How A Moth Becomes A Boat

How a Moth Becomes a Boat, a brand new collection of Rowe's short tales is moving its way along my shelf to the space strictly reserved for old favourites.’ — Brad Dunn, Three Thousand

‘Josephine Rowe has mastered the art of the short story. How A Moth Becomes A Boat is a collection of rough, tiny gems that rove over the terrain of middle aged men and their cars, old soldiers, teenagers getting their kicks in the country, lovers who have lost the beauty of their dreams, small joys at the ends of telephones. In short, people living their lives.’ — Amy Tsilemanis, Readings

‘Rowe’s work is sparse – refining elements to their essence, she certainly doesn’t waste words. The stories are short – no longer than 800 words, and each with only a four-letter title. Her pieces are moving and each feels filled with the same innocent unravelling of a small slice of life, leaving a taste of painfully beautiful optimism in the mouth.’ — The Enthusiast

A father teaches his daughter how to break whiskey bottles. A woman looks for an old lover in a satellite photograph. A man finds the voice of his dead wife on an unlabelled cassette tape. A blind girl dreams about the taste of the moon. These stories take the briefest moments and make them matter.

This collection of minimalist, bittersweet short stories, combined with elegant line illustrations, provides a haunting and beautiful vision of everyday life.

Josephine Rowe lives in Melbourne and is the author of East of Here, Close to Water and Asynchrony. Her poetry and fiction have been published in Overland, Torpedo, and Readings and Writings: forty years in books.