October Book Club - 'Wanting' by Richard Flanagan

Book Blurb:
'Bass Strait, 1839. A young Aboriginal girl, Mathinna, runs through the wet wallaby grass of a wild island at the edge of the world to get help for her dying father. Eighteen years later in Manchester, the great novelist Charles Dickens is a sensation, starring in a play that more and more resembles the frozen landscape of his own inner life.


The most celebrated explorer of the age, Sir John Franklin, and his wife, Lady Jane, adopt Mathinna as an experiment to prove that the savage can be civilised - only to discover that within the most civilised can lurk the most savage. When Sir John disappears in the Arctic while searching for the fabled Northwest Passage, Lady Jane turns to Dickens for help.


Inspired by historical events, Wanting is a haunting meditation about love, loss and the way life is finally determined never by reason, but only ever by wanting. It confirms Richard Flanagan's growing reputation as one of the most original and powerful novelists working in the English language today.'

This was a delicious book to devour. It was captivating and a marvellous read that left you WANTING more. Flanaghan intertwined all threads of the story seamlessly. And, when you wonder...how could you possibly link an Aboriginal girl, an Arctic explorer and his wife, and Charles Dickens, it leaves you scratching your head at how well Flanagan has managed to do so.

This book is stunning and simple to read. The language Flanagan uses is easy on the eyes and flows logically. So glad that this book was added to our list of selections this year. If you haven't already read this ... then we highly recommend you get started.

Until next time,

happy reading...