The Bamboo Flute

Description

Winner of the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award for Younger Readers 1993 '[An] evocative, emotionally charged coming-of-age story' - Publisher's Weekly Twelve-year-old Paul is a solitary boy, interested in music and conscious of the troubled spirits of those around him - especially his father. He has few friends because he lives on a farm. The town kids and the teacher ignore him or tease him. One day Paul encounters a tramp, Eric the Red, camped on the farm. Eric shows him how to make a flute from bamboo. Paul's mother encourages his musical interests, but Paul knows that he can't tell his father what he is doing. His teacher later confiscates the flute before he can finish it, but he sets out to make another, in secret. Meanwhile, the district is on the lookout for Eric the Red, accusing him of stealing sheep. Will Paul have the courage to stand up for him, revealing his link with Eric? First published in 1992, THE BAMBOO FLUTE was Garry Disher's first novel for children. It is an evocative story of hardship, hope, respect and recognition set during the Depression.

GARRY DISHER grew up on a wheat and wool farm in South Australia. He has an MA in Australian History and has lived, worked and travelled in England, Italy, Israel, the USA and southern Africa. In 1978 he was awarded a creative writing fellowship to Stanford University, where he wrote his first collection of short stories. Garry worked as a writing lecturer between the years 1980 and 1988, before becoming a full-time writer. He has published over fifty books, including short story collections, literary novels, writers' handbooks and award-winning crime thrillers and children's titles.

'From its exquisite opening line to the moving finale, this elegantly delineated tale never strikes a false note... Disher is a gifted writer... [An] evocative, emotionally charged coming-of-age story... The only downside to this book is its brevity. Like a particularly savoury appetizer, it simply whets the reader's appetite for more.' - Publisher's Weekly