The Gift of Speed

In 1960 the West Indies arrive in Australia, bringing with them a carnival of music, colour and possibility. Michael, who is sixteen, is enthralled. If, like his heroes, he has the gift of speed, he will move beyond his suburb into the great world ... And yet, as his summer unfolds, Michael realises that there are other ways to live. When the calypso chorus accompanying Frank Worrell and his team fades, Michael has learnt many things; about his parents, his suburb, a girl called Kathleen Marsden, and about himself. THE GIFT OF SPEED is a masterful blend of story-telling, memorable characters and a uniquely Australian sensibility by a novelist at the height of his powers.

'A must-read' Bookseller+Publisher
'If, as they