Flames

‘A strange and joyous marvel.’—Richard Flanagan, author of The Narrow Road to the Deep North;
‘Visionary, vivid, full of audacious transformations: there’s a marvellous energy to this writing that returns the world to us aflame. A brilliant and wholly original debut.’—Gail Jones, author of Sixty Lights and Sorry;
‘Flames is constantly surprising—I never knew where the story would take me next. This book has a lovely sense of wonder for the world. It’s brimming with heart and compassion.’—Rohan Wilson, author of To Name Those Lost;
‘Arnott skilfully switches between different voices and genres in a trick reminiscent of David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas. The range he displays is impressive, swinging from fable to gothic horror to hardboiled detective story.’—Books+Publishing;
‘An exuberantly creative and confident debut. This is a story that sparks with invention…Invigorating, strange and occasionally brutal.’—Australian Book Review;
‘A surprising story with a definite feminist edge…the novel’s playfulness and poetry make for a fresh and entertaining read.’—Saturday Paper;
‘The key triumph of Flames is bringing Australia’s southern island state to vivid life, characterising it as a robust survivor shaped by the extremes of fire and flood.’—Big Issue;
‘Arnott confidently borrows from the genres of crime fiction, thriller, romance, comedy, eco-literature, and magical realism, throws them in the air, and lets the pieces land to form a flaming new world.’—Sydney Morning Herald;
‘This is a startlingly good first novel, stylistically adventurous, gorgeous in its descriptions and with a compelling narrative that should find a wide readership.’—Australian;
‘A gloriously audacious book. It runs astonishing risks and takes on the biggest emotions…It bowled me sideways.’—New Zealand Herald;
‘An extremely evocative and imaginative work…Undeniably powerful…it is refreshing to see the Australian landscape written about so vividly.’—Good Reading;