Dusk
A Novel
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A New Yorker best book of 2025 so far
“Arnott has an astonishing facility with language, and his prose imbues the Tasmanian wilderness with an extraordinary, immanent beauty . . . Starkly beautiful and deeply felt.” —James Bradley, The Guardian
"This is a propulsive novel of survival and betrayal, enriched by arresting depictions of nature." —The Economist
"Arresting . . . Readers will be utterly captivated by this atmospheric tale of danger and survival." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
For fans of North Woods and The Vaster Wilds, Dusk is a propulsive, moody, and atmospheric take on the Western.
In the distant highlands, a puma named Dusk is killing shepherds. Down in the lowlands, twins Iris and Floyd are out of work, money and friends. When they hear that a bounty has been placed on Dusk, they reluctantly decide to join the hunt. As they journey up into this wild, haunted country, they discover there's far more to the land and people of the highlands than they imagined. And as they close in on their prey, they're forced to reckon with conflicts both ancient and deeply personal.
From the critically acclaimed and award-winning author of The Rain Heron, Dusk is a masterful, mythical tale of loss, redemption, and survival.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Paternal twins plunge themselves into danger after joining the hunt for a bloodthirsty puma in this arresting novel from Australian author Arnott (The Rain Heron). Iris Renshaw and her brother, Floyd, are 37-year-old vagabonds who travel from place to place in search of work, food, and shelter. When they learn of a hefty bounty for a man-killing puma named Dusk, they leap at the opportunity. As they traverse the expansive and unforgiving Australian highlands on horseback, Floyd's chronic back trouble tethers him to Iris. The dynamic is nothing new; their tight-knit bond originates from looking out for each other during their hardscrabble upbringing, when they were raised by violent and alcoholic parents. Now, they are happy to have fled another town where "nobody they knew wanted to know them." As the puma continues her slaughter, the twins head farther into the bush along with fellow bounty hunter Patrick. Arnott imbues his descriptions of the pumas and Tasmanian highlands with an air of myth, as the twins pick up local lore on their travels, and the slow-burning narrative gains heat as the twins' attempts to track the puma are jeopardized by the devious Patrick and others. The striking landscape descriptions ("pumas stalked the wet air; hunters bled into the clouds. Great caches of ancient bones blended into the whiteness") are a perfect fit for the story's primal treachery. Readers will be utterly captivated by this atmospheric tale of danger and survival.
