The Hanging Garden

"Indisputably one of the century's greatest writers." --Annie Proulx "The Hanging Garden is a novel for our time--a story about parentless children, mistreated by a world that, by its lights, intends no harm but nonetheless does enduring damage." --The New York Times Book Review (cover review, 05/26/13) From the Nobel Prize-winning author of The Eye of the Storm comes a vivid, visceral tale of childhood friendship and sexual awakening from beyond the echoes of World War II. Sydney, Australia, 1942. Two children, on the cusp of adolescence, have been spirited away from the war in Europe and given shelter in a house on Neutral Bay, taken in by the charity of an old widow who wants little to do with them. The boy, Gilbert, has escaped the Blitz. The girl, Eirene, lost her father in a Greek prison. Left to their own devices, the children forge a friendship of startling honesty, forming a bond of uncommon complexity that they sense will shape their destinies for years to come. Patrick White's posthumously discovered novel, The Hanging Garden, which represents the first part of what was intended to be his final masterpiece, is a breathtaking and important literary event. Seamlessly shifting among points of view, and written in dazzling prose, Patrick White's mastery of style and highly inventive storytelling will transport you as the work of few writers can.

About the Author :
Patrick White was born in England in 1912 and raised in Australia. He became the most revered figure in modern Australian literature, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1973. He died in September 1990.

Review :
"The Hanging Garden is a novel for our time--a story about parentless children, mistreated by a world that, by its lights, intends no harm but nonetheless does enduring damage....David Marr, White's biographer, and others dedicated to White's memory, decided to give us The Hanging Garden. They were right to do so, and we should thank them for it." --John Sutherland, The New York Times Book Review "The creative intelligence behind the prose is as intense and the characterization as deft as anywhere in White...The world is a richer place now that we have The Hanging Garden." --J.M. Coetzee, The New York Review of Books "[The Hanging Garden is] a beautifully executed, deeply moving story about the blossoming young love in a dangerous and unpredictable world....A powerful novel about loss and love that fans of literary fiction will appreciate." --Library Journal "[The Hanging Garden is] a complete, complex, and beautiful portrait, an important addition to classic contemporary fiction." --Publishers Weekly (starred) "[The Hanging Garden] is, therefore, but a glimpse--a tantalizing, sensate, glimpse--of one of the twentieth century's top writers, in raw but still beautiful form." --Booklist "Patrick White re-creates the world by depicting the life we think we know in an entirely original and luminous way. Everything about The Hanging Garden, his final novel, is thrilling, consummate, and revelatory....A rare and wonderful gift to White devotees and a perfect introduction for new readers." --Peter Cameron, author of Coral Glynn "Atmospheric and unsettling. White's writing is infused with a powerful sense of yearning and loss. A book poignant with the uncertainty and bewilderment of childhood's passing." --Tan Twan Eng, author of The Garden of Evening Mists "One of the most vivid, erotically charged, emotionally wrenching works of fiction I've read this century." --The Canberra Times (Australia) "White is a mesmerizing narrator whose prose illuminates the most ordinary object and event in new and gripping ways....[He] was one of those writers who won the Nobel prize for literature because he really deserved it." --Thomas Keneally, The Guardian "[Patrick White] slashes through euphemism and distraction to reach a linguistic plane on which he can say what things actually are, in an idiom at once poetic and acute....Entering White's sanctum requires a purification ritual." --The Millions "[The Hanging Garden is] a complete, complex, and beautiful portrait, an important addition to classic contemporary fiction." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "White's novels [are] boldly ambitious, inventive, sensual, eloquent...shrewd and tender about its two protagonists." --The Spectator (United Kingdom) "The late, virtuosic performance of a master. Here is White conjuring in 200 pages one of the most vivid, erotically charged, emotionally wrenching works of fiction, I've read this century." --The Age (Australia) "The Hanging Garden returns fiction to greatness. Reading it brings exhilaration, tinged with dismay at our diminished expectations of the literary novel....A gift." --The Monthly (Australia) "White's incessant questions--Is there anything beyond the physical world? May there be loving human unions beyond the carnal?