Kirjahaku

The bleak Hungarian plain, 1914, an isolated village shrouded in superstition and rumours of witchcraft...As the village mid-wife turns to boiling fly paper to source arsenic, problems are solved with sinister undertones.

“A symphonic masterpiece…Wringing a glorious & painful chorus of human voices from the mute facts of history – this is what fiction is for." - Alan Moore, author of Watchmen and V for Vendetta “An impressive piece of work. An unforgettable book.” - Historical Novel Society Leningrad 1941. German forces surround the city at the start of the most harrowing winter in its history. The siege becomes a battle for survival. Bodies fill the streets, and the crushing horror of cold, starvation and bone-deep fear is relentless. Set against this background of tragedy and suffering, a remarkable group of musicians — soldiers and civilians, all of whom have been wasted by war and hunger — come together to perform Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony. They scarcely have the strength to carry their instruments, but their performance of this haunting and defiant new piece provides a rare light of hope in the darkness. Friendship, love and a vibrant passion for music combine in this ambitious, absorbing and richly sensuous masterpiece.

“A symphonic masterpiece…Wringing a glorious & painful chorus of human voices from the mute facts of history – this is what fiction is for." - Alan Moore, author of Watchmen and V for Vendetta “An impressive piece of work. An unforgettable book.” - Historical Novel Society Leningrad 1941. German forces surround the city at the start of the most harrowing winter in its history. The siege becomes a battle for survival. Bodies fill the streets, and the crushing horror of cold, starvation and bone-deep fear is relentless. Set against this background of tragedy and suffering, a remarkable group of musicians — soldiers and civilians, all of whom have been wasted by war and hunger — come together to perform Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony. They scarcely have the strength to carry their instruments, but their performance of this haunting and defiant new piece provides a rare light of hope in the darkness. Friendship, love and a vibrant passion for music combine in this ambitious, absorbing and richly sensuous masterpiece.

Following an arduous and tragic sea journey to Australia, Hamil travels into the outback to find work and is taken in by a fellow Turkish immigrant. With the level of attack escalating and faced with being forced out of their home, the two men see only one option, leading to the peace of the community being irrevocably shattered.