Author Description

<p>A luminous and courageousstory about the hopes and dreams we all have for our lives and relationships,and the often fraught and unexpected ways they may be realised.</p> <p>Angela Savage draws us masterfully into the lives of Anna, an aidworker trying to settle back into life in Australia after more than a decade inSoutheast Asia; Meg, Anna's sister, who holds out hope for a child despiteseven fruitless years of IVF; Meg's husband Nate, and Mukda, a single mother inprovincial Thailand who wants to do the right thing by her son and parents.</p> <p>The women and their families' livesbecome intimately intertwined in the unsettling and extraordinary process oftrying to bring a child into the world across borders of class, culture andnationality. Rich in characterisation and feeling, <i>Mother of Pearl,</i> andthe timely issues it raises, will generate discussion amongst readerseverywhere.</p> <p><b>'This isa story of family and motherhood, and also a story of culture and exploitationthat asks us to think through the costs of our insatiable desire in the West tohave everything. What I find remarkable about this novel is how it refuses easyand lazy judgement, how it takes seriously questions of loss, longing, and ourhuman need to connect with each other.' -- ChristosTsiolkas, author of <i>The Slap</i></b></p>