Product Description

Wake of the Raven is a story of the world's corruption, of forbidden desire and its awful consequences. In 1951, Stuart seeks to repair his broken marriage, and heads back to England in pursuit of his faithless wife. He must first cross the South China Sea to Singapore, a minor step in the voyage. But when an accident burdens him with the care of a precocious girl, the journey becomes a nightmarish odyssey through storm, desire and death. The mere hundred miles or so of sea is now an impassable barrier, confining him and his bitter thoughts to a narrow strip of sand and jungle, and he is reduced to an animal struggle for survival, with nothing but the girl and thoughts of the dead to help him. Like all people, evil wars in him with good, fear with ambition, desire with conscience. But when the girl's greater problems arouse his sympathy, it seems that good will triumph, for he unselfishly promises his help. The result is a disaster that strides towards him fully armed, with disgrace, murder and suicide clenched in its fists.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1639879 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Review
Author Graham Worthington has created a fictional world in "The Wake of the Raven" that isn't easily categorized. It's not your standard adventure yarn, nor is it a survivor tale filled with moments of high anxiety. In this book, which has The Raven (an airplane) crashing near a deserted island, a young man and a pre-pubescent girl are the only survivors. The way they find a way to eke out a living and to continue to hope for rescue is infectious and endlessly intriguing. But it isn't until the psychological drama begins that the book gathers speed. As they await for help to arrive, the man becomes unavoidably attracted to the young girl, who runs around in a perfectly understandable state of undress. She is curious about him and he is tormented by her, until it seems the man's sanity will crack. Without giving away the ending, this book thoroughly plums the soul of a sexually aware man who also is burdened with the yoke of cultural responsibility, resulting in a conflict so deep it threatens both characters. The island scenes are interspersed with scenes of a more stiff-upper-lip scandal unfolding in London. It's an interesting foil to the drama unfolding on the island. Coming from a small publisher, this book has some editing gaffes that a larger house would have tidied up. But don't let that stop you from enjoying this most penetrating look at sex, morals, and the business of living from day to day in a world perhaps not so different from our own. --L. Blumenthal

This book really surprised me, both in it's excellent writing style, and unusual content. A bit reminiscent of Nabakov's Lolita in content, but at the same time, a really fresh, unusual, and surprisingly sensitive (if still disturbing) look at a relationship between an older man and a young girl. One of the strongest points of the novel is the phsycholological aspects of each character - I was amazed at the way the author really seemed to understand the pyschology of an [...]girl. And the way he makes you sympathetic to characters to whom your knee-jerk reaction would have otherwise been to judge as terrible. The reader becomes sympathetic to these characters, at the same time feeling disturbed for being so affected. A sensitive and honest exploration of sexual discovery and human relations, this novel will if nothing else REALLY make you think. I read it some months ago, and still find myself thinking about it, hashing over certain situations, and, indeed, feeling disturbed about some of the events. Either way, I hadn't read such a thought provoking novel in a long time. It's sad that really innovative literature like this can't find a wider audience through mainstream publishing, but it is one that I hope eventually finds the note and recognition it deserves. --Dragos Anastasiu

About the Author
Graham Worthington wrote his first story when he was eleven in England. Then real life intervened, and for years he travelled the world, collecting true stories that were stranger than fiction. He now lives in London and Toronto.

Customer Reviews

A surprising, engaging read
This book really surprised me, both in it's excellent writing style, and unusual content. A bit reminiscent of Nabakov's Lolita in content, but at the same time, a really fresh, unusual, and surprisingly sensitive (if still disturbing) look at a relationship between an older man and a young girl. One of the strongest points of the novel is the phsycholological aspects of each character - I was amazed at the way the author really seemed to understand the pyschology of an [...]girl. And the way he makes you sympathetic to characters to whom your knee-jerk reaction would have otherwise been to judge as terrible. The reader becomes sympathetic to these characters, at the same time feeling disturbed for being so affected.

A sensitive and honest exploration of sexual discovery and human relations, this novel will if nothing else REALLY make you think. I read it some months ago, and still find myself thinking about it, hashing over certain situations, and, indeed, feeling disturbed about some of the events. Either way, I hadn't read such a thought provoking novel in a long time. It's sad that really innovative literature like this can't find a wider audience through mainstream publishing, but it is one that I hope eventually finds the note and recognition it deserves.

Lolita in the South Pacific
Author Graham Worthington has created a fictional world in "The Wake of the Raven" that isn't easily categorized. It's not your standard adventure yarn, nor is it a survivor tale filled with moments of high anxiety. In this book, which has The Raven (an airplane) crashing near a deserted island, a young man and a pre-pubescent girl are the only survivors. The way they find a way to eke out a living and to continue to hope for rescue is infectious and endlessly intriguing. But it isn't until the psychological drama begins that the book gathers speed. As they await for help to arrive, the man becomes unavoidably attracted to the young girl, who runs around in a perfectly understandable state of undress. She is curious about him and he is tormented by her, until it seems the man's sanity will crack.
Without giving away the ending, this book thoroughly plums the soul of a sexually aware man who also is burdened with the yoke of cultural responsibility, resulting in a conflict so deep it threatens both characters.
The island scenes are interspersed with scenes of a more stiff-upper-lip scandal unfolding in London. It's an interesting foil to the drama unfolding on the island.
Coming from a small publisher, this book has some editing gaffes that a larger house would have tidied up. But don't let that stop you from enjoying this most penetrating look at sex, morals, and the business of living from day to day in a world perhaps not so different from our own.

A Highly Entertaining Novel
The cover of this book is so striking I immediately wondered if what was inside was as interesting. And I soon found out that it was. It is, indeed, a captivating novel -- a page-turner from the first page. Worthington has done an excellent job of bringing two fascinating people to life. His plot, his writing and his characterization are all first-rate. The story centers around a man (Stuart) and a young girl (Tania) who are marooned on a small island in the South China Sea. It begins with a plane crash hear the island, with Stuart and Tania being the only survivors, and it details their day-to-day struggle to survive and stay alive on the small island. They soon become very fond of one another, and Stuart feels guilty and is worried about what people will think when they are finally rescued (if indeed they are).
I found the book hard to put down and read it in two or three sittings.It ends with Stuart and Tania's rescue, but leaves you wondering what finally happens when they get back to England, and if their dreams come true. Maybe the answer will come in another novel. Highly recommended