Dusk

Robbie Arnott, author of Limberlost, winner of The Age Fiction Book of the Year 2023, returns with another stunning novel, Dusk, which deserves as much hype as all his other shortlisted and award-winning books.

Set in 19th century Tasmania, a puma the locals have called ‘Dusk’ is killing shepherds, and all those who attempt to stop the vicious deaths. When twins Iris and Floyd hear of a large bounty that’s been placed on Dusk, they seize their chance to claim it themselves. They have no work, money, or place to call home, but this bounty could change everything. However, they’re not the only ones who have heard of the sizeable reward for the puma’s death, and soon a race is on to survive – the puma, the harsh highlands and those within them.

Arnott takes the Western genre and sculpts it in his distinctive style of lyrical prose, compelling narrative, and mythic storytelling. Amid the beautiful landscape of the Tasmanian highlands, the wild habitat is both a place of serene tranquility and a game of survival. We learn, piece by piece, the twins’ story: of their escape from their parents’ dark past, and how the ruins they left behind still haunt them every day. But the people Iris and Floyd are when they enter that forest are not the same people who emerge at the end of the novel; there are personal revelations and new connections both formed and broken.

Of course, everything leads to the most pivotal character of all, the puma, Dusk, whose looming presence is a haunting and captivating terror. But where the real threat lies can only be determined in the wild, when money is weighed against survival, and judgement is put to the test. Dusk is a story of a forlorn past, a longing for something better, and ultimately of freedom.