WINNER OF THE MILES FRANKLIN LITERARY AWARD 2017

He hated the word 'retirement', but not as much as he hated the word 'village', as if ageing made you a peasant or a fool. Herein lives the village idiot.

Professor Frederick Lothian, retired engineer, world expert on concrete and connoisseur of modernist design, has quarantined himself from life by moving to a retirement village. His wife, Martha, is dead and his two adult children are lost to him in their own ways. Surrounded and obstructed by the debris of his life - objects he has collected over many years and tells himself he is keeping for his daughter - he is determined to be miserable, but is tired of his existence and of the life he has chosen.

When a series of unfortunate incidents forces him and his neighbour, Jan, together, he begins to realise the damage done by the accumulation of a lifetime's secrets and lies, and to comprehend his own shortcomings. Finally, Frederick Lothian has the opportunity to build something meaningful for the ones he loves.

Humorous, poignant and galvanising by turns, Extinctions is a novel about all kinds of extinction - natural, racial, national and personal - and what we can do to prevent them.

MY THOUGHTS : Read this along with my bookgroup and was an interesting choice for discussion exploring how our lives are shaped by the decisions we make and how we are influenced by events in our past , present and future. Fred is our protagonist and although it is hard to like him we come to understand the anguish of his choices and his making sense of his own mortality. This reader felt both sadness, humour and loathing which made for a worthwhile reading experience.

Travelling to Balingup with company.

Thanks very much for yet another wish list tag, jeniwren.
And for the cute little BC stickers too.

A worthwhile read, well written and with a well paced narrative. It certainly would make for an interesting group discussion.

The issues covered are complex and multilayered and of course can't be 'solved' or tied up neatly at the end (and thankfully Wilson doesn't attempt to) but it's definitely a beginning. Personally I found it a little disconcerting and uncomfortable reading at times, unfortunately seeing my own father reflected in a couple of Fred's less than endearing characteristics. Other parts I found engaging and also sometimes amusing. The book allows and encourages a wide range of responses and emotions to the various characters and situations, which of course is a direct result of the mature and insightful writing.


I can't find this on anyone's wish list and already have far too many books in the car (still travelling) so think it would be best wild released.

Left on the book exchange shelf in the laundry.


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