The Thinning

'Stunningly wrought . . . The Thinning moves with the compressed momentum of a thriller towards a spectacular climax' THE GUARDIAN

'Heart-racing . . . [An] emotive tour de force' THE AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S WEEKLY

A powerful literary page-turner about two young people in a race against time to reach a monumental solar eclipse, from famed Australian novelist Inga Simpson

We haven't always lived like this . . .'

Fin grew up by an observatory, learning about telescopes and planets, inspired by the passions of her parents, then leaders in their fields of astrophotography and astronomy. Those days are long over. Now Fin, her mother, Dianella, and a band of outliers live deep off the grid, always on amber alert and always ready to run.

In the outside world, things are not good: extinctions and a loss of diversity threaten what's left of the environment. With a new disaster looming, Fin finds herself thrust into an unlikely partnership with a stranger who has appeared in their camp - one of a new breed of evolved humans, the Incompletes, who are widely distrusted. But the pair will need to work together during a dangerous journey if they are to play their part in an audacious plan to help restore the natural world - and humankind.

The Thinning is both an exquisitely written novel of nature and urgent thriller by the bestselling and acclaimed author of Willowman and The Last Woman in the World.

'A spine-tingling literary thriller that will keep you racing to the end. The Thinning blurs the lines between animal, human and adaptation, and provides a gripping glimpse of our possible future through a fascinating astrological lens. An emotional tribute to the natural world. Moving. Urgent. Beautifully written' KAREN VIGGERS, author of The Orchardist's Daughter

'Opened the cover; lost the rest of the day. Incandescent, righteously angry, superbly constructed. I am grateful for the reading experience, and grateful that the book was written and published' MICHAEL WINKLER, Miles Franklin Award-shortlisted author of Grimmish

'This is a book I wanted to race through and savour in equal measures. Simpson is a writer of astonishing insight into the ways humans simultaneously destroy and revere the environment, and The Thinning is an urgent, exceptional novel. Her best yet' ELEANOR LIMPRECHT, author of The Coast

'Grapples with ecological turmoil and grief [with] heart and humanity . . . Simpson's respect and knowledge of Country and astronomy shine through in the evocative language, drawing an exquisite image in the reader's mind . . . An epic and hopeful journey, perfect for read

Inga Simpson began her career as a professional writer for government before gaining a PhD in creative writing. In 2011, she took part in the Queensland Writers Centre Manuscript Development Program and, as a result, Hachette Australia published her first novel, Mr Wigg, in 2013. Nest, Inga's second novel, was published in 2014 and was longlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award and the Stella Prize and shortlisted for the ALS Gold Medal. Inga's third novel, the acclaimed Where the Trees Were, was published in 2016.

Inga was awarded the final Eric Rolls Prize for her nature writing and has obtained a second PhD, exploring the history of Australian nature writers. Inga's account of her love of Australian nature and life with trees, Understory, was published in 2017. Her first book for children, The Book of Australian Trees, illustrated by Alicia Rogerson, was published in 2021. The Last Woman in the World, her critically acclaimed environmental thriller, was published in 2021 and shortlisted for the 2022 Fiction Indie Book Award. Her bestselling and critically acclaimed 2022 novel Willowman was shortlisted for the BookPeople Adult Fiction Book of the Year 2023 and in 2024 was selected by Australia's leading booksellers in BookPeople's 100 Must-Read Australian Novels.

Inga lives on the New South Wales south coast among trees.

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