What the critics said about Isabelle the Navigator: 'Isabelle Airly is a triumph of Davies' poetic imagination . . [a] prodigious talent . . staggering prose' The Age 'stunningly beautiful narrative' The Bulletin 'it leaves you admiring Davies's gifts and his desire to take risks.' The Sydney Morning Herald. How do we find ourselves when we lose others? This striking novel from the author of the widely acclaimed Candy explores the life of a young woman as she deals with the deaths of the two important men in her life: her great love Matthew Smith, and her 'gorgeous, sad father' Tom Airly. A lyrical meditation on love, loss, betrayal, disintegration and the passage of time, Isabelle the Navigator charts Isabelle's inner journey, as well as her actual travels-from childhood in Sydney, to love in the vast spaces off the Western Australian coast, to grief and eventually hope in Paris. This is a portrait of an extraordinarily vital woman that is at once epic and fable, swirling and intensely focused. Candy was a novel about addiction, claustrophobia and a destructive momentum; Isabelle the Navi

Luke Davies was born in Sydney in 1962. His first collection of poetry, Absolute Event Horizon was shortlisted for the 1995 Turnbull Fox Phillips poetry prize. His first novel, Candy, published in 1997, was a critical and sales success and was shortlisted for the NSW Premier's award. His second collection of poetry, Running With Light was published in 1999 and won the 2000 Judith Wright Calanthe Award for Poetry. Luke Davies has quickly established himself as one of Australia's most thoughtful and unflinching writers. He is currently working on the screenplay of Candy, to be produced by Margaret Fink and directed by Neil Armfield.