Reviews
The author's ability to weave fact with fiction, tragedy with moments of hope, and the everyday with the universal will leave you immersed, wanting more. You'll open this novel because of history, read on because of story, and close it knowing more about your own life, right here, right now., Gripping...Filled with surprising twists, empathetic prose, and revealing historical details, Kline's resonant, powerful story will please any historical fiction fan., Kline takes full advantage of fiction -- its freedom to create compelling characters who fully illuminate monumental events to make history accessible -- and forever etched in our minds. ... A tour de force of original thought, imagination, and promise., [Kline's] research, coupled with her knack for telling a compelling story, coalesce in a riveting tale that will keep readers breathlessly hurtling toward the heart-rending conclusion., Master storyteller Christina Baker Kline is at her best in this epic tale of Australia's complex history--a vivid and rewarding feat of both empathy and imagination. I loved this book., The Exiles is that rarest of novels, a true page-turner. The action moves along; the reader feels himself to be in the hands of a professional., "A tour de force of original thought, imagination and promise ... Kline takes full advantage of fiction--its freedom to create compelling characters who fully illuminate monumental events to make history accessible and forever etched in our minds." -- Houston Chronicle "Monumental...This episode in history gets a top-notch treatment by Kline, one of our foremost historical novelists. This fascinating 19th-century take on Orange Is the New Black is subtle, intelligent, and thrillingly melodramatic." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Both uplifting and heartbreaking, this beautifully written novel doesn't flinch from the ugliness of the penal system but celebrates the courage and resilience of both the first peoples and the settlers who came after, voluntarily or not, to create a new home for themselves and their children." -- Library Journal (starred review) "Gripping...Filled with surprising twists, empathetic prose, and revealing historical details, Kline's resonant, powerful story will please any historical fiction fan." -- Publishers Weekly "Kline deftly balances tragedy and pathos, making happy endings hard-earned and satisfying...Book groups will find much to discuss, such as the uses of education, both formal and informal, in this moving work." -- Booklist "Master storyteller Christina Baker Kline is at her best in this epic yet intimate tale of nineteenth-century Australia. I loved this book." -- Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife and Love and Ruin "Celebrating the bonds between women, the novel explores how lives that seem destined for pain might persevere." -- Real Simple "Intelligent and satisfyingly dramatic." -- Newsday "The story-telling in The Exiles is triumphant...The women's struggles are filled with adversity and grief. But the novel also reveals moments of love, courage and bravery and resilience." -- Portland Press Herald "[Kline's] research, coupled with her knack for telling a compelling story, coalesce in a riveting tale that will keep readers breathlessly hurtling toward the heart-rending conclusion." -- Bookreporter "The author's ability to weave fact with fiction, tragedy with moments of hope, and the everyday with the universal will leave you immersed, wanting more. You'll open this novel because of history, read on because of story, and close it knowing more about your own life, right here, right now." -- New York Journal of Books "The Exiles is that rarest of novels, a true page-turner. The action moves along; the reader feels himself to be in the hands of a professional." -- Alabama Public Radio "Well-researched and boldly imagined." -- Sydney Morning Herald, A tour de force of original thought, imagination and promise ... Kline takes full advantage of fiction--its freedom to create compelling characters who fully illuminate monumental events to make history accessible and forever etched in our minds.
