A story of fathers and sons and their struggles with the things they cannot say, and the taut silences that fill up those empty spaces. How sometimes, all you learn from your parents’ mistakes is how to make different ones of your own.

‘At last, in a world that shouts, a novel that doesn’t need to. A revelation and a joy – wild, wise and wonderful.’ -Chris Cleave, author of The Other Hand and Incendiary

‘It’s a sensational debut, rich in literary fireworks and human drama. There are moments which still the breath – all you can hear is the sound of your own heart beating.’ -Christopher Kremmer, author of Bamboo Palace and The Carpet Wars

‘Evie Wyld’s book is dark, intense and haunting. The descriptions of Australia’s East Coast are vivid, the landscapes, the language, the settings, the feelings are real and palpable. Her prose reminded me of Patrick White’s, her imagery of Les Murray and Judith Wright — like all these writers Wyld is both lyrical and tragic, uncompromising in her evocation of that sad, strange, complicated country. She belongs to a tradition of serious Australian literature that is now being taken as seriously as it deserves.’ -Sophie Gee, author of The Scandal of the Season

‘Stunningly good. Evie Wyld hides herself perfectly and it has a whole dark and brilliant life of its own. There’s not a single false note in the whole book: it’s totally convincing, and written with incredible toughness, sureness and maturity. A terrifyingly good debut.’ -Peter Hobbs, author of I Could Ride All Day In My Cool Blue Train

‘A brilliant, transporting novel of such warmth and stunning evocative language that I wanted to read it all over again. Evie Wyld has a deft way of capturing the light, the nature of the place, of the natives. This is a rich account of two men’s lives, separated through time and their own inability to reach out… Time does funny things in the book as it would in the desert; it undoes things, rather like this book has done to me.’ -Karen McLeod, author of In Search of the Missing Eyelash

“With awesome skill and whiplash wit, Evie Wyld knits together past and present, with tension building all the time. In Peter Carey and Tim Winton, Australia has produced two of the finest storytellers working today. On this evidence, Wyld can match them both.” -Daily Mail

“Wyld has a feel both for beauty and for the ugliness of inherited pain.” -The New Yorker

“This superb first novel is about fathers and sons, and the forces that turn men brutish.” -Kate Saunders, The Times

“A searing study of the way war-induced damage passes from fathers to sons…Uniting the disparate narratives is Wyld’s brisk, atmospheric style and her fascination with men who commit appalling acts, but are not appalling people” -Andrea Walker, TLS

“The landscape of Australia’s east coast looms large in the book, wild and sinister, filled with light and tragedy. This is a sad and lovely novel from a talented new writer.” -Francesca Segal, The Observer

“A terrifically self-assured debut…a cauterising, cleansing tale, told with muscular writing.” -Catherine Taylor, The Guardian

“It’s not often that I fall for a novel from the very first page, but the controlled and expressive opening to Evie Wyld’s After the Fire a Still Small Voice is utterly irresistible. Understated, rhythmic and above all atmospheric, Wyld’s prose creates towns, individuals and periods with such conviction you can almost touch them. It is never short of wonderful” -Stuart Evers, The Guardian

“Wyld shares something of Woolf’s ability to make poetry from humdrum thoughts and perceptions…it is a testament to Wyld’s skill that she manages to balance readers’ judgments so finely.” -Geordie Williamson, The Weekend Australian

“Lyrical, imbued with empathy for its repressed, sad and angry male characters.” -Sydney Morning Herald

“The best Australian literary novel I’ve read this year. It’s an arresting portrait of masculine grief, set in a landscape of aching sadness.” -Cameron Woodhead, The Age

“Wyld sympathetically explores the blight of war and violence on three generations of a working-class Australian family.” -New Statesman

“Creepy but gripping, it’s also a novel with a twist that doesn’t undermine everything that came before. Don’t be surprised if this debut starts cropping up at book groups – it deserves to.” -Elle Magazine

“An eerie chiaroscuro of blinding sunlight and tenebrous bush, rendered in language so naturalistic and sensual…it feels more felt than read.” -American Vogue

“An evocative, compelling debut” -Grazia Australia

Discussed on Simon Mayo’s show on Five Live:

“It’s not just about generations of men affected by war. It’s about men everywhere. For any man who’s ever felt like an emotional fence post, this is the book for you. I enjoyed it enormously.” -Giles Foden

“Intense. Wyld is an absolutely brilliant prose writer. The first chapter is so acute, poetic but not self-consciously literary and all in service to the characters. A fantastically-written novel. But gripping, it works almost as a mystery. Incredibly realistic about men and the trouble they have expressing themselves.” -Boyd Hilton

“Splendid. There’s a point where you realise if you’re confident in a writer. For me it was page five. From that point on, I knew I would go anywhere with this author. The book has an incredible, quiet confidence in its own prose. It never raises its voice. I just ate it up. There were two brilliant Australian novels I read this year by Tim Winton and Steve Toltz, which got a huge amount of attention. This is equally good. A masterful piece of writing.” -Joel Morris

“One of the most audacious and tumultuous literary debuts in years…tender and magnificent.” -Madison Magazine

“A brilliantly assured debut…that captures the darkness and blinding light of an old land and its new, still-raw wounds” -Sunday Tasmanian

“This surefooted and even-handed multi-layered tale is fiction writing at its best with characters so vividly drawn, they seem to literally leap off of the printed pages.” -The Tucson Citizen

“At times Startling, Wyld’s book is ruminative and dramatic, with deep reserves of empathy colored by masculine rage and repression.” -Publishers Weekly

“An unflinching, cinematic exploration of men coping with trauma in the wake of war. Wyld gives voice to the uncanny silence of broken lives.” -Kirkus Reviews

“Evie Wyld has dual nationality and with the publication of her first novel it is likely both countries will want to claim her as their own. After the Fire is set on the east coast of Australia. The effects of war—alienation, silence, anger—are passed down like a disease through generations of men [… ]Ancillary characters like young Sal Haydon and her pet carrot, and Merle the Christian, enrich and enliven a tale that is, inevitably, about so much more than inarticulate men. A fine debut.” -Australian Bookseller and Publisher

“Wyld, one of Granta’s New Voices of 2008, writes with abrading intensity and potent lyricism about the stunning amorality of the natural world and the brutishness and suffering of humankind, from domestic violence to war. Ravishingly atmospheric and wisely compassionate… A writer of immense abilities and depth.” -Booklist

“With mental tension, war, missing children, and the daily struggles encountered in the Australian bush, there is plenty to keep the reader engrossed. A definite page-turner that will appeal to those seeking a good escapist read.” -Library Journal

“Evie Wyld’s first novel is a remarkable achievement: a potent and compelling exploration of the connections between father and son, and the legacy of violence and repression.” -Bookmunch

“The searing descriptions of the changeable land and seascapes make this gritty, passionate novel stand out.” -Bookpage

“There are times you finish reading a book and are just so stunned by its incredible beauty you have trouble putting your thoughts into words…I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Its depiction of love and loss is drama of the highest achievement. If this wins no awards I’ll be shocked. It’s deserving of the highest accolades. It moved me to my very soul.” -Bluestalking

“Beautifully moody…Wyld’s perceptiveness and emotional honesty, paired with her restraint, have yielded a book that wears its weight quietly, and shines with intelligence and verve.” -The Rumpus.net