’THE VENTRILOQUlST’S TALE is told by a beguil[ngnew voice Pauline Melville writes with an unusually dispassionate lushness that is both intellectual and sensual. By taking a notably cool look at an extremely steamy story, she has created an eye-opening fiction. I believe her to be one of the few genuinely original writers to emerge in recent years’ SALMAN RUSHDIE

PROLOGUE

PART ONE

THE BANANA-FISH BOY

A CITY BUILT OF SPACE

I CUT EVELYN WAUGH’S HAIR

WHERE THE FROGS MEET TO MATE

UNDER THE EAVES

HUMMING-BIRD SUCKING HONEY

PART TWO

WARONAWA

BLUE EYES MEAN IGNORANCE

A BLAST OF HEAT

THE GIANT GRASSHOPPER

DEER HUNT

THE LONG WAIT

CONVENT DAYS

THE EVANGELIST

AN AFFAIR

ROCK-STONE

THE MASTER OF FISH

THE DIRTY FACE OF THE MOON

THE RIVER OF THE DEAD

SAVANNAH ECLIPSE

THE GREAT FALL

SILENCE

THE WEDDING

KANAIMA

FIRE-BURN

ASYLUM

STAR-FIELD

THE ICE COFFIN

SINGULARITY

PART THREE

A TAPIR FOR A WIFE

RAINSTORM

BABOONS MAKING COFFEE

DINNER AT THE HIGH COMMISSION

LOVE GONE A FISH

THE AMERINDIAN HOSTEL

EPILOGUE