When Things Are Alive They Hum

Hannah Bent

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English

Ultimo Press
01 June 2022

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

Australian Women’s Weekly Great Read

Shortlisted Indie Book Awards for Debut Fiction

Shortlisted MUD Literary Prize

Longlisted ABIA Award for General Fiction

Longlisted ABIA Matt Richell Award New Writer of the Year

‘Hannah Bent’s outstanding debut is a wise, wondrous celebration of life.’ – The Australian

Marlowe and Harper share a bond deeper than most sisters, shaped by the loss of their mother in childhood. For Harper, living with what she calls the Up syndrome and gifted with an endless capacity for wonder, Marlowe and she are connected by an invisible thread, like the hum that connects all things. For Marlowe, they are bound by her fierce determination to keep Harper, born with a congenital heart disorder, alive.

Now 25, Marlowe is finally living her own life abroad, pursuing her studies of a rare species of butterfly secure in the knowledge Harper’s happiness is complete, having found love with boyfriend, Louis. But then she receives the devastating call that Harper’s heart is failing. She needs a heart transplant but is denied one by the medical establishment because she is living with a disability. Marlowe rushes to her childhood home in Hong Kong to be by Harper’s side and soon has to answer the question – what lengths would you go to save your sister?

When Things Are Alive They Hum poses profound questions about the nature of love and existence, the ways grief changes us, and how we confront the hand fate has dealt us. Intensely moving, exquisitely written and literally humming with wonder, it is a novel that celebrates life in all its guises, and what comes after.

PRAISE FOR WHEN THINGS ARE ALIVE THEY HUM

‘compelling and tender’ – Suzanne Daniel, author of Allegra in Three Parts

By: Hannah Bent
Imprint: Ultimo Press
Country of Publication: Australia
Edition: Second Edition
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 130mm, Spine: 30mm
Weight: 338g
ISBN: 9781761150463
ISBN 10: 1761150464
Pages: 384
Publication Date: 01 June 2022
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Hannah Bent completed her Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art and Film from Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design in London. She undertook further study in both directing and screenwriting at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School and has a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Technology, Sydney. She was the 2013 recipient of the Ray Koppe Young Writers Award for her novel as a work in progress.