Scraps of Heaven

It's 1958 and Australia is becoming a different place. The Melbourne working-class suburb of Carlton is now home to many immigrant families trying to begin new lives and make sense of the old.

Romek and Zofia, liberated from the camps in Poland, work hard at the local market, but their love is in ruins. Bloomfield is king and custodian of Curtin Square and is rarely absent from his post. The resplendent Valerio, stylish and soccer-mad, has just arrived from Italy. War veteran Mr Sommers sits alone on his verandah, while Yiddish actors gather at the barber's to reminisce and curse. Romek and Zofia's skinny twelve-year-old son Josh takes up boxing and becomes bewitched by the Swedish Girl. But Zofia is tormented, and as she falls further into madness, Josh wonders if she can ever be made whole again.

Scraps of Heaven is a stunning evocation of a changing world, where optimism is tinged with sorrow at the raw memories of war. Arnold Zable's irresistible storytelling becomes a celebration of survival, a reminder that all lives are to be lived and that scraps of heaven can be found everywhere.

About The Author

Arnold Zable was born in Wellington, New Zealand, and grew up in the inner Melbourne suburb of Carlton. He has travelled and lived in the USA, India, Papua New Guinea, Europe, Southeast Asia and China, and now lives in Melbourne with his wife and son. His books include Jewels and Ashes, Café Scheherazade, The Fig Tree, Scraps of Heaven and Sea of Many Returns. Arnold is president of the International PEN, Melbourne, and is a human rights advocate.