Lightning
Volk, Felicity

RRP
A$29.99

Amid the chaos of sweeping bushfires, Persia gives birth alone at home with tragic consequences. Traumatised and grieving, she travels north, and encounters Ahmed, a refugee fleeing deportation and his past in Pakistan.

So begins a road trip to the dead heart of Australia, a journey that transcends the limits of ordinary experience. In Persia and Ahmed's world, ancient winds wreak havoc across generations, lightning ignites flames that both destroy and rejuvenate, and water drowns then delivers. Hearts break, days are leavened with loss, laughter kills and cinnamon preserves.

Lightning is an odyssey across continents and centuries that explores identity and connection, and our yearning to reveal ourselves even when cloaked in crippling grief. A glorious feat of magic realism, and a moving meditation on finding hope in the rubble of our lives, Lightning celebrates the way our stories and their telling keep us alive when all else is pulling us under.

Author Information

Felicity Volk studied English literature and law at the University of Queensland before joining Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. After diplomatic postings in Bangladesh and Laos, and following the birth of her two daughters, she began writing for publication. With fellowships from the Eleanor Dark Foundation (Varuna - the Writers' Centre) and a grant from the ACT Government, Felicity wrote a collection of short stories - several of which have won awards - and her first novel, Lightning. Based in Canberra, Felicity is working on her second novel.