About this ebook
‘a masterful achievement’ Magpies
We have come here to scratch for gold.
Once we had a house, a business and a Packard sedan,
but they are gone now, seized by the bank.
The year is 1934, the time of the Great Depression. The place is a settlement of miners' dugouts far from the nearest town. Fifteen-year-old Neil and his parents have come from Adelaide, hoping to strike it lucky, but the gold is elusive. Then the American Ivan and his daughter Kitty arrive, mysterious and aloof. Soon rumours spread: Ivan killed a man; Kitty helped him rob banks. Neil is drawn to them despite the rumours. But Kitty saw him shoot the apostle bird. How can he convince her that it was an accident?
Tensions come to a head when a digger is found dead, his gold missing, and angry miners form a mob to hunt the Americans down. Neil knows the nearby creeks and scrubland, and he can lead Ivan and Kitty to safety – if they let him.
The Apostle Bird is an evocatively written and compelling study of prejudice, honour and courage from Garry Disher, bestselling author of The Divine Wind and The Bamboo Flute.
We have come here to scratch for gold.
Once we had a house, a business and a Packard sedan,
but they are gone now, seized by the bank.
The year is 1934, the time of the Great Depression. The place is a settlement of miners' dugouts far from the nearest town. Fifteen-year-old Neil and his parents have come from Adelaide, hoping to strike it lucky, but the gold is elusive. Then the American Ivan and his daughter Kitty arrive, mysterious and aloof. Soon rumours spread: Ivan killed a man; Kitty helped him rob banks. Neil is drawn to them despite the rumours. But Kitty saw him shoot the apostle bird. How can he convince her that it was an accident?
Tensions come to a head when a digger is found dead, his gold missing, and angry miners form a mob to hunt the Americans down. Neil knows the nearby creeks and scrubland, and he can lead Ivan and Kitty to safety – if they let him.
The Apostle Bird is an evocatively written and compelling study of prejudice, honour and courage from Garry Disher, bestselling author of The Divine Wind and The Bamboo Flute.
Ratings and reviews
3.1
21 reviews
About the author
Garry Disher is one of Australia’s best-known authors. He worked as a writing lecturer between the years 1980 and 1988, before becoming a full-time writer. He has published over forty books, including THE DIVINE WIND (shortlisted for the 1999 CBC Book of the Year for Older Readers), FROM YOUR FRIEND, LOUIS DEANE (a CBC Notable Book) and MOONDYNE KATE.
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