Synopses & Reviews
As if it will make up for her loss, they bring Hannah a duckling to care for. They were well meaning, and it could have done the trick. However, Hannah's focus on the duck progressively alienates those around her. As the duck takes over her world, past secrets are exposed. Will Hannah's life unravel completely? This funny, moving and insightful novel contemplates the chemistry between one person and another: a man and another man's wife; a woman and a duck; a woman and her dead mother; a drug addict and his drug. Beautifully written, it is a penetrating and compassionate view of marriage, dependency, obsession, addiction, and love.
Review
"Judith White's novel is sad but very funny at the same time. It's a perfect alternative to other summer reads because it's about grief and the effect it can have on someone when they've lost a loved one, plus it highlights just how everyone deals with extreme emotions." - Clapham Bookshop, London
About the Author
Judith White is a winner of the BNZ Katherine Mansfield Centenary Award and is twice a winner of New Zealand's
Sunday Star Times Short Story Competition. Her collection of short stories
Visiting Ghosts was shortlisted for the New Zealand Book Awards, and her first novel,
Across the Dreaming Night, was shortlisted for the Montana New Zealand Book of the Year.
The Elusive Language of Ducks is her second novel. She lives in New Zealand.