Man Out of Time

From the award-winning and critically acclaimed author of The Other Side of the World comes a brilliant and provocative new novel about inheritance and self-destruction.

When Stella's father, Leon, disappears in September 2001, the police knock at her door. She baulks at their questions, not sure how to answer. 'What if I just write it down for you.'

One summer, a long time ago, Stella sat watching her father cry while the sky clouded over. He had tried to make amends: for his failures, for forgetting to buy the doll she once hoped for, for the terrible things he had done.

The first time Stella sensed that something was wrong was on her ninth birthday. There was an accident, and when she opened her eyes there was the tang of blood in her mouth. Leon was beside her. But not quite there. In the winter, when her father finally came home from hospital, he looked different. Looked at her differently.

Now he was missing, and Stella held the key to his discovery. But did he want to be found? And after all that has passed, could Stella bring herself to help him?

Stella's whole life has been stained by her father's very struggle to exist. Would this be her inheritance too? Could she choose the steady minutes of an ordinary day? Or would she follow the path of a man out of time?

A masterful and deeply moving novel about inheritance and self-destruction, and of how the memories we carry and the blood we share discolour our view of the world ... and ourselves.

Praise for Stephanie Bishop

'Bishop is a stunning writer and her attention to detail makes each scene visceral.' (The Other Side of the World) – The New York Times Book Review

'Bishop's novel stands out because of her intimacy with her characters.' (The Other Side of the World) – The Saturday Age

'An insightful, exquisitely observed novel.' (The Other Side of the World) – The Guardian

'The precision and flair of the writing is breathtaking.' (The Other Side of the World) - The Weekend Australian

'She is a talent to watch.' - The Daily Telegraph

“She is a talent to watch. - The Daily TelegraphBishop is a stunning writer and her attention to detail makes each scene visceral. ( The Other Side of the World ) - The New York Times Book ReviewThe precision and flair of the writing is breathtaking. ( The Other Side of the World ) - The Weekend AustralianBishop's novel stands out because of her intimacy with her characters. ( The Other Side of the World ) - The Saturday AgeAn insightful, exquisitely observed novel. ( The Other Side of the World ) - The Guardian”

Man Out of Time gracefully unpacks the emotional territory that accompanies mental illness and the capacity for trauma to travel through generations. Potent in its subtlety, it is a rich novel that demands the full attention of its readers, rewarding those who invest. - Books+Publishing

She is a talent to watch. - The Daily Telegraph

The precision and flair of the writing is breathtaking. (The Other Side of the World) - The Weekend Australian

Bishop is a stunning writer and her attention to detail makes each scene visceral. (The Other Side of the World) - The New York Times Book Review

Bishop's novel stands out because of her intimacy with her characters. (The Other Side of the World) - The Saturday Age

An insightful, exquisitely observed novel. (The Other Side of the World) - The Guardian

Stephanie Bishop is a widely acclaimed novelist and critic. She is the award-winning author of three novels, The Singing (2005), The Other Side of the World (2015) and Man Out of Time (2018). Stephanie has won the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction and the ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year. She's also been shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards and the Christina Stead Prize for fiction and longlisted for the Stella Prize. And in 2006 she was named one of the Sydney Morning Herald's Best Young Australian Novelists of the Year. Her work has been translated into eight languages.

Stephanie has received fellowships to Yaddo, Tenjinyama Art Studio, Himachal Pradesh University and Oxford University, where she was a Visiting Scholar at the Centre for Life Writing, and she holds a PhD from Cambridge University. Her essays and fiction have appeared in the London Review of Books, the Times Literary Supplement, The Monthly and the Sydney Review of Books, among other publications. Her fourth novel, The Anniversary, published internationally in 2023. Stephanie is currently working on her fifth novel.

When Stella's father, Leon, disappears in September 2001, the police knock at her door. She baulks at their questions, not sure how to answer. 'What if I just write it down for you.'One summer, a long time ago, Stella sat watching her father cry while the sky clouded over. He had tried to make amends: for his failures, for forgetting to buy the doll she once hoped for, for the terrible things he had done.The first time Stella sensed that something was wrong was on her ninth birthday. There was an accident, and when she opened her eyes there was the tang of blood in her mouth. Leon was beside her. But not quite there. In the winter, when her father finally came home from hospital, he looked different. Looked at her differently.Now he was missing, and Stella held the key to his discovery. But did he want to be found? And after all that has passed, could Stella bring herself to help him?Stella's whole life has been stained by her father's very struggle to exist. Would this be her inheritance too? Could she choose the steady minutes of an ordinary day? Or would she follow the path of a man out of time? A masterful and deeply moving novel about inheritance and self-destruction, and of how the memories we carry and the blood we share discolour our view of the world ... and ourselves.

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