Emmett Brown is as dark as Heathcliff, and as unpredictable. Sometimes he's an inspiration, but not often. He's a man of booze and obsessions: one of them is his 'System', an attempt to bend the laws of probability. But when the lottery numbers and horses fail him, so do love and reason, and he becomes an ogre to his wife and children.
For the innocents - Louisa, Rob, Peter, Daniel and Jessie - the bonds formed hiding in hedges at the end of the street, waiting for the maelstroms to pass, are complex and unbreakable. Over the years, the consequences of Emmett's rages shape both their spirits and psyches, but as he lies dying they discover that love - however imperfect - is the best defence against pain.
Read our interview with Deborah Forster about The Book of Emmett
Miles Franklin Shortlist 2010
Truth
$32.95 – Trade paperback / Text Publishing
Winner of the 2010 Miles Franklin Literary Award.
At the close of a long day, Inspector Stephen Villani stands in the bathroom of a luxury apartment high above the city. In the glass bath, a young woman lies dead, a pani... Buy or find out more →
Jasper Jones
$23.99 – Paperback book / Allen & Unwin
Winner of the 2009 Indie Book of the Year award.
Full of unforgettable characters, a page-turning pace and outrageously good dialogue, this is a glorious novel - thoughtful, funny, heartbreaking and wise - about outsider... Buy or find out more →
Butterfly
$24.95 – Paperback book / Penguin Books
On the verge of her fourteenth birthday, Plum knows her life will change. But she has no idea how.
Over the coming weeks, her beautiful neighbour Maureen will show her how she might fly. Her adored older brothers will co... Buy or find out more →
The Book Of Emmett
$19.95 – Paperback book / Vintage
Emmett Brown is as dark as Heathcliff, and as unpredictable. Sometimes he's an inspiration, but not often. He's a man of booze and obsessions: one of them is his 'System', an attempt to bend the laws of probability. But ... Buy or find out more →
The Bath Fugues
$29.95 – Trade paperback / Giramondo Publishing
From one if Australia's most lauded writers, comes a wonderfully wrought work, melding intrigue, romance, comedy and deception, taking the form of three interwoven novellas. Castro has won nearly every Australian literar... Buy or find out more →
Lovesong
$39.99$26.95 – Hardcover book / Allen & Unwin
Seeking shelter in a Parisian cafe from a sudden rainstorm, John Patterner meets the exotic Sabiha and his carefully mapped life changes forever. Resonant of the bestselling Conditions of Faith, Alex Miller's keenly awai... Buy or find out more →