Wonders of a Godless World

An electrifying, tumultuous story of inner demons, desire and devastation.

On an unnamed island, in a Gothic hospital sitting in the shadow of a volcano, a wordless orphan girl works on the wards housing the insane and the incapable. She counts amongst her patients a virgin, an archangel, a duke and a witch.

Everything appears fine until a silent, unmoving and unnerving new patient arrives from foreign climes. He claims to be immortal. Suddenly strange phenomena occur, bizarre murders take place, and the lives of the patients and the island's inhabitants are thrown into turmoil. What happens between the orphan and her beguiling new patient is an extraordinary exploration of consciousness, reality and madness.

Reviews

‘McGahan is a fabulous writer, not only because of the quality of his writing but also because of his courage as an artist.’ SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

‘…this novel is an impressively sustained feat of imagination.’ AUSTRALIAN BOOK REVIEW

‘At the heart of this mad novel is a debate about madness itself. Extraordinary.’ THE TIMES

‘…I was totally swept up by the passion and energy of McGahan’s writing, the hint of something truly profound lurking within the narrative…I’ll be recommending it to as many people as possible.’ CANBERRA TIMES

‘The writing rises to invigorating heights.’ SUNDAY TASMANIAN

About the author

Since then his writing includes award-winning stage and screenplays. His third novel Last Drinks (2000) was shortlisted for multiple awards, including The Age Book of the Year and The Courier Mail Book of the Year, and won a Ned Kelly award for crime writing. In 2004 The White Earth won the Miles Franklin Literary Award, the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, The Age Book of the Year (Fiction) and the Courier Mail Book of the Year Award. It was also shortlisted for the Queensland Premier's Literary Awards that same year.