Overview
Winner of the Kibble Literary Award, Shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Prize for Fiction, the Adelaide Festival Award for Literature, The ALS Gold Medal, the Barbara Jefferiss Prize and the Indies Award. On a radiant day in Sydney, four people converge on Circular Quay, site of the iconic Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Each of the four is haunted by memories of the past- Ellie is preoccupied by her experiences as a girl, James by a tragedy for which he feels responsible, Catherine by the loss of her beloved brother in Dublin and Pei Xing by her imprisonment during China's Cultural Revolution. Told over the course of a single Saturday, Five Bells describes vividly four lives which chime and resonate. By night-time, when Sydney is drenched in a rainstorm, each life has been transformed.
Full Product Details
Author: Gail Jones
Publisher: Random House Australia
Imprint: Vintage (Australia)
Edition: 2nd edition
Dimensions:
Width: 12.70cm
, Height: 1.50cm
, Length: 19.30cm
Weight: 0.164kg
ISBN: 9781864710830
ISBN 10: 1864710837
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 01 February 2012
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Available To Order
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Reviews
Karen writes: It's a glorious January day in Sydney. At Circular Quay there's a bit of a breeze keeping the humidity at bay and during the afternoon the inevitable evening storm will brew. Ellie and James were lovers as teenagers and they are meeting for lunch. Catherine, an Irish tourist, is exploring the area and Pei Xing, now retired, is visiting old friends and haunts on her way up the North Shore. The stories are interwoven and connected by more than that single sunny day. Everyone is weighed down, by various degrees, by their past. Pei Xing has survived the Cultural Revolution; Catherine, the death of a beloved brother and James feels responsible for a tragedy that happened on his watch. Gail Jones is a writer of inordinate skill. She weaves seamlessly complex narratives and explores even more complex emotions with an elegance and clarity I've rarely encountered. It's going to be a humdinger of a Miles Franklin shortlist in 2011 and Five Bells will set a very high bar.
Author Information
Gail Jones is the author of two short-story collections, a critical monograph, and the novels Black Mirror, Sixty Lights, Dreams of Speaking, Sorry and Five Bells. Three times shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award, her prizes include the WA Premier's Award for Fiction, the Nita B. Kibble Award, the Steele Rudd Award, the Age Book of the Year Award, the Adelaide Festival Award for Fiction and the ASAL Gold Medal. She has also been shortlisted for international awards, including the IMPAC and the Prix Femina. Her fiction has been translated into nine languages.
