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. Surrounded and obstructed by the debris of his life, 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, this is a novel about all kinds of extinction - natural, racial, national and personal - and what we can do to prevent them.
A big-hearted, beautifully written novel of love, loss, and growing old (dis)gracefullyAbout the AuthorJosephine Wilson lives in Perth, Western Australia with her partner and two children. Her first novel, Cusp, was published in 2005. Extinctions, her second novel, won the Miles Franklin Award in 2017.
ReviewsVery funny, dark and full of tragic power * Australian Book Review *
A rich and humane novel * The Saturday Paper *
A compassionate and unapologetically intelligent novel * Miles Franklin Judges' Citation *
Book InformationISBN 9781788160773
Author Josephine WilsonFormat Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint Serpent's TailPublisher Profile Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 260g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 128mm * 22mm