--are posed here in ways as profound and subtle as anywhere else in his work. The Hanging Garden recalls us to the truth that great novels are those where the free play of the author's imagination reveals the fetters of gender or caste we wear in reality." --The Australian "Here, too, is the Sydney of White's childhood--lush, humid, sensual, a magic place in which children might hide themselves...It is an elegant, elegiac ending to a work that--however conceived in its full extent--brims with freshness and acuity. The Hanging Garden may be unfinished, but it does not feel incomplete." --Peter Pierce, The Canberra Times "Always engaging and intermittently brilliant." --Australian Book Review "The Hanging Garden "is a novel for our time--a story about parentless children, mistreated by a world that, by its lights, intends no harm but nonetheless does enduring damage....David Marr, White's biographer, and others dedicated to White's memory, decided to give us "The Hanging Garden." They were right to do so, and we should thank them for it. "John Sutherland, The New York Times Book Review" The creative intelligence behind the prose is as intense and the characterization as deft as anywhere in White...The world is a richer place now that we have "The Hanging Garden." "J.M. Coetzee, The New York Review of Books" ["The Hanging Garden" is] a beautifully executed, deeply moving story about the blossoming young love in a dangerous and unpredictable world....A powerful novel about loss and love that fans of literary fiction will appreciate. "Library Journal" ["The Hanging Garden" is] a complete, complex, and beautiful portrait, an important addition to classic contemporary fiction. "Publishers Weekly (starred)" ["The Hanging Garden"] is, therefore, but a glimpse--a tantalizing, sensate, glimpse--of one of the twentieth century's top writers, in raw but still beautiful form. "Booklist" Patrick White re-creates the world by depicting the life we think we know in an entirely original and luminous way. Everything about "The Hanging Garden," his final novel, is thrilling, consummate, and revelatory....A rare and wonderful gift to White devotees and a perfect introduction for new readers. "Peter Cameron, author of Coral Glynn" Atmospheric and unsettling. White's writing is infused with a powerful sense of yearning and loss. A book poignant with the uncertainty and bewilderment of childhood's passing. "Tan Twan Eng, author of The Garden of Evening Mists" One of the most vivid, erotically charged, emotionally wrenching works of fiction I've read this century. "The Canberra Times (Australia)" White is a mesmerizing narrator whose prose illuminates the most ordinary object and event in new and gripping ways....[He] was one of those writers who won the Nobel prize for literature because he really deserved it. "Thomas Keneally, The Guardian" [Patrick White] slashes through euphemism and distraction to reach a linguistic plane on which he can say what things actually are, in an idiom at once poetic and acute....Entering White's sanctum requires a purification ritual. "The Millions" ["The Hanging Garden" is] a complete, complex, and beautiful portrait, an important addition to classic contemporary fiction. "Publishers Weekly (starred review)" White's novels [are] boldly ambitious, inventive, sensual, eloquent shrewd and tender about its two protagonists. "The Spectator (United Kingdom)" The late, virtuosic performance of a master. Here is White conjuring in 200 pages one of the most vivid, erotically charged, emotionally wrenching works of fiction, I've read this century. "The Age (Australia)" "The Hanging Garden "returns fiction to greatness. Reading it brings exhilaration, tinged with dismay at our diminished expectations of the literary novel....A gift. "The Monthly (Australia)" White's incessant questions--Is there anything beyond the physical world? May there be loving human unions beyond the carnal?--are posed here in ways as profound and subtle as anywhere else in his work. The Hanging Garden recalls us to the truth that great novels are those where the free play of the author's imagination reveals the fetters of gender or caste we wear in reality. "The Australian" Here, too, is the Sydney of White's childhood--lush, humid, sensual, a magic place in which children might hide themselves It is an elegant, elegiac ending to a work that--however conceived in its full extent--brims with freshness and acuity. The Hanging Garden may be unfinished, but it does not feel incomplete. "Peter Pierce, The Canberra Times" Always engaging and intermittently brilliant. "Australian Book Review"" ""The Hanging Garden "is a novel for our time--a story about parentless children, mistreated by a world that, by its lights, intends no harm but nonetheless does enduring damage....David Marr, White's biographer, and others dedicated to White's memory, decided to give us "The Hanging Garden." They were right to do so, and we should thank them for it."