Rain Birds

Rain Birds
ISBN: 9781863959827
Publication Date: 28 August 2017

Alan and Pina have lived in isolated Boney Point for thirty years. Now they are dealing with Alan's devastating early-onset Alzheimer's diagnosis. As he is cast adrift in the depths of his own mind, Pina is left to face the consequences alone, until the arrival of a flock of black cockatoos seems to tie him, somehow, to the present.

Nearby, conservation biologist Arianna Brandt is involved in trying to reintroduce the threatened glossy black cockatoos into the wilds of Murrungowar National Park. Alone in the bush, with her birds failing to thrive, Arianna's personal demons start to overwhelm her and risk undoing everything.

At first, when the two women's paths cross, they appear at loggerheads, but are they ultimately invested in the same outcome, even if for different reasons Rain Birds is an accomplished and unforgettable novel examining personal tragedy as set against global and environmental responsibilities, and how we negotiate our often-conflicting ideals.

About the Author

Harriet McKnight's work has been shortlisted for the 2014 Overland VU Short Story Prize, the 2015 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize, and the 2016 Overland Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize. She works as Managing Editor of The Canary Press. Rain Birds is her debut novel.