-
A luminous look at a city at a time of change, a time when the building of the Sydney Opera House was a reach for greatness.’
—
-
Olsson’s writing is beautiful, captivating, and is enough in itself to recommend this book … Her descriptions are vivid, evocative.’
—
-
A classic in the making.’
—
-
Evocative, learned and moving...’
—
-
This is a novel with a sharp eye, a warm heart and sprawling ambitions, painted on the most splendid canvas of all.’
—
-
Beautiful and glowing … a book that glows with golden light, with arguments about art and belief, while it is also infused with the politics of its characters and its time.’
—
-
Shell is a novel packed with ideas, rich in detail and dense with research … as clear and delicate as liquid glass … ’
—
-
A beautifully crafted, spellbinding story of love, loss and identity, set in the shadow of the Vietnam War, for readers who loved All the Light We Cannot See and The Goldfinch.’
—
-
‘This narrative of war and hope, the old and the new world, makes Shell a novel of energy and enlightenment, and, to boot, a source of delightful reading.’
— Tom Keneally
-
A timely reminder of the importance of making a stand on the things that really matter...’
—
-
Olsson uses the building of the Sydney Opera House as the backdrop for a contemplative story of personal guilt and political upheaval.’
—
-
It has a sensory aesthetic and a gentle fluidity.’
—
-
Olsson delivers a brilliant snapshot of the swinging sixties, a poignant story of family and of emotional upheaval, with hope running like a thread of gold throughout all that happens.’
—
-
Olsson's subtle and nuanced tale displays how deeply the past - or at least one's perception of it - informs life in the present.’
—
-
‘A beautifully crafted novel about a fascinating time in our history. There is a luminous precision in every sentence.’
— Heather Rose, award-winning author of The Museum of Modern Love
-
‘Shell is a brilliant and beautiful novel, full of lyrical grace and sensitive observation … And at its centre: the Sydney Opera House; not simply an icon, but reimagined as art object, aspiration, and a kind of international dream …’
— Gail Jones, award-winning author of Five Bells and The Death of Noah Glass
-
‘A masterful novel, as ethereal and shimmering and magical as the book’s beating heart, the Sydney Opera House … It’s fair to say that Shell shares its majesty’
— Matthew Condon, award-winning author of The Trout Opera and Three Crooked Kings
-
‘Shell sanctifies the greatest of our ideas and being, from love, courage and betrayal to creation and dissent … It’s the kind of book that opens out its readers, making them think and feel. It’s the kind of book I’ll carry with me for all time’
— Ashley Hay, award-winning author of The Railwayman’s Wife
-
A shimmering love letter to Sydney, with the husk of the emerging Opera House its beating heart … Required reading’
—
-
‘It’s my Book of the Year, and it might even be the Book of the Decade, in the same way that Kim Scott’s That Deadman Dance turned out to be a Book of the Decade, for me.’
— Lisa Hill, ANZlitlovers.com
-
Beautifully written and historically significant … Olsson writes almost pointillist prose, her narrative illuminated by vivid dabs of insight, images that speak intimately to heart and eye.’
—
-
‘This is a novel the reader experiences on the skin as well as in the imagination … the narrative is a glinting prism through which Olsson examines questions of ethical, emotional, and creative life ’
— Susan Wyndham, Australian Book Review
-
Sweeping and uniquely Australian novel of art and culture, love and destiny.’
—
-
Like a melody that resonates long after the song ends, this is one of those rare books that lingers in the readers mind …’
—
-
Olsson transcribes Sydney into an exquisite visual palette, forcing the reader to pay attention to her stunning language. A complex and provocative novel of ideas.’
—
-
This masterfully written historical novel will be one of the most captivating books you will read the summer’
—
-
‘Kristina Olsson is such a graceful, wise and perceptive writer. The woman’s massive heart is one big literary taproot feeding all of us answers about the Australian condition’
— Trent Dalton, bestselling author of Boy Swallows Universe