The volcano — Venero Armanno

Sweeping from Sicily to Australia, spanning generations and very different worlds, The Volcano is a novel of power, passion and sheer blazing brilliance from one of our most talented and original writers. A fiercely original, beautifully written, multi-layered tour de force of immense power and humanity, The Volcano tells the tumultuous story of Emilio Aquila, a boy driven mad by love for a woman beyond his reach. His passion turns him into an outcast, forced to live away from his village in the labyrinthine caves high on the slopes of Sicily's Mount Etna. His determination to right the wrongs dealt to him turns him into a kidnapper and a gangster - and compels him to seek a new life half a world away. But will he be able to escape the shadows of the past? And will Australia ever be more to him than a place of suffering and regret? An incandescent novel of abduction, passion and torment from the fiery heart of Sicily.