I’m so thrilled by the reception for this novel so far – the critical response has been quite incredible. But before I go into all that, I want to share some photos from the first two launches.
In Tarntanya/Adelaide we held a beautiful event at the State Library of SA, with the support of booksellers Imprints and Writers SA. The brilliant Walter Marsh gave a generous and somehow very funny speech about the book and the state of the world right now, and I said a few things and read a little bit and felt very celebrated. Thank you to everyone who came along, and to my good friend Thom Buchanan for taking photos.
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The Gadi/Sydney launch was at Better Read Than Dead, an in conversation with the wonderful Intan Paramaditha. I am such a fan of her writing, it was an honour to be interviewed by her and to speak about the book and the politics in it. Thank you to everyone who came out, especially my agent Martin Shaw who was back in the country for the occasion, it was great to have you all there.
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This week I will have my third launch at Readings Carlton in Naarm/Melbourne alongside excellent writer and comrade Jinghua Qian, then home to take a little breath before I head south for another one at Fuller’s in nipaluna/Hobart on the 10th July. And in August, a trip north to be a part of Byron Bay Writers Festival! Their program has just been announced with a very exciting lineup, I can’t wait to be a part of it.
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And now to some of the reviews. Salvage has received an extraordinary response so far. I will drop some longer pull quotes on the book’s page, but I can’t resist sharing a choice word or two here.
Jonathan Ricketson in ABR [$]: “Masterful… a superb contribution to the ‘fiction of resistance.’”
Rachael Mead in InDaily: “Structurally exciting and intellectually stimulating… reminiscent of Ursula Le Guin… a much-needed provocation towards hope.”
Joanne Anderton in The Conversation: “Beautiful and devastating, heartbreaking and life affirming.”
Catriona Menzies-Pike in the Guardian: “Mesmerising… speaks in urgent tones to our contemporary moment.”
and Jane Rawson in The Saturday Paper [$]: “a deeply compassionate novel, fierce in its love for the Earth and staunch in its defence.”
I’m so grateful for the critical attention, the insight and generosity of these incredible readers. It’s a little overwhelming.
While in Sydney, I stopped in at the ABC to record a conversation with Claire Nichols at The Book Show – it should air in a few weeks, I will be sure to let you know when it’s up. A highlight for me was bumping into Dr Karl in the Tardis – such a cool guy, I’ve been listening to him since I was a kid! We had a quick chat about our shared love of science fiction before disappearing into opposite booths. A good omen, I reckon.
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