The Rain Heron

Ren lives alone on the remote frontier of a country devastated by a coup. High on the forested slopes, she survives by hunting and trading - and forgetting. But when a young soldier comes to the mountains in search of a legendary creature, Ren is inexorably drawn into an impossible mission. As their lives entwine, unravel and erupt - as myth merges with reality - both Ren and the soldier are forced to confront what they regret, what they love, and what they fear. A vibrant homage to the natural world, bursting with beautiful landscapes and memorable characters, The Rain Heron is a beautifully told eco-fable about our fragile and dysfunctional relationships with the planet and with each other, the havoc we wreak and the price we pay. ’ Leah Kaminsky ‘In The Rain Heron, Robbie Arnott has turned his gaze to civilisation’s need to control and understand the natural world. This is a book full of heart—it’s so richly imagined, inventive and beautifully written, with a strong message, but is never didactic.’ J. P. Pomare ‘Delightful. He jumps playfully between different writing styles in every chapter…[An] enchanting story that also captures something very real about Tasmanian life.’ Guardian on Flames ‘A rich and memorable picture with prose of an exceptionally high quality.’ Kill Your Darlings on Flames ‘Arnott skilfully switches between different voices and genres in a trick reminiscent of David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas. The range he displays is impressive, swinging from fable to gothic horror to hardboiled detective story.’ Books+Publishing on Flames ‘An engrossing narrative of mystery and escape …You never quite know which direction the story will take off in as it creates a new kind of fairytale for our fire-prone landscape.’ Judges’ report on Flames, Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist 2019 ‘A book that delivers hard truths that urgently need to be heard.’ Books+Publishing ‘As luminescent as it is devastating, Arnott’s tightly wrought storytelling reveals the myriad harms we wreak both on our planet and on each other. It is mesmerising.’ Ruth Gilligan Shortlisted, Guardian’s Not the Booker Prize (for Flames), United Kingdom, 2019 Shortlisted, Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Fiction (for Flames), 2019 Longlisted, Indie Book Awards for Debut Fiction (for Flames), 2019 Shortlisted, UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing, NSW Premier's Literary Awards (for Flames), 2019 Shortlisted, Queensland Literary Awards: University of Queensland Fiction Book Award (for Flames), 2018 Shortlisted, Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction (for Flames), 2018 Shortlisted, Katheen Mitchell Award, 2019 Longlisted, ALS Gold Medal, 2019 Longlisted, Miles Franklin Literary Award, 2019 Shortlisted