The Pages by Murray Bail

The Pages

Murray Bail

I loved this little book and savoured every paragraph - it seemed to be written especially for me. But be warned it isn't an easy read - though it is compelling - and I never knew where the story was going next.

Extract
Below on the right, a purple sunlit plain appeared as if unfurled on a butcher's calendar. Patches of mist erased the red roof of a homestead and an entire paddock of merino sheep. It had something to do with ground and air temperature. To Erica, anything that suggested incompletion or hazy thoughts made her impatient - the years of training. Had she, by trying all her life to banish woolly thinking, become harsh - was she a hard woman?
Parallels
  • Voss by Patrick White
  • Eucalyptus by Murray Bail
  • A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore

Late night blues