Wanting (novel) explained
Wanting is a 2008 novel by Australian author Richard Flanagan.
Plot summary
Wanting cuts between two stories based on real historical figures under the central theme of 'wanting' and is set in both nineteenth century Tasmania and Britain. One tells the tale of an Aboriginal child, Mathinna, adopted by then governor of Van Diemen’s Land, Sir John Franklin and his wife Lady Jane; the other of Charles Dickens’ love affair with Ellen Ternan after one of his daughters dies.[1]
Reception
Many critics regarded Wanting as one of the best novels of the year.[2] [3] [4]
Notes
- Dedication: "For Kevin Perkins".
- Epigraph: "You see, reason, gentlemen, is a fine thing, that is unquestionable, but reason is only reason and satisfies only man's reasoning capacity, while wanting is a manifestation of the whole of life." Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Epigraph: "That which is wanting cannot be numbered." Ecclesiastes
Awards
- 2008 Western Australia Premier's Prize[5]
- 2009 Queensland Premier's Prize
- 2009 New Yorker Notable Book of the Year
- 2009 Washington Post Book of the Year
- 2009 London Observer Book of the Year
Interviews
External links
Notes and References
- Book: Flanagan, Richard. Wanting. 2009. Random House Australia. 978-1-74166-668-7. Cover blurb.
- News: Wanting by Richard Flanagan . https://web.archive.org/web/20110615185928/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/fiction/article6829122.ece . dead . 15 June 2011 . London . The Times . Rachel . Holmes . 12 September 2009.
- News: A subtle weaving of passion and despair . The Irish Times . 10 October 2009.
- Web site: Sydney Morning Herald | Reviews . 18 November 2010 . 22 February 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110222200504/http://www.richardflanaganwanting.com.au/review_smh.aspx . dead .
- Web site: Wanting . 2022-03-13 . AustLit: Discover Australian Stories . en.
