Set in 1828 Tasmania, this haunting novel follows William Buelow Gould, a white convict condemned to Australia's most brutal penal colony, who is ordered to paint an elaborate book of fish. Told through the story of his forbidden love for a black woman and his crimes of deception and violence, Flanagan weaves together history, art, and the devastating collision of cultures in colonial Australia. A Man Booker Prize-winning work that explores how love becomes dangerous and how beauty can emerge from darkness.
