Author(s): Mary McCallum

NZ Fiction

Lilian lives in an isolated island community at the mouth of Tory Channel trying to make the best of a life that has at its core a secret grief. It is 1938 and for three months of every year the men take to the sea to hunt whales with fast boats and explosive harpoons. This year, the whales aren't the only ones returning Lilian's troubled son Micky has come home too. In this rugged, unsettled world, things are not always what they seem.'The Blue creates in glowing detail both a community and a place, and tells a richly atmospheric and suspenseful story. It's a novel of delicacy when it treats the interior life of its characters but it also has absolute confidence when summoning the physical world. This is an involving, rewarding book made with care and skill and gusto.' Damien Wilkins'The Blue is a fine piece of work which I immensely enjoyed reading. It is imaginatively conceived, cleverly structured and written in an elegant and considered style, often with great beauty in its phrasing and imagery.' Fiona Kidman