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The Living Sea of Waking Dreams

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( 4,600 ratings, 797 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
In The Living Sea of Waking Dreams, Richard Flanagan explores a fractured family amid personal and environmental crises. Set against the backdrop of Australia's bushfires, the novel weaves a haunting tale of decline and disappearance, as a mother nears the end of her life and her children grapple with both their own lives and a world rapidly vanishing. Flanagan crafts a poignant reflection on loss and resilience with a touch of magical realism.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're drawn to stories blending the poetic with the poignant, exploring themes of familial bonds, memory, and loss against the backdrop of a world in ecological disarray. Its exploration of human fragility and resilience offers a reflective experience for those interested in the intersection of personal and collective calamities.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Richard Flanagan is one of the greatest writers at work in the world today - I admire him and his writing immensely. The Living Sea of Waking Dreams is a haunting, urgent and important book about our broken and confusing age," says James Rebanks.

In a world of perennial fire and growing extinctions, Anna's aged mother is dyingβ€”if her three children would just allow it. Condemned by their pity to living, she increasingly escapes through her hospital window into visions of horror and delight.

When Anna's finger vanishes and a few months later her knee disappears, Anna too feels the pull of the window. She begins to see that all around her others are similarly vanishing, but no one else notices. All Anna can do is keep her mother alive. But the window keeps opening wider, taking Anna and the reader ever deeper into a strangely beautiful story about hope and love and orange-bellied parrots.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Living Sea of Waking Dreams, by Richard Flanagan, is lauded for its lyrical writing and poignant exploration of family, grief, and environmental decline. Critics appreciate the novel's blend of reality with magical realism and how it effectively addresses contemporary global issues within a personal narrative. Some reviewers mention that the book's fragmented style reflects the disintegration of both personal and planetary realms, capturing a world in crisis with depth and sensitivity.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781761048159

Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 12 April 2023

Country: Australia

Imprint: Penguin Random House Australia

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 17.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 197.0mm

Weight: 208g

Pages: 304

About the Author

Richard Flanagan has been described by the Washington Post as 'one of our greatest living novelists' and as 'among the most versatile writers in the English language' by the New York Review of Books. He won the Booker Prize for The Narrow Road to the Deep North and the Commonwealth Prize for Gould's Book of Fish. His most recent book is Question 7.

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