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About the Author
Tom Gilling, born in England, emigrated to Australia at the age of twenty-two. His journalism has appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, The Bulletin, and Rolling Stone. The Sooterkin, his first novel, received universal Australian acclaim and has been short-listed for the prestigious Vance Palmer Fiction Award. He lives in Sydney, Australia.
From Kirkus Reviews
An Australian newcomer vividly evokes a topsy-turvy world Down Under where convicts become respectable citizens, mammals lay eggs, and a seal born to a woman stirs up a rich broth of confusion.As much a gentle satire on Australia's less-than-respectable past as an unsentimental tribute to unlikely family devotion, the story is set in Hobart, the capital of Van Diemen’s Land (today called Tasmania) during the early 19th century. It covers the months following the birth of Arthur, a seal pup, to former convict Sarah Dyer and her husband William, a dishonorably discharged soldier. Hobart is a rough, hard-drinking, rumor-ridden place populated by convicts transported from Britain, remittance men, and fortune-seekers. Almost everyone has a shady past. Reverend Kidney is actually a layman who took the job of chaplain because he was heavily in debt. His housekeeper and the town's midwife, Mrs. Jakes, is a convicted abortionist. The country surrounding Hobart is plagued by bands of outlaws who rob and plunder the farmsteads, murdering farmers and unwary travelers. When Sarah gives birth to Arthur, with Mrs. Jakes in attendance, she and elder son Ned lovingly embrace the new addition. William, a habitual drunk, is less certain. The birth is a sensation in a place hungry for novelty. The chaplain believes the baby has been sent by God; Mr. Sculley, a would-be scientist, thinks it is a Sooterkin, a mysterious hybrid creature; and the locals just want to ogle it. Sarah, a loving but practical mother, capitalizes on their curiosity by charging for a look-see. When Arthur starts singing, weak-willed William succumbs to the blandishments of an entrepreneurial doctor who offers to buy him. Loyal Ned then embarks on a dangerous and picaresque search to find his brother.A literate and imaginative, if sometimes strained, riff on the provocative power of the unusual in a strange and distant place. -- Copyright © 2000 Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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- PublisherText Publishing
- Publication date1999
- ISBN 10 1876485027
- ISBN 13 9781876485023
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages224
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The Sooterkin
Published by
The Text Publishing Company, 1999
ISBN 10: 1876485027
ISBN 13: 9781876485023
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Paperback. Condition: Used; Good. Dispatched, from the UK, within 48 hours of ordering. This book is in good condition but will show signs of previous ownership. Please expect some creasing to the spine and/or minor damage to the cover. Aged book. Tanned pages and age spots, however, this will not interfere with reading. Seller Inventory # CHL7643445
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The Sooterkin
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The Text Publishing Company, Australia, 1999
ISBN 10: 1876485027
ISBN 13: 9781876485023
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The Sooterkin
Published by
The Text Publishing Company, Australia, 1999
ISBN 10: 1876485027
ISBN 13: 9781876485023
Used
Soft cover
Seller: RIVERLEE BOOKS, Waltham Cross, HERTS, United Kingdom
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The Sooterkin
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The Sooterkin (Paperback)
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Text Publishing, Melbourne, 1999
ISBN 10: 1876485027
ISBN 13: 9781876485023
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Seller: Grand Eagle Retail, Wilmington, DE, U.S.A.
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Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. On a squally afternoon in the winter of 1821 Sarah Dyer gives birth to the strangest child ever seen in Van Diemen's Land, a thing more seal than human. The Reverend Mr Kidney at first suspects a virgin birth. Mr Sculley, an anatomist and man of science, hails it as the antipodean answer to the elusive Dutch sooterkin.The pup is a joy to its parents and a welcome companion to the their nine-year-old son, Ned. But when a well-dressed stranger arrives bearing a modest proposal for the infant's future, no-one foresees the trouble that lies ahead. The Sooterkin is a vividly imagined and wickedly funny tale of an upside-down world turned inside out. Few people have ever laid eyes on a sooterkin, but in the winter of 1821 Sarah Dyer gives birth to the strangest infant ever seen in Van Dieman's land. It is a creature more seal than human, and all Hobart town knows something extraordinary has happened. Funny and mesmerising, this is a compelling novel. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9781876485023
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The Sooterkin
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ISBN 10: 1876485027
ISBN 13: 9781876485023
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THE SOOTERKIN
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ISBN 10: 1876485027
ISBN 13: 9781876485023
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Softcover. Condition: As New. Dust Jacket Condition: No Dust Jacket. Second Edition. Size: Octavo (standard book size). Text body is clean, and free from previous owner annotation, underlining and highlighting. Binding is tight, covers and spine fully intact. No foxing in this copy. All edges clean, neat and free of foxing. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 1 kilogram. Category: Fiction; Australia; Australian Literature; ISBN: 1876485027. ISBN/EAN: 9781876485023. All our pictures shown here are of the actual item, not stock photos. Inventory No: 17705. For further info on this title, click on the "Contact Seller" button within this listing. We will try to reply within 24 hours. Otherwise you can order right now (inclusive of shipping options) from the "Add to Basket" button to the right. Seller Inventory # 17705
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The Sooterkin by Tom Gilling
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Text Publishing, Melbourne VIC, 1999
ISBN 10: 1876485027
ISBN 13: 9781876485023
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Soft cover. Condition: Good. 1st Edition. Good condition. Some general edgewear. Sunning of pages. Book is clean and binding intact. Previous owner has signed inside page. Seller Inventory # 001131
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The Sooterkin (Paperback)
Published by
Text Publishing, Melbourne, 1999
ISBN 10: 1876485027
ISBN 13: 9781876485023
New
Paperback
Seller: AussieBookSeller, Truganina, VIC, Australia
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. On a squally afternoon in the winter of 1821 Sarah Dyer gives birth to the strangest child ever seen in Van Diemen's Land, a thing more seal than human. The Reverend Mr Kidney at first suspects a virgin birth. Mr Sculley, an anatomist and man of science, hails it as the antipodean answer to the elusive Dutch sooterkin.The pup is a joy to its parents and a welcome companion to the their nine-year-old son, Ned. But when a well-dressed stranger arrives bearing a modest proposal for the infant's future, no-one foresees the trouble that lies ahead. The Sooterkin is a vividly imagined and wickedly funny tale of an upside-down world turned inside out. Few people have ever laid eyes on a sooterkin, but in the winter of 1821 Sarah Dyer gives birth to the strangest infant ever seen in Van Dieman's land. It is a creature more seal than human, and all Hobart town knows something extraordinary has happened. Funny and mesmerising, this is a compelling novel. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9781876485023
Quantity: 1 available