Tidetown (45 page)

–Joy Lawn,
Bookseller+Publisher

‘Rich with observation and fine writing.'

–Lucy Sussex,
The Sunday Age

‘This dark and beautiful tale, told with a light touch, stayed in my mind long after I had finished.'

–Claire Kennedy,
Herald Sun

Oscar Flowers is on a quest to make sense of the strange world of adults that surround him in the seaside town of Tidetown. The bizarre behaviour of his parents and great aunt impels him to search for the blue tiger, a powerful and beautiful animal that will save his family from themselves. Mrs April, the town's librarian helps Oscar in his pursuit of knowledge and generously shares her great love of books with him. A deep and wondrous friendship develops. Yet as Oscar falls under the influence of his peers, the fishmonger's peculiar twin daughters, Perch and Carp, he becomes embroiled in a dark crime of vengeance with seemingly disastrous consequences.

Hugely positive and an imaginative tour de force
In Search of the Blue Tiger
is at once a celebration of books and reading, an affecting love story between a widowed town librarian and a lonely troubled child and a gripping testament to the way that any of us can move beyond the mistakes of our past to a new beginning.

Shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Unpublished Manuscript Prize

Robert Power is the author of
In Search of the Blue Tiger, The Swan Song of Doctor Malloy
and
Meatloaf in Manhattan
. He has worked in HIV prevention for many years, travelling to all continents and appearing in all media, both here and abroad. Born in Dublin, Robert now lives in Melbourne, Australia, with his wife and his youngest son.