Sorry - by Gail Jones (Paperback)

About the Book

In the remote Australian outback during World War II, the emotionally stuntedchild of an English couple is befriended by equally adrift strangers, in thisstory that explores the values of friendship, loyalty, and sacrifice.

Book Synopsis

"Jones's writing is fluid and memorable . . . the story proves powerful and poignant."--The Guardian

Sorry is set in the remote outback of Western Australia during World War II, where an English anthropologist and his wife raise a lonely child, Perdita. Her upbringing is far from ordinary: in a shack in the wilderness, with a self-absorbed father burying himself in books and an unstable mother whose obsession with Shakespeare forms the backbone of the girl's limited education.
Emotionally adrift, Perdita becomes friends with a deaf-mute boy, Billy, and a forsaken Aboriginal girl, Mary. Perdita and Mary come to call one another sister and to share a profound bond. The three misfit children are content with each other and their life in this distant corner of the world, until a terrible event lays waste to their lives.

Through this compelling story of Perdita's childhood, Gail Jones explores the values of friendship, loyalty, and sacrifice with a brilliance that has earned her numerous accolades.

Review Quotes

?The resilient daughter of a doomed, loveless couple narrates the luminous third novel from Australian Jones (Sixty Lights). Perdita Keene recalls her childhood as the Australian-born daughter of a British anthropologist and his wife, who come to the outback in 1930 for Perdita's WWI-veteran father Nicholas's fieldwork. Perdita is unwanted, and her mother, Stella, withdraws. Nicholas forces himself sexually on the local Aboriginal women. Among his victims is an orphaned teenager, Mary, who is brought from the local convent to take care of Perdita when Stella is hospitalized. Mary and Perdita develop a close, sisterly relationship as Mary teaches Perdita indigenous wisdom that is a far cry from what Stella and her beloved Shakespeare impart. Nicholas's violence precipitates a tragedy, and the expiation of Perdita's long-held guilt, for her father's crimes among other things, edifies this beautifully composed work.
--"Publisher's Weekly" Starred Review (June)



?Jones's writing is fluid and memorable . . . the story proves powerful and poignant.?
?"The Guardian"

?Jones has a marvelous ear for language . . . a novelist who deserves to be celebrated.?
?"The Telegraph"

?An elegantly written lament for lost opportunities.?
?"The Financial Times"

?In deft and vivid prose . . . Jones's gift for conjuring place and mood rarely falters.?
?"Times Literary Supplement"



Jones s writing is fluid and memorable . . . the story proves powerful and poignant.
"The Guardian"
Jones has a marvelous ear for language . . . a novelist who deserves to be celebrated.
"The Telegraph"
An elegantly written lament for lost opportunities.
"The Financial Times"
In deft and vivid prose . . . Jones s gift for conjuring place and mood rarely falters.
"Times Literary Supplement"


aJonesas writing is fluid and memorable . . . the story proves powerful and poignant.a
a"The Guardian"
aJones has a marvelous ear for language . . . a novelist who deserves to be celebrated.a
a"The Telegraph"
aAn elegantly written lament for lost opportunities.a
a"The Financial Times"
aIn deft and vivid prose . . . Jonesas gift for conjuring place and mood rarely falters.a
a"Times Literary Supplement"


aThe resilient daughter of a doomed, loveless couple narrates the luminous third novel from Australian Jones (Sixty Lights). Perdita Keene recalls her childhood as the Australian-born daughter of a British anthropologist and his wife, who come to the outback in 1930 for Perdita's WWI-veteran father Nicholas's fieldwork. Perdita is unwanted, and her mother, Stella, withdraws. Nicholas forces himself sexually on the local Aboriginal women. Among his victims is an orphaned teenager, Mary, who is brought from the local convent to take care of Perdita when Stella is hospitalized. Mary and Perdita develop a close, sisterly relationship as Mary teaches Perdita indigenous wisdom that is a far cry from what Stella and her beloved Shakespeare impart. Nicholas's violence precipitates a tragedy, and the expiation of Perdita's long-held guilt, for her father's crimes among other things, edifies this beautifully composed work.
--"Publisheras Weekly" Starred Review (June)

About the Author

Gail Jones is the author of two short-story collections, a critical monograph, and the novels Black Mirror, Sixty Lights, Dreams of Speaking, and Sorry. Shortlisted three times for the Miles Franklin Award, her prizes include the WA Premier's Award for Fiction, the Nita B. Kibble Award, the Steele Rudd Award, the Age Book of the Year Award, the Adelaide Festival Award for Fiction and the ASAL Gold Medal. She has also been shortlisted for international awards, including the IMPAC and the Prix Femina. Her fiction has been translated into nine languages. Gail worked in the Department of English at the University of Western Australia. In 2001 she received the Australian Universities Teaching Award for Humanities and the Arts. Her academic interests are in narrative, cinema, cultural studies, contemporary literature, and Australian literature.