Winner - Miles Franklin Award 2012

THE 2012 MILES FRANKLIN LITERARY AWARD WINNER

Congratulations to Anna Funder for adding the 2012 Miles Franklin Award, Australia's top gong for writing, to her impressive haul of awards and prizes for her debut novel. And you can pick up your copy of this future classic from Abbey's for a low $19.50 (RRP $22.95) until 30 June.

 ALL THAT I AM by Anna Funder (Penguin Australia)

About the book

The gripping first novel by Anna Funder, the acclaimed author of Stasiland, based on a true story. All That I Am, is moving and beautifully written, equal parts a love story, thriller and testament to individual heroism. It evokes books like Irene Nemirovsky's Suite Francaise [Vintage Classic], Bernard Schlink's The Reader and William Boyd's Restless [Hardback - Limited Stock Bargain] - intelligent, powerful novels that appeal to a wide audience.

'When Hitler came to power I was in the bath. The wireless in the living room was turned up loud, but all that drifted down to me were waves of happy cheering, like a football match. It was Monday afternoon . . .’

Ruth Becker, defiant and cantankerous, is living out her days in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. She has made an uneasy peace with the ghosts of her past – and a part of history that has been all but forgotten.

Another lifetime away, it's 1939 and the world is going to war. Ernst Toller, self-doubting revolutionary and poet, sits in a New York hotel room settling up the account of his life.

When Toller's story arrives on Ruth's doorstep their shared past slips under her defences, and she's right back among them – those friends who predicted the brutality of the Nazis and gave everything they had to stop them. Those who were tested – and in some cases found wanting – in the face of hatred, of art, of love, and of history.

Based on real people and events, All That I Am is a masterful and exhilarating exploration of bravery and betrayal, of the risks and sacrifices some people make for their beliefs, and of heroism hidden in the most unexpected places. Anna Funder confirms her place as one of our finest writers with this gripping, compassionate, inspiring first novel.

Review

Ruth Becker, a survivor of Hitler's Germany, now lives in Bondi, where she is coming to terms with getting old. One day a package turns up on her doorstep and catapults her back to her turbulent youth in the German Resistance. It is here we meet the unforgettable character Dora and the playwright Ernst Toller. Based on real people and events, I found myself getting lost in this incredible story of stoic heroism and resilience. Funder's much anticipated first novel was well worth the wait. Greg ~ Abbey's 

About Anna Funder

Anna Funder is the author of the international bestseller Stasiland, which won the 2004 Samuel Johnson Prize and was published in 20 countries and translated into 15 languages. She is the recipient of numerous awards, and a former DAAD and Rockefeller Foundation Fellow. 'All that I Am' has also won this year's Indie Award, ABIA Book of the Year, Barbara Jefferis Award, ABA Nielsen Booksellers Choice Award. Yes, it's good.

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