The Drowner

The Drowner
Author Robert Drewe
Country Australia
Language English
Genre novel
Publisher Pan Macmillan, Australia
Publication date
1996
Media type Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages 329
ISBN 0732908582
Preceded by Our Sunshine
Followed by Grace

The Drowner (1996) is a novel by Australian author Robert Drewe. It was shortlisted for Miles Franklin Award, and won the Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction and New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Book of the Year in 1997.

Plot summary

In the late 19th century an Englishman irrigator or "drowner", Will Dance, utilises ancient water-knowledge and modern technology to save a drought-ridden town in Western Australia.

Reviews

  • Publishers' Weekly noted: "The desert mining town,..., comes fully to life, invigorated by crisp and moving portrayals of Drewe's minor characters and the monotonous beauty of the hostile (blessedly arid) countryside."[1]
  • Garth Crawford in Woroni Sstated: "In his mastery of image, and spare but beautiful descriptions of this quest, Drewe reveals his strongest claim to pre-eminence. The Drowner is by an author who enjoys words, weighs and places each without mistaking linguistic asceticism for aestheticism."[2]

Awards and nominations

Notes

A film adaptation of the novel is currently in development. The proposal lists John Collee as screenwriter with producers Stephen Van Mil and Robert Jones.[3]

References

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