A Constant Hum

`We witness the full impact of the fires...and while the characters change, we're always mindful of their context. A Constant Hum's other strength is at the sentence level, and Bishop's descriptions have both an otherworldly and strong, realistic typicalness to them...It's easy to take a cynical view of the connected short-story collection [but] Bishop's collection takes a much more successful route, a collection linked together in tone.' * Readings * `A Constant Hum brings the reality of bushfire to life and should be compulsory reading for all Australians, especially city-dwellers.' * Books+Publishing (starred review) * `In this resonant collection, Bishop gives both scope and startling immediacy to one of Victoria's darkest days. These are indelible lives, and A Constant Hum is an essential, intimate charting of the farthest reaches of devastation and hope.' * Josephine Rowe * `A Constant Hum is a remarkable work of fiction, producing a suite of stories dealing with the fundamental human concerns of love, grief and recovery. Alice Bishop has the capacity to convey such emotions with tenderness, a lightness of touch and true craft. She is a writer of the highest quality.' * Tony Birch * `A Constant Hum is a beautiful book-often understated, but all the more devastating for this. The stories are delicate and keenly observed, exploring the difficult territories of grief and loss, homesickness and fear, and an enduring human resilience that always comes at a cost. Bishop is an elegant and lyrical writer, and these are finely wrought and tender stories, always pulsing with empathy and a lingering hope, even in the face of extremity and great pain.' * Fiona Wright * `These kaleidoscopic visions of fire, trauma and loss twist into a closely observed chronicle of people and place-of humanity and hope. Dazzling writing, acutely attentive to simple truths.' * Jonathan Green *