'Prague, 1938: Eva flies down the street from her sister. Suddenly a man steps out, a man wearing a hat. Eva runs into him, hits the pavement hard. His hat is in the gutter. His anger slaps Eva, but his hate will change everything, as war forces so many lives into small, brown suitcases.
'Prague, 1980: No one sees Ludek. A young boy can slip right under the heavy blanket that covers this city - the fear cannot touch him. Ludek is free. And he sees everything. The world can do what it likes. The world can go to hell for all he cares because Babi is waiting for him in the warm flat. His whole world.
'Melbourne, 1980: Mala Lika's grandma holds her hand as they climb the stairs to their third floor flat. Inside, the smell of warm pipe tobacco and homemade cakes. Here, Mana and Bill have made a life for themselves and their granddaughter. A life imbued with the spirit of Prague and the loved ones left behind.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
'Words can help us imagine the world more deeply. Even as we retreat into our homes in this time of crisis, words can help us reach out to each other and pile up strength.' (Publication summary)
'Whether you're poolside balancing a book with an icy beverage, stealing moments between waves at the beach or catching up on the couch after Christmas, this list of favourites from ABC RN's book experts has got you covered.' (Introduction)
'Favel Parrett’s tender new novel, There Was Still Love, explores what it means to make a home and how a person might be free in a world ruptured by political as well as personal upheavals. Moving backwards and forwards in time (from 1981 to 1938) across vast distances – from Prague to Melbourne, via London – between first- and third-person narrators, past and present tense, Parrett beautifully captures one family’s complicated twentieth-century inheritance.' (Introduction)
'There are no winners in war.
In Miles Franklin-nominated author Favel Parrett’s third novel, teenage twin sisters – vibrant, smart, mostly happy – are wrenched apart at the beginning of World War II. Four decades later, in 1980, one is still in Prague and the other lives in Melbourne, each tasked with looking after her grandchild. Each sister also holds in her heart a quiet resentment for the other: the one in Prague has endured war and Communism, while her twin has struggled to build a new life and family while also learning a new language. (Introduction)
'There are no winners in war.
In Miles Franklin-nominated author Favel Parrett’s third novel, teenage twin sisters – vibrant, smart, mostly happy – are wrenched apart at the beginning of World War II. Four decades later, in 1980, one is still in Prague and the other lives in Melbourne, each tasked with looking after her grandchild. Each sister also holds in her heart a quiet resentment for the other: the one in Prague has endured war and Communism, while her twin has struggled to build a new life and family while also learning a new language. (Introduction)
'Favel Parrett’s tender new novel, There Was Still Love, explores what it means to make a home and how a person might be free in a world ruptured by political as well as personal upheavals. Moving backwards and forwards in time (from 1981 to 1938) across vast distances – from Prague to Melbourne, via London – between first- and third-person narrators, past and present tense, Parrett beautifully captures one family’s complicated twentieth-century inheritance.' (Introduction)
'Whether you're poolside balancing a book with an icy beverage, stealing moments between waves at the beach or catching up on the couch after Christmas, this list of favourites from ABC RN's book experts has got you covered.' (Introduction)
'Words can help us imagine the world more deeply. Even as we retreat into our homes in this time of crisis, words can help us reach out to each other and pile up strength.' (Publication summary)