--John Sutherland, "The New York Times Book Review ""The creative intelligence behind the prose is as intense and the characterization as deft as anywhere in White...The world is a richer place now that we have "The Hanging Garden.""--J.M. Coetzee, "The New York Review of Books " "["The Hanging Garden" is] a beautifully executed, deeply moving story about the blossoming young love in a dangerous and unpredictable world....A powerful novel about loss and love that fans of literary fiction will appreciate."--"Library Journal ""["The Hanging Garden" is] a complete, complex, and beautiful portrait, an important addition to classic contemporary fiction."--"Publishers Weekly" (starred) "["The Hanging Garden"] is, therefore, but a glimpse--a tantalizing, sensate, glimpse--of one of the twentieth century's top writers, in raw but still beautiful form."--"Booklist" "Patrick White re-creates the world by depicting the life we think we know in an entirely original and luminous way. Everything about "The Hanging Garden," his final novel, is thrilling, consummate, and revelatory....A rare and wonderful gift to White devotees and a perfect introduction for new readers."--Peter Cameron, author of "Coral Glynn ""Atmospheric and unsettling. White's writing is infused with a powerful sense of yearning and loss. A book poignant with the uncertainty and bewilderment of childhood's passing."--Tan Twan Eng, author of "The Garden of Evening Mists ""One of the most vivid, erotically charged, emotionally wrenching works of fiction I've read this century."--"The Canberra Times" (Australia) "["The Hanging Garden"] is, therefore, but a glimpse--a tantalizing, sensate, glimpse--of one of the twentieth century's top writers, in raw but still beautiful form."--"Booklist" "Patrick White re-creates the world by depicting the life we think we know in an entirely original and luminous way. Everything about "The Hanging Garden," his final novel, is thrilling, consummate, and revelatory....A rare and wonderful gift to White devotees and a perfect introduction for new readers."--Peter Cameron, author of "Coral Glynn ""Atmospheric and unsettling. White's writing is infused with a powerful sense of yearning and loss. A book poignant with the uncertainty and bewilderment of childhood's passing."--Tan Twan Eng, author of "The Garden of Evening Mists ""One of the most vivid, erotically charged, emotionally wrenching works of fiction I've read this century."--"The Canberra Times" (Australia) "White is a mesmerizing narrator whose prose illuminates the most ordinary object and event in new and gripping ways....[He] was one of those writers who won the Nobel prize for literature because he really deserved it."--Thomas Keneally, "The Guardian " "[Patrick White] slashes through euphemism and distraction to reach a linguistic plane on which he can say what things actually are, in an idiom at once poetic and acute....Entering White's sanctum requires a purification ritual."--"The Millions" "["The Hanging Garden" is] a complete, complex, and beautiful portrait, an important addition to classic contemporary fiction."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "White's novels [are] boldly ambitious, inventive, sensual, eloquent...shrewd and tender about its two protagonists."--"The""Spectator "(United Kingdom) "The late, virtuosic performance of a master. Here is White conjuring in 200 pages one of the most vivid, erotically charged, emotionally wrenching works of fiction, I've read this century."--"The Age "(Australia) " "Patrick White re-creates the world by depicting the life we think we know in an entirely original and luminous way. Everything about "The Hanging Garden," his final novel, is thrilling, consummate, and revelatory....A rare and wonderful gift to White devotees and a perfect introduction for new readers."--Peter Cameron, author of "Coral Glynn ""Atmospheric and unsettling. White's writing is infused with a powerful sense of yearning and loss. A book poignant with the uncertainty and bewilderment of childhood's passing."--Tan Twan Eng, author of "The Garden of Evening Mists ""One of the most vivid, erotically charged, emotionally wrenching works of fiction I've read this century."--"The Canberra Times" (Australia) "White is a mesmerizing narrator whose prose illuminates the most ordinary object and event in new and gripping ways....[He] was one of those writers who won the Nobel prize for literature because he really deserved it."