{"product_id":"fever-of-animals","title":"Fever of Animals","description":"\u003cb\u003eWINNER OF THE 2014 VICTORIAN PREMIER'S UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPT AWARD\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWINNER OF THE 2016 VICTORIAN PREMIER'S LITERARY AWARDS PEOPLE'S CHOICE\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWINNER OF THE 2016 WESTERN AUSTRALIA PREMIER'S LITERARY AWARDS PEOPLE'S CHOICE\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e'For nearly five years I have wanted to write something about the surrealist painter Emil Bafdescu: about his paintings, one of which hangs in a little restaurant in Melbourne, and about his disappearance, which is still a mystery. But this is probably not going to be the book I imagined. Nothing has quite worked out the way I planned.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith the inheritance he received upon his father's death, Miles has come to Europe on the trail of the Romanian surrealist, who disappeared into a forest in 1967. But in trying to unravel the mystery of Bafdescu's secret life, Miles must also reckon with his own.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFaced with a language and a landscape that remain stubbornly out of reach, and condemned to wait for someone who may never arrive, Miles is haunted by thoughts of his ex-girlfriend, Alice, and the trip they took to Venice that ended their relationship.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUncanny, occasionally absurd, and utterly original, \u003ci\u003eFever of Animals\u003c\/i\u003e is a beautifully written meditation on art and grief.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'It's thrilling to read writing like this. Panels of visual perfection strung throughout give sustained lapidary brilliance ... There's a lot of learned conversation about art and art history ...  and  some tender and anguished inquiries about whom we love and why ... Underneath all of this is the eternal question about how to be authentically yourself in the world ...  A n extravagantly good novel. Not only does it have assurance and authority, it is made with that remarkable magical force of authenticity.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e-Helen Elliott, \u003ci\u003eSaturday Age\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A \"voice-driven\" narrative par excellence, at the heart of which is a sensually evoked life ... Allinson's distinctive, slyly amusing voice takes us on a dizzying journey through memory, grief, and what it means to be an artist with integrity.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e-Jude Cook, \u003ci\u003eLiterary Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e' An  exceptional first novel ... full of art and ideas, and yet so intimate that it feels like a conversation with a dear, intelligent friend ... masterful in its treatment of time and memory, and filled with such clarifying moments of observation and insight that it is heartbreaking to reach the final page. This is an exquisite, painterly novel, and Allinson is a writer destined for a cult following.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e-Emily Bitto, Stella Prize-winning author of \u003ci\u003eThe Strays\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Miles Allinson","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43516762980413,"sku":null,"price":31.34,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/7689\/2989\/files\/9781925106824.jpg?v=1787572188","url":"https:\/\/www.palmleaf.com.au\/products\/fever-of-animals","provider":"Palmleaf","version":"1.0","type":"link"}