The Hummingbird Effect

Reviews

'Cormac McCarthy meets Geraldine Brooks, Peter Carey meets Elizabeth Gilbert, The Hummingbird Effect is an ambitious, defiant, electrifying juggernaut. Kate Mildenhall cements her status as a titan of Australian literature by raising the bar to dizzying heights. An incredible achievement. I didn’t want it to end.' 'I loved this book. It is urgent and questioning, concerned but ultimately hopeful. The writing remembers our past, honours our present and imagines our future. It is often sublime and sometimes astonishing. I will be recommending this book to everyone I know.' 'Kate Mildenhall orchestrates this shape-shifting novel with extraordinary flair. Her imaginative range is astonishing. The Hummingbird Effect is audacious fiction that engages wisely and tenderly with pressing concerns.' 'Original, mind-bending and beautifully written. These characters, connected across time and place, are absolutely alive on the page. Together, their stories reveal the reverberating consequences of violence for us and our planet, and the redeeming power of love – in all its forms.' 'This book digs deep into the universality of love, family, hardship, sisterhood, plague, disruption and, above all, connection and empowerment. Experimental, mind-bending, provocative.' 'A timeless and timely exploration of our capacities to destroy and to love, and of the stories that connect us – and might even save us. In this powerful and dazzling book, Kate Mildenhall brilliantly pushes language to its limits and asks, What’s worth saving? The Hummingbird Effect is an urgent, gorgeous, thrilling, page turner. A must read!' 'A stunning and intricate novel, masterfully braiding the lives of its characters across time. Vivid, inventive, tender – a beautifully rendered mosaic of a book. With luminous prose linking past and future, The Hummingbird Effect is brilliant storytelling at its best.' ‘Reading The Hummingbird Effect is like navigating rapids: you don’t know what’s going to happen next or when you’re going to come up for air. A remarkable achievement. I couldn’t put it down.’ 'Such an astounding and accomplished novel. It was an absolute joy to read. Simply put, I loved it.' ‘Kate Mildenhall has outrageous confidence in her sparkling narrative, in her capabilities. As she should. This is a profound conversation about all those things we put-off talking about, seen in the context of the past, the present and the future.’ ‘Spellbinding, genre-defying, and powerful in its vision of the future … The Hummingbird Effect is a devastating novel that exposes the ways the future is seeded in the past.’ 'Kate Mildenhall is such an exciting writer to read … This generous, playful novel speaks to themes of climate change, survival and holding space for each other, as well as the enduring power of female friendship.' Expand reviews