Publisher's Synopsis
Debatable Land is the story of a voyage from Tahiti to New Zealand, of six sailors united by chance, of memory and longing, of the north refracted through the south . . .
'At last, in her new novel she has filled her pockets with the silver of childhood memory . . .The boat, like Mrs Dalloway's party, is a Woolfian way of freezing several people in the present so that they can leak memory . . . a very distinguished examination into stability and instability, pattern and memory, and the drifting terror of our lives; even better, it is a beautiful artefact' James Wood, Guardian
'Precision of language and sharpness of observation make this by far the most enjoyable novel I have read this year' Andro Linklater, Spectator
'Full of startling insight . . . just the sort of companion one would want to take on a long journey' Justine Picardie, Independent on Sunday
'McWilliam is an astonishing wordmaster who time and again dazzles the reader' Penelope Fitzgerald, Times Literary Supplement
'It is difficult to convey the rich texture of this novel, its illuminating wit and intelligence, its satisfying journey's end' Janette Turner Hospital, London Review of Books
