THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD "Gabriel Packard's raw debut grips your attention." "This debut novel... grabs you by the throat and holds on tight." ABC RADIO "Gabriel Packard's novel, The Painted Ocean, is an assured debut… The novel works as a gripping thriller, but… also [as] an allegory of a globalized world where forced labour is an all too common reality." "It is a literary page-turner." "In Gabriel Packard's debut novel, Lord of the Flies gets a fierce post-colonial, globalized twist." "It's a literary thriller partially set on an isolated island in the Indian Ocean... The story is shadowed by themes of slavery and forced migration. "THE BOOKSELLER
"A W.H.S. spokesperson said: '[...]Offering fresh voices, new characters and intriguing perspectives on life, there’s nothing quite like taking a chance on an emerging author and falling head first into their world.'"
RED MAGAZINE, HEARST MEDIA A Red Magazine "Best Book.""This ambitious debut novel has an unforgettable narrator." THE CANBERRA TIMES "We're in inescapable Lord of the Flies territory." THE AGE "Packard... has worked as a researcher for E.L. Doctorow, Peter Carey and Jonathan Franzen. This novel feels like his aha moment of "I can do it too." And he can." [Arts & Entertainment]THE DAILY REVIEW
"Thoroughly engaging, funny and moving."
THE AUSTRALIAN WAY
"The novel from the respected Hunter College (New York) associate director of creative writing -- who has done research for Jonathan Franzen and Peter Carey -- is one impressive debut. Reminiscent of Dickens in its dramatic scope and descriptive passion, with obvious (favorable) comparisons to Monica Ali's Brick Lane... subsequent adventures stray onto Lord of the Flies turf. The writing is rich and immediate, compelling in its intensity. The pages seem to turn themselves." [IQ]
ELECTRIC LITERATURE
“Gabriel Packard’s debut will get readers’ hearts pounding and breaking.”
