{"product_id":"skylarking-striking-fiction-rooted-in-adolescent-friendship-and-desire","title":"Skylarking: Striking fiction rooted in adolescent friendship and desire","description":"\u003cp\u003eLonglisted for the Voss Literary Prize 2017 \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Skylarking is a beautifully-written love letter to female friendship, full of the passion, envy and confusion of growing up and growing apart'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eKate Riordan\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eKate and Harriet are best friends growing up together on an isolated Australian cape. As the daughters of the lighthouse keepers, the two girls share everything, until a fisherman, McPhail, arrives in their small community.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhen Kate witnesses the desire that flares between him and Harriet, she is torn by her feelings of envy and longing. An innocent moment in McPhail's hut then occurs that threatens to tear their peaceful community apart.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eInspired by a true story, \u003ci\u003eSkylarking\u003c\/i\u003eis a spellbinding tale of friendship and desire, memory and truth, which questions what it is to remember and how tempting it can be to forget.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e'It's testament to Kate Mildenhall's skill that \u003cb\u003eyou become so immersed\u003c\/b\u003ein the lives of best friends Kate and Harriet you feel the dread, but hope it will not be so ... fans of Emily Bitto's \u003ci\u003eThe Strays\u003c\/i\u003eand Favel Parrett's \u003ci\u003ePast the Shallows\u003c\/i\u003ewill find much to admire here.' \u003ci\u003eHerald Sun\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e'[Mildenhall's] research of life on a remote cape in a young colony manifests in \u003cb\u003elovingly drawn descriptions\u003c\/b\u003eof the natural landscape... the novel's strength lies with following Kate's and Harriet's stumbles and skylarking from childhood to womanhood; and their close, sometimes stifling, friendship.' \u003ci\u003eThuy On, Sydney Morning Herald\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e'It is hard to believe that \u003ci\u003eSkylarking\u003c\/i\u003eis Kate Mildenhall's debut novel, as her ability to create both \u003cb\u003echaracter and atmosphere\u003c\/b\u003eis impressive.'\u003ci\u003eAnnie Condon, Readings Monthly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e'It's no surprise to learn that debut author Kate Mildenhall counts Geraldine Brooks and Hannah Kent among her favourite writers. Inspired by a true story, Skylarking recreates a particular time and place as evocatively as they do...this is a \u003cb\u003ebeautifully written\u003c\/b\u003ebook, with lyrical descriptions of the desolate yet beautiful landscape.' \u003ci\u003eAFR Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e 'Mildenhall is at her best when she is exploring the complex relationship between these two young women as their burgeoning sexuality begins to cause problems within their tiny community.' \u003ci\u003eBooks + Publishing\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e'Kate Mildenhall's\u003cb\u003eimpressive debut novel\u003c\/b\u003eis filled with the light and air of its rugged coastal setting ... the perfect backdrop for Mildenhall's powerful evocation of a \u003cb\u003epassionate, intense\u003c\/b\u003erelationship between two young women ... Mildenhall takes this historical case and re-imagines it with such sensitivity and insight that we feel this must be how it truly happened.' \u003ci\u003eEmily Bitto, author of The Strays\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e'The storm-lashed coastline of the Great Southern Land is the setting for this poetic, slow-moving tale of the friendship ... an \u003cb\u003eevocative\u003c\/b\u003eyarn.' \u003ci\u003eAustralian Women's Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e'Skylarking is a\u003cb\u003estrikingly real\u003c\/b\u003eand \u003cb\u003edeeply moving\u003c\/b\u003emeditation on adolescent friendship in all its complexities, faithfully rendering both teenage envy and the depths of love between two girls. The bush comes alive; one can almost hear the sound of the crickets on a hot evening. But above all, it is a \u003cb\u003eheart-wrenching\u003c\/b\u003ework.' \u003ci\u003eOlga Lorenzo, author of Salt Creek\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e 'Author Kate Mildenhall evocatively brings to the mind's eye the lives of two young girls in \u003cb\u003eVictorian-era Australia\u003c\/b\u003e.' \u003ci\u003eBetter Reading\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e'Skylarking is a \u003cb\u003ebrave, beautiful and richly textured\u003c\/b\u003ebook which delicately explores the fault lines in love and friendship, revealing their thrill and loveliness as well as their darker sides: jealousy and heartbreaking regret' \u003ci\u003eLucy Treloar, author of The Light on the Water\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"sb-details\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormat:\u003c\/strong\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublished:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 288\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e Legend Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9781785079238\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Legend Press","offers":[{"title":"Standard Secondhand — £2.02","offer_id":47917064093873,"sku":"SB-1785079239-C3","price":2.02,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0618\/2669\/5345\/files\/1785079239.jpg?v=1789205896","url":"https:\/\/sellbooks.co.uk\/products\/skylarking-striking-fiction-rooted-in-adolescent-friendship-and-desire","provider":"Sell Books .co.uk","version":"1.0","type":"link"}