--Thomas Keneally, "The Guardian " "[Patrick White] slashes through euphemism and distraction to reach a linguistic plane on which he can say what things actually are, in an idiom at once poetic and acute....Entering White's sanctum requires a purification ritual."--"The Millions" "["The Hanging Garden" is] a complete, complex, and beautiful portrait, an important addition to classic contemporary fiction."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "White's novels [are] boldly ambitious, inventive, sensual, eloquent...shrewd and tender about its two protagonists."--"The""Spectator "(United Kingdom) "The late, virtuosic performance of a master. Here is White conjuring in 200 pages one of the most vivid, erotically charged, emotionally wrenching works of fiction, I've read this century."--"The Age "(Australia) " """The Hanging Garden "returns fiction to greatness. Reading it brings exhilaration, tinged with dismay at our diminished expectations of the literary novel....A gift."--"The Monthly "( "Like all great impressionistic artists, Patrick White recreates the world by depicting the life we think we know in an entirely original and luminous way. Everything about "The Hanging Garden," his final novel, is thrilling, consummate, and revelatory. Its belated publication is a rare and wonderful gift to White devotees and a perfect introduction for new readers."--Peter Cameron, author of "Coral Glynn ""Atmospheric and unsettling. White's writing is infused with a powerful sense of yearning and loss. A book poignant with the uncertainty and bewilderment of childhood's passing."--Tan Twan Eng, author of "The Garden of Evening Mists ""White is a mesmerizing narrator whose prose illuminates the most ordinary object and event in new and gripping ways....[He] was one of those writers who won the Nobel prize for literature because he really deserved it."--Thomas Keneally, "The Guardian " "[Patrick White] slashes through euphemism and distraction to reach a linguistic plane on which he can say what things actually are, in an idiom at once poetic and acute....Entering White's sanctum requires a purification ritual."--"The Millions" "["The Hanging Garden" is] a complete, complex, and beautiful portrait, an important addition to classic contemporary fiction."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "One of the most vivid, erotically charged, emotionally wrenching works of fiction I've read this century."--"The Canberra Times" (Australia) "White's novels [are] boldly ambitious, inventive, sensual, eloquent...shrewd and tender about its two protagonists."--"The""Spectator "(United Kingdom) "The late, virtuosic performance of a master. Here is White conjuring in 200 pages one of the most vivid, erotically charged, emotionally wrenching works of fiction, I've read this century."--"The Age "(Australia) " """The Hanging Garden "returns fiction to greatness. Reading it brings exhilaration, tinged with dismay at our diminished "[Patrick White] slashes through euphemism and distraction to reach a linguistic plane on which he can say what things actually are, in an idiom at once poetic and acute....Entering White's sanctum requires a purification ritual."--"The Millions" "One of the most vivid, erotically charged, emotionally wrenching works of fiction I've read this century."--"The Canberra Times" (Australia) "Atmospheric and unsettling. White's writing is infused with a powerful sense of yearning and loss. A book poignant with the uncertainty and bewilderment of childhood's passing."--Tan Twan Eng, author of "The Garden of Evening Mists," shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize "White is a mesmerizing narrator whose prose illuminates the most ordinary object and event in new and gripping ways....[He] was one of those writers who won the Nobel prize for literature because he really deserved it."--Thomas Keneally, "The Guardian" "White's novels [are] boldly ambitious, inventive, sensual, eloquent...shrewd and tender about its two protagonists."--"The""Spectator "(United Kingdom) "The late, virtuosic performance of a master. Here is White conjuring in 200 pages one of the most vivid, erotically charged, emotionally wrenching works of fiction, I've read this century."--"The Age "(Australia) " """The Hanging Garden "returns fiction to greatness. Reading it brings exhilaration, tinged with dismay at our diminished expectations of the literary novel....A gift."--"The Monthly "(Australia) "White's incessant questions--Is there anything beyond the physical world? May there be loving human unions beyond the carnal?--are posed here in ways as profound and subtle as anywhere else in his work. The Hanging Garden recalls us to the truth that great novels are those where the free play of the author's imagination reveals the fetters of gender or caste we wear in reality."--"The Australian ""Here, too, is the Sydney of White's childhood--lush, humid, sensual, a magic