“It is not really possible to describe, in a short space, the originality and depth of this long and beautifully crafted book.” —A.S. Byatt, Guardian
Laura Fraser grows up in Sydney, motherless, with a cold, professional father and an artistic bent. Ravi Mendis lives on the other side of the globe—exploring the seductive new world of the Internet, his father dead, his mother struggling to get by. Their stories alternate throughout Michelle de Kretser’s ravishing novel, culminating in unlikely fates for them both, destinies influenced by travel—voluntary in her case, enforced in his.
With money from an inheritance, Laura sets off to see the world, eventually returning to Sydney to work for a publisher of travel guides. There she meets Ravi, now a Sri Lankan political exile who wants only to see a bit of Australia and make a living. Where do these two disparate characters, and an enthralling array of others, truly belong? With her trademark subtlety, wit, and dazzling prose, Michelle de Kretser shows us that, in the 21st century, they belong wherever they want to and can be—home or away.
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Questions of Travel: A Novel
“It is not really possible to describe, in a short space, the originality and depth of this long and beautifully crafted book.” —A.S. Byatt, Guardian
Laura Fraser grows up in Sydney, motherless, with a cold, professional father and an artistic bent. Ravi Mendis lives on the other side of the globe—exploring the seductive new world of the Internet, his father dead, his mother struggling to get by. Their stories alternate throughout Michelle de Kretser’s ravishing novel, culminating in unlikely fates for them both, destinies influenced by travel—voluntary in her case, enforced in his.
With money from an inheritance, Laura sets off to see the world, eventually returning to Sydney to work for a publisher of travel guides. There she meets Ravi, now a Sri Lankan political exile who wants only to see a bit of Australia and make a living. Where do these two disparate characters, and an enthralling array of others, truly belong? With her trademark subtlety, wit, and dazzling prose, Michelle de Kretser shows us that, in the 21st century, they belong wherever they want to and can be—home or away.
“It is not really possible to describe, in a short space, the originality and depth of this long and beautifully crafted book.” —A.S. Byatt, Guardian
Laura Fraser grows up in Sydney, motherless, with a cold, professional father and an artistic bent. Ravi Mendis lives on the other side of the globe—exploring the seductive new world of the Internet, his father dead, his mother struggling to get by. Their stories alternate throughout Michelle de Kretser’s ravishing novel, culminating in unlikely fates for them both, destinies influenced by travel—voluntary in her case, enforced in his.
With money from an inheritance, Laura sets off to see the world, eventually returning to Sydney to work for a publisher of travel guides. There she meets Ravi, now a Sri Lankan political exile who wants only to see a bit of Australia and make a living. Where do these two disparate characters, and an enthralling array of others, truly belong? With her trademark subtlety, wit, and dazzling prose, Michelle de Kretser shows us that, in the 21st century, they belong wherever they want to and can be—home or away.
Michelle de Kretser is a Sri Lankan who has lived in Australia for several years. She is the author of the novels The Rose Grower, The Hamilton Case, and The Lost Dog, and she is currently an associate of the English Department at the University of Sydney.
Hometown:
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Date of Birth:
November 11, 1957
Place of Birth:
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Education:
B.A. (Hons), 1979; Maîtrise-ès-lettres, 1982
What People are Saying About This
Hilary Mantel
Subtle and mysterious, both comic and eerie, and brilliantly evocative of time and place.
