We love Stephanie Bishop's The Other Side of the World
Here’s a collection of testimonials from Readings staff who have read, and loved, the new novel from Australian author Stephanie Bishop – The Other Side of the World.
I was terribly impressed by The Other Side of the World. It’s evocative of its time and place – England and Australia in the sixties – yet has a timelessness about it that makes it totally relevant. The characters are finely drawn; they are people who you are interested in and empathise with. The story is a very sad one but its one that had me engaged from the beginning to the end. – Mark Rubbo, Managing Director
This novel about a family whose identity is torn three ways – between England, Australia & India – is a compulsive and enormously affecting read. Expect to see it in plenty of prize shortlists in the coming months. – Martin Shaw, Head Book Buyer
A brilliant work of art. Bishop’s intensely visceral writing has a haunting beauty reminiscent of the writings of Emily Brontë and Virginia Woolf. There is no doubt that this novel will launch Stephanie Bishop’s career as a major new international literary talent. It’s definitely my pick of 2015 and I would even be as bold to say that it’s now firmly made it in to my top 10 books of all time. – Emily Harms, Head of Marketing and Communications
It wasn’t long after I began reading this novel that I started sticking flags on passages that seemed exceptionally true to life, or particularly beautiful and original. Three quarters of the way through, I realised I had flagged outstanding passages so frequently that the flags appear to be a companion set of pages alongside the book itself – in truth, I could be rid of them all because the entire book should be flagged. This novel is, impossibly, beautiful and sublime. – Elke Power, Editor of Readings Monthly
I want to tell every closet cynic who might secretly think to themselves, ‘It can’t be that good’, that, oh yes indeed, it can. I started it late one evening this week, and read well into the night and long after I should have turned off my light. I was up early the next morning, with a plan to sneak a few extra chapters in on the tram, and read with tears in my eyes – so, yes, it’s that good. – Alison Huber, Incoming Head Book Buyer
A masterpiece of beautiful, restrained writing and a fascinating study of a marriage. One of the most affecting novels I’ve read in recent times. – Nina Kenwood, Digital Marketing Manager
Bishop made me realise that I had not forgotten, after all, those early years of parenting. Her evocative writing took me back there by the clothesline, through the smell of sausages and mash and the sense of stillness on hot mornings. This is a glorious book, in that every nuance is made real, and the tale of divided families is only secondary to the minutes of days that fill our time. Bishop has created a breathlessly beautiful novel about the endless pain of making our selves count. – Chris Gordon, Event Manager
