A mesmerising tale from one of Australia’s literary stars

‘He has no notion of how to care for a saint. Even a small one. Does not even believe … Still. Catholic or not. You don’t turn away a saint.’

In the north-western corner of 1950s Australia, a saint arrives at the home of a retired engineer, who unwittingly becomes her custodian. A girl of indeterminate age, her body remains as it was when she died, incorruptible. And though no one knows it, she is conscious, reflecting on past and present.

Little World stretches across continents and eras – from the Canal Zone in Panama and the island of Nauru all the way to the onset of Covid in contemporary Victoria. Beautiful, rich and strange, it weaves a tale of interconnected fates as characters grapple with the unknowable, and in this way come face to face with their deepest needs.

‘Josephine Rowe is a breathtakingly good writer.’ –Michelle de Kretser

Josephine Rowe is the author of three story collections and two novels, including A Loving, Faithful Animal, longlisted for the 2017 Miles Franklin and selected as a New York Times Editors’ Choice. She has twice been named a Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist, and her collection Here Until August was shortlisted for the 2020 Stella Prize. Rowe holds fellowships from the Wallace Stegner Program at Stanford University, and the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Fellowship at the New York Public Library, among others. She currently lives in coastal Victoria.