Same Old Story Every Year Book

The Gathering is the first book by Isobelle Carmody that I have read. I read it because I was teaching a year 11 English class who were studying it at the time. I had to finish it quickly so that I could be of assistance to the students in their analysis tasks and as it is a full length, small-text novel, I thought this would be a struggle. But it wasn’t! I found it a real page turning book. Not only because of the nice short chapters, but also because of the way Carmody writes. There are some lines in there that I just ache over because I find myself wishing I had written that. I’m talking in terms of metaphors, mood and imagery. She really knows how to get you to see or smell or hear something vividly. The plot has been threaded together very well and the course of events is very interesting, opening up new mysteries for the reader in just about every chapter. There is a whisper of mysteries yet unanswered by the end and I’m not sure whether this is unsatisfying or just brilliant. I would now like to read more of Isobelle Carmody’s novels. Yet another author for me, as a new author, to learn from.