The Thinning

Inga Simpson

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English

Hachette Australia
30 October 2024

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945); Thriller & suspense; Australian Fiction

ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- Set in the near future, Australia is suffering from the effects of climate change and a government veering towards totalitarianism. Fin has grown up in the dark sky regions of the central west, her father a famous astronomer and her mother a renowned astrophotographer. But as the world heads towards chaos, she has lived off-grid with her mother and other likeminded people, full of grief and anger - and ready to take action. As a total solar eclipse approaches, Fin must journey away from safety, and in the company of someone she has no reason to trust... A furiously-paced novel with moments of grace and wonder in the natural world. Lindy

A powerful literary page-turner about two young people in a race against time to reach a monumental solar eclipse, from famed Australian novelist Inga Simpson

'We haven't always lived like this . . .'

Fin grew up by an observatory, learning about telescopes and planets, inspired by the passions of her mother and father, then leaders in their fields of astrophotography and astronomy. Those days are long over. Now Fin, her mother, Dianella, and a band of outliers live deep off the grid, always on amber alert and always ready to run.

In the outside world, things are not good: extinctions and a loss of diversity threaten what's left of the environment. With a new disaster looming, Fin finds herself thrust into an unlikely partnership with a stranger who has appeared in their camp. Terry is one of a new breed of evolved humans, the Incompletes, who are widely distrusted. But the pair will need to work together during a dangerous journey if they are to play their part in a plan to help restore the natural world - and humankind.

The Thinning is both an exquisitely written novel of nature and urgent psychological suspense by the bestselling and acclaimed author of Willowman, The Last Woman in the World and Mr Wigg.

'A spine-tingling literary thriller that will keep you racing to the end. The Thinning blurs the lines between animal, human and adaptation, and provides a gripping glimpse of our possible future through a fascinating astrological lens. An emotional tribute to the natural world. Moving. Urgent. Beautifully written' KAREN VIGGERS, author of The Orchardist's Daughter

'Opened the cover; lost the rest of the day. Incandescent, righteously angry, superbly constructed. I am grateful for the reading experience, and grateful that the book was written and published' MICHAEL WINKLER, Miles Franklin Award-shortlisted author of Grimmish

'This is a book I wanted to race through and savour in equal measures. Simpson is a writer of astonishing insight into the ways humans simultaneously destroy and revere the environment, and The Thinning is an urgent, exceptional novel. Her best yet' ELEANOR LIMPRECHT, author of The Coast

Praise for Inga Simpson's award-nominated novels:

'Enthralling . . . a powerful allegory . . . every passage swells with the momentum of an action-flick. Each page is shaped with an impressive, world-building cinematic scope' Sydney Morning Herald

'Storytelling at its best. I was enthralled' SARAH WINMAN, author of Still Life

'I loved this - gorgeous, heartbreaking . . .' ROBBIE ARNOTT, author of Limberlost

By: Inga Simpson
Imprint: Hachette Australia
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 233mm, Width: 153mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 350g
ISBN: 9780733643514
ISBN 10: 0733643515
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 30 October 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Inga Simpson began her career as a professional writer for government before gaining a PhD in creative writing. In 2011, she took part in the Queensland Writers Centre Manuscript Development Program and, as a result, Hachette Australia published her first novel, Mr Wigg, in 2013. Nest, Inga's second novel, was published in 2014 and was longlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award and the Stella Prize and shortlisted for the ALS Gold Medal. Inga's third novel, the acclaimed Where the Trees Were, was published in 2016. Inga was awarded the final Eric Rolls Prize for her nature writing and has obtained a second PhD, exploring the history of Australian nature writers. Inga's account of her love of Australian nature and life with trees, Understory, was published in 2017. Her first book for children, The Book of Australian Trees, illustrated by Alicia Rogerson, was published in 2021. The Last Woman in the World, her critically acclaimed environmental thriller, was published in 2021 and shortlisted for the 2022 Fiction Indie Book Award. Her bestselling and critically acclaimed 2022 novel Willowman was shortlisted for the BookPeople Adult Fiction Book of the Year 2023 and in 2024 was selected by Australia's leading booksellers in BookPeople's 100 Must-Read Australian Novels. Inga lives on the New South Wales south coast among trees.