Cirrus@Austlit

'1850: A sea-chest full of books arrives for Antonio Mateus Carvalho Cabral, the younger son of a family of whalers on the small volcanic island of Pico ...

'The Carvalho brothers - handsome Marcelinho and clever Antonio - are destined to spend their lives hunting whales. But the arrival of an unexpected gift changes both their lives forever. As the younger Carvalho discovers the fascinating world of the whale, a chasm opens between the two brothers, made all the more perilous by their shared passion for the alluring and wilful Margarida Machado.

'From the Azores to Lisbon, from Newfoundland to Australia, our hero travels in search of love, fortune and his very soul. It is in Eden, a small whaling port on the south coast of New South Wales, that he finally finds salvation in the shape of Alice Binney, fellow lost soul and impostor, in flight from her dark past. An enduring bond forms between the two, culminating in a final, dazzling act of atonement.

'Gloriously dark, delightful, witty and moving, Mr Carver's Whale is a novel of our many crimes against nature and the human heart, and the price we have to pay for our sins. But can love ever really be a crime?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A seductive novel of family, destiny, love and wallpaper They met on a train. They fell in love. They got married. They lived happily ever after. Or not.

'Francis Sprigge and Lilian Powys, two strangers escaping their past, move to the Blue Mountains together, following their dreams of creativity and love. But as Francis pursues his gift for designing exquisite wallpaper, Lilian finds that the ordinary life she craves remains frustratingly beyond reach. Despite her adoring husband and spirited young daughter Adelaide, Lilian cannot outrun her demons, and cracks soon appear in the family′s harmonious veneer.

'Nearly thirty years later, Addie Sprigge returns to her childhood haunts to lead a small team of conservators in the restoration of a historic mansion. But as they peel back the layers of wallpaper and begin to uncover the secrets of the house, the past resurfaces in unexpected ways. Addie learns much more about herself, and her parents, than she ever could have anticipated.

'Flock is the captivating story of talented and passionate people and the ghosts they must lay to rest, as well as a ravishing exploration of the nature of love - and wallpaper.' (From the publisher's website.)

'From the author of "The Factory", shortlisted for the National Book Council's Qantas New Writers Award, this book is set in the deceptive calm of Johannesburg's white liberal suburbs. Amiably married, Rosemary Williston lives in opulent paralysis. Until she meets Louise, and begins an affair.' (Publication summary)