‘Beautiful writing – tender and engaging. A wonderful novel’ FAVEL PARRETT
‘Gina Perry has written from the heart to create
a story of tenderness, struggle and love’ TONY BIRCH
‘A standout work of literary fiction … Understated, heartfelt, and ultimately a profound meditation on loss, love, and familial legacy’ LAURIE STEED
More reviews of My Father the Whale
Sometimes the family you need is the one you choose.
Ruby grows up on the road travelling Australia with her father Mitch, living out of their Kombi and busking for a living. It’s the only life Ruby has ever known and Mitch is the centre of her world.
But when their Kombi breaks down and they are stranded in the small coastal town of Whalers Bay Ruby is drawn to the town and its people and gets a glimpse of family life starkly different to her own. When Mitch is ready to leave Ruby is caught between her loyalty to her father and her yearning for something different.
When Mitch sweeps back in town and into Ruby’s adult life, his arrival is like a tidal wave, bringing more questions as Ruby grapples with the legacy of her childhood. For her, the only way forward is to confront the past and the secret of a mother Ruby’s never known … and what Mitch was escaping when he set out for a life on the road.
Shortlisted for the 2021 Harper Collins Banjo prize, My Father the Whale is now in bookshops, online and available as an audio book.
