning Herald *
'Full of tension and menace.'
'Serong is a talented storyteller.' * Booklist *
'One of Australia's most innovative and ambitious crime writers.' * NZ Listener *
'Well-researched.' * Herald Sun *
'Although Serong's Preservation and Grenville's The Secret River differ in style, approach and period, they share both a gripping sense of narrative and an unflinching commitment to honestly portraying the bewildering complexity of early encounters between European settlers and indigenous Australians.' * NZ Listener *
'A great work of fiction to prompt a further dive into the history books.' * Weekly Times *
'Imaginatively based on the true story of the wreck of the Sydney Cove...it is twisty and gruesome and the identity thief Figge is a magnificently horrible individual' * Strong Words *
'A beautifully written, sometimes chilling, story inspired by the shipwreck of the Sydney Cove, and the disappearance of 14 of its 17 survivors.' -- Emma Viskic * Sydney Morning Herald *
'Full of tension and menace.'
'Serong is a talented storyteller.' * Booklist *
'One of Australia's most innovative and ambitious crime writers.' * NZ Listener *
'Well-researched.' * Herald Sun *
'Although Serong's Preservation and Grenville's The Secret River differ in style, approach and period, they share both a gripping sense of narrative and an unflinching commitment to honestly portraying the bewildering complexity of early encounters between European settlers and indigenous Australians.' * NZ Listener *
'A great work of fiction to prompt a further dive into the history books.' * Weekly Times *
'Imaginatively based on the true story of the wreck of the Sydney Cove...it is twisty and gruesome and the identity thief Figge is a magnificently horrible individual' * Strong Words *
'A beautifully written, sometimes chilling, story inspired by the shipwreck of the Sydney Cove, and the disappearance of 14 of its 17 survivors.' -- Emma Viskic * Sydney Morning Herald *
ISBN: 9781925773965
ISBN-10: 1925773965
Published: 6th August 2019
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Number of Pages: 368
Audience: General Adult
Publisher: The Text Publishing Company
Country of Publication: AU
Dimensions (cm): 2.2 x 12.8 x 19.6
Weight (kg): 0.29
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