The Book

"Love is never enough, but it is all we have."

Richard Flanagan's previous novels, including Gould's Book of Fish, have been some of the most acclaimed and beloved works of fiction in recent years. He has been described as "a master of sleight of hand, adept at using words to conjure worlds, an indefatigable artist" by Michiko Kakutani in The New York Times. His explosive fourth novel holds a mirror to contemporary Australia. In its terrifying reflection we see the image of the Doll, a 26-year-old Sydney pole dancer – a flawed woman, racist, obsessed with money – who finds her life suddenly being destroyed by the things she has up until that moment most firmly believed in. The Unknown Terrorist is a relentless tour de force that has been praised around the world. It paints a devastating picture of a contemporary society gone haywire, where the ceaseless drumbeat of terror alert levels, newsbreaks, and fear of the unknown pushes a nation ever closer to breaking point.

UPDATE: Dreamworks has optioned The Unknown Terrorist for a major movie.

UPDATE: In a bizarre mirroring of the novel itself, The Unknown Terrorist made headlines in Australia and overseas when a patron was thrown out of a Cairns bar for reading the book, which reportedly made other drinkers fearful. Read more...

UPDATE: The Unknown Terrorist has been named one of the Washington Post's Books of 2007.