After the Fire, A Still Small Voice

After the Fire, A Still Small Voice is the debut novel by author Evie Wyld published in August 2009 by Jonathan Cape in the UK and Pantheon Books in the US.[1] It won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize[2] and a Betty Trask Award.[3] and was also shortlisted for both the Orange Award for New Writers[4] and International Dublin Literary Award.[5]

After the Fire, A Still Small Voice
First UK edition
AuthorEvie Wyld
Cover artistWallzo
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
PublisherJonathan Cape (UK)
Pantheon (US)
Publication date
2009
Media typePrint, Audio & eBook
Pages304
AwardsBetty Trask Award
John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
ISBN0-224-08887-4
823/.92
LC ClassPR6123.Y43 A69 2009

Plot introduction

The story is set in Queensland[6] on the East Coast of Australia and concerns two men from different generations, as described in the blurb on the back cover of the 2010 Vintage edition:

  • Frank is trying to escape his troubled past by running away to his family's beach shack. As he struggles to make friends with his neighbours and their precocious young daughter Sal, he discovers the community has fresh wounds of its own. A girl is missing, and when Sal too disappears, suspicion falls on Frank.
  • Decades earlier, Leon tries to hold together his family's cake shop as their suburban life crumbles in the aftermath of the Korean War. When war breaks out again, Leon must go from sculpting sugar figurines to killing young men as a conscript in the Vietnam War.

Title

The book's title is taken from 1 Kings 19:12.[7]

Reception
  • Lee Rourke in The Independent on Sunday rounds off his review saying "Wyld's writing is assured enough to elongate metaphor and symbolism, creating a novel both taut and otherworldly. This adroit examination of loss, lostness and trauma is the beginning of great things".[8]
  • The Observer has the following praise from Francesca Segal, "The landscape of Australia's east coast looms large in the book, wild and sinister, filled with light and tragedy. This is a sad and lovely novel from a talented new writer".[6]

Publication history
  • 2009, UK, Jonathan Cape, ISBN 0-224-08887-4, Pub date 13 Aug 2009, Paperback
  • 2009, US, Pantheon, ISBN 0-307-37846-2, Pub date 25 Aug 2009 Hardback
  • 2010, UK, Vintage, ISBN 0-09-953583-1, Pub date 22 Apr 2010, Paperback
  • 2010, Australia, Vintage, ISBN 1-74166-866-2, Pub date 1 Sep 2010, Paperback[9]
  • 2010, US, Vintage, ISBN 0-307-47338-4, Pub date 2 Nov 2010, Paperback
  • 2011, Australia, Bolinda, ISBN 1-74214-901-4, Pub date 2 Jan 2011, Audio CD, read by David Tredinnick[10]
  • 2012, Australia, Bolinda, ISBN 1-74311-358-7, Pub date 25 Jun 2012, MP3 CD

[11]

References
  1. "After the Fire, a Still Small Voice by Evie Wyld". Fantasticfiction.co.uk. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  2. Previous winners of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize Archived 1 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "The Betty Trask Prize and Awards". Christchurch City Libraries. 3 February 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  4. "Orange newsroom | Orange Award for New Writers Announces 2010 Shortlist". Newsroom.orange.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  5. McDonald, Andrew (13 April 2011). "Malouf, Silvey, Wyld make IMPAC Literary Award shortlist ·". Readings.com.au. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  6. Francesca Segal (6 September 2009). "After the Fire, a Still Small Voice by Evie Wyld". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  7. "After the Fire a Still Small Voice ~ Evie Wyld – dovegreyreader scribbles". Dovegreyreader.typepad.com. 19 April 2010. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  8. Lee Rourke (23 September 2009). "After The Fire, A Still Small Voice, By Evie Wyld – Reviews – Books". The Independent. London. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  9. After the Fire, A Still Small Voice by Evie Wyld – Books – Random House Books Australia Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  10. After the Fire, a Still Small Voice Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine from ISBNdb.com. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  11. www.fantasticfiction.co.uk Retrieved 18 November 2012.
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