Alice SpringsPhillipa 'Snip' Freeman is an artist and a wanderer, proudly in control of her own world. That is until an envelope arrives, mailed by her grandmother before her death. It contains a check for $30,000 and one simple instruction - Hunt him down. With the note in hand, and with Dave, her handsome traveling companion by her side, Snip embarks on a journey into the Australian outback to find her father, Bud, and to unravel the terrifying silence of her childhood. Snip reaches Bud in the communal land of the Aborigines, and thinks that perhaps she has found home. But the shadow of past mistakes looms large over the territory, and Bud must flee. Desperate for her father's love, Snip follows. On the run together in the fierce desert, they speak of past hurts and betrayals. Finally, in a confession that will change Snip forever, Bud reveals the dreadful secret behind his self-imposed exile. |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - LynnB - LibraryThingCleave tells the story of Snip, a thirty-year-old woman with a fierce need to be alone to pursue her art. She also has a strong attachment to her father, who she has rarely seen in the past 23 years ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - SeriousGrace - LibraryThingIf you have ever read The Bean Trees or Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver you might be reminded of Taylor Greer when you read Nikki Gemmell's Alice Springs. There are definite similarities between ... Read full review
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Aboriginal Alice Springs arms asks belly bitumen bloody body Bud says Bud's bugger bush cheek chest comes Dave and Snip Dave's deep desert dirt door drive drops dunes dust eyes face fierce fingers flicks Food fucking goanna grin hair hand head Helen Helicopter holds hurt kids land mate Merv mother mouth Napaljarri never night Nikki Gemmell No-one paint pulls pushes Queenie rifle road rubs sand scrabbles scrubbed Shelly-Anne shit shut side silence sits skin sleep slips smell smiles snaps Snip doesn't Snip feels Snip knows Snip looks Snip says Snip wakes Snip walks Snip's Snippy soft softly stares stomach stop swag swiftly Sydney talk Tanami Desert Tasmania tells Snip There's thing tight told town turns Vegemite voice Walpiri wants watch wedge-tailed eagle whisper whitefellas wind Wollongong woman Yapa Yeah