Michelle de Kretser was born in Sri Lanka and emigrated to Australia when she was fourteen. Educated in Melbourne and Paris, she is the author of four novels, including the Miles Franklin Award–winning Questions of Travel and the Man Booker Prize longlisted The Lost Dog. She is currently an associate of the English Department at the University of Sydney.
Praise for Springtime
“This is a gorgeous, delicately surprising piece of writing. . . .
It's like spirit photography, all fuzzy outlines and unaccountable
light: a snapshot of something that may or may not exist.”
—Terrence Rafferty, The New York Times Book Review
"Springtime is a small and beautifully crafted book, all shining,
perfectly polished sentences. It's slight enough to finish in one
sitting, but restrain yourself: Savor every word of it." —Constance
Grady, Vox's "18 New Books to Read this Summer"
"De Kretser, author of four well–received novels, is a writer who
other writers admire. Hilary Mantel, no less, has praised de
Kretser for her 'sharp, almost hallucinatory detail.'" —Sarah
Murdoch, The Toronto Star
“Each bite–sized chapter of this charming book is punctuated by a
revelation, whether mundane or otherworldly, that reminds us that
we all inhabit not just space, but time. It's a fast and
captivating read, leaving us to wonder what we might be missing as
we wander through the landscapes of our own lives.” —Ginny Greene,
The Minneapolis Star Tribune
"A young scholar is haunted by literal and metaphorical ghosts. . .
Frances is adjusting to her new life not only as a Sydney resident,
but as the lover of Charlie, who's left his marriage and his young
son, Luke, to live with her. To mitigate against her
disorientation—particularly when Luke comes to visit—Frances walks
her dog through her new neighborhood. When she keeps glimpsing a
woman no one else can see, wearing "an old–fashioned dress" and
standing in a lushly landscaped backyard, she feels unsettled. . .
De Kretser has crafted a story that is somewhere shy of novella,
but the brevity suits not only the abruptness of the intrusions in
Frances' life, but also de Kretser's knack for focusing on just a
few charged details. Indeed, this is a story about perception as
much as it is a kind of ghost story. . . A subtle and intellectual
take on the supernatural." —Kirkus Reviews
"All the traditional pleasures of a ghost story are revived, and
cleverly transformed, in de Kretser's taut, nimble, atmospheric
short novel. . . Readers will retain the precise, startling images
powering de Kretser's prose—azaleas growing 'as big as
fists'—rendering even loved ones as unknowable as the world
beyond." —Publishers Weekly
“De Kretser's prose is as lush and evocative as the plantlife
surrounding and intoxicating her protagonist.” —Christopher Shultz,
LitReactor
“A serious international novelist of the first rank.” —The
Economist
"A dark gem of a book . . . .One reads Springtime not for its shock
value––this tale is much more subtle than that––but for the way De
Kretser explores the nature of ambiguity and for her deliciously
unsettling descriptions." —Andrew Wilson, The Independent
“[Springtime is] a wonderful reminder of the good things that can
happen when publishers take on shorter works
.It's a ghost story,
albeit a thrillingly self–aware and lightfooted one
.While
Springtime is preternaturally alert to its antecedents––despite the
bell–like clarity of de Kretser's prose the story suggests
something of a thrilling sublimation of Henry James's supernatural
fiction––it is also exquisitely modern.” —James Bradley, The
Australian
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