Safe Haven: THE NEW NOVEL FROM THE WINNER OF THE MILES FRANKLIN LITERARY AWARD

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A SHAMELESS BOOK CLUB PICK

AN AUSTRALIAN WOMENS WEEKLY GREAT READ

A powerful, well-crafted storySydney Morning Herald

a heart-wrenching yet hopeful tale.The Sunday Age

a warm and generous read.The Guardian

a fearless novel that reaches into your heart with evocative prose and beautifully drawn characters. Its also a page turner.Australian Women's Weekly

The new novel from the Miles Franklin awardwinning author of Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens.

It was a beautiful evening. The wind gathered speed, lifting the frangipanis from the grove behind him, pink and yellow petals defying gravity. Beyond the trees, hidden by the foliage androwsof toweringpalm trees, the detention centre slept fitfully in theheavy summer heat. Thepalmsblocked the oceangustthat nowswirledaround him, filling his lungs with thetasteoftemple flowersand salt. It reminded him of home. He took a deep breath, stepped off the escarpment and felt the red sand rush up towards him.

Arriving in Australia seeking asylum, Fina dedicates herself to aiding the refugees who are held in Port Camden, a remote island outpost. Over time she settles into a life within a community of like-minded people, finding a new family, far from her original home. After she speaks out for those being detained, Fina becomes the focus of a media storm that leads to her arrest, and the threat of deportation.

When a security officer dies under suspicious circumstances, Lucky, a special investigator, arrives to uncover the truth. The mystery is tied to Finas fateand the secrets she reveals will divide the town and the nation.

Safe Haven is about displacement and seeking refugebut ultimately it is a story about finding homeand the lengths youll go to find safety and love.

PRAISE FOR SAFE HAVEN

a powerful taleThe Advertiser

timely and provocativeThe Australian

a compassionate literary page turnerBig Issue

Safe Havenoffers readers a novel that does exactly that exploring, through a fictional lens, the ways in which these intertwined histories come to deliver powerful personal, emotional and political legacies.ArtsHub

Chandran's writing is evocative and studded with beautiful imageryBooks+Publishing

Anyone who readChai Time at Cinnamon Gardenswill already know that Miles Franklin winnerShankari Chandranis an expert at sketching communities of people whose dependency on one another is matched by their care for each other. Chandran's new novel,Safe Haven, has it all: a group of refugees only too aware of the fragility of their position; bonds of love and trust; a mysterious death; and similarly beautiful storytelling to her prize-winning book.Qantas Magazine

Reviews

And here, with adventure, crime, mystery, romance - entertainment-Shankari Chandranis slyly involving us in a story that will make us feel, maybe inform us and if we're lucky, able to return to the outside world with wider understanding. * Sydney Morning Herald *
Anyone who readChai Time at Cinnamon Gardenswill already know that Miles Franklin winnerShankari Chandranis an expert at sketching communities of people whose dependency on one another is matched by their care for each other. Chandran's new novel,Safe Haven, has it all: a group of refugees only too aware of the fragility of their position; bonds of love and trust; a mysterious death; and similarly beautiful storytelling to her prize-winning book. * Qantas Magazine *
Safe Haven is an important...and excoriating account of a shameful period of Australian history, told in a generous life-affirming voice that imagines a more humane future. * The Conversation *
Stories like this have the power to create and hold space where shame and hope can coexist. * The Guardian *

Author Bio

Shankari Chandranwas raised in Canberra, Australia. She spent a decade in London, working as a lawyer in the social justice field. She eventually returned home to Australia, where she now lives with her husband and four children. She is the author of Song of the Sun God, The Barrier, Safe Haven, Unfinished Businessand Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens, which won the 2023 Miles Franklin Literary Award.