Josephine Wilson

Extinctions

Large Pre-loved Paperback

Winner of the Miles Franklin Literary Award 2017.

Professor Frederick Lothian, retired engineer, world expert on concrete and connoisseur of modernist design, has quarantined himself from life by moving to a retirement village. His wife, Martha, is dead and his two adult children are lost to him in their own ways. Surrounded and obstructed by the debris of his life – objects he has collected over many years and tells himself he is keeping for his daughter – he is determined to be miserable, but is tired of his existence and of the life he has chosen.

When a series of unfortunate incidents forces him and his neighbour, Jan, together, he begins to realise the damage done by the accumulation of a lifetime’s secrets and lies, and to comprehend his own shortcomings. Finally, Frederick Lothian has the opportunity to build something meaningful for the ones he loves.

Humorous, poignant and galvanising by turns, Extinctions is a novel about all kinds of extinction – natural, racial, national and personal – and what we can do to prevent them.

Book type: Large pre-loved paperback.
Condition: Very good, with some creasing on the front cover.
Cover image: For illustration purposes only.
Notes: This book has minimal visible wear. It has slight creasing on the front cover. It has no missing or damaged pages, no writing, notes or highlighting.

$12.99

Out of stock

More Information & Critical Reviews

Josephine Wilson is a Perth-based writer. Her writing career began in the area of performance. Her early works included The Geography of Haunted Places, with Erin Hefferon, and Customs. Her first novel was Cusp, (UWA Publishing, 2005). Josephine has lectured and taught in the tertiary sector. She is the busy parent of two children and works as a sessional staff member at Curtin University, where she teaches in the Humanities Honours Program, in Creative Writing and in Art and Design history. She completed her Masters of Philosophy at Queensland University and her PhD at UWA. Her novel Extinctions (UWA Publishing, 2016) was the winner of the inaugural Dorothy Hewett Prize and has been shortlisted for the 2017 Miles Franklin Award.

‘There is great sensitivity and heart in this story of redemption and Wilson can be blackly funny.’ The Saturday Paper

‘Not that Wilson is ever at a loss for words. She wields the English language sometimes like a surgical instrument, sometimes like a weapon, but always with complete mastery of allusion and resonance.’ Gillian Dooley, Australian Book Review

‘Josephine Wilson’s paragraphs and sentences have a rounded shape, in contrast to the currently fashionable way of writing, which tends to jagged, broken sentences. Her style encourages readers to savour each image and insight as it is revealed, without feeling that the narrative is constantly rushing forward to the next piece of “action”. Some would call this style old-fashioned; in my view it has a lot going for it.’ Dorothy Johnston, Sydney Morning Herald

‘Peppered with clever observations, the writing is sharp and the interactions in Extinctions are complex, building a rewarding narrative about being lost but ultimately getting found.’ Portia Lindsay, Books+Publishing

 

Additional information

Available Format

Large Pre-loved Paperback

Book Author

Josephine Wilson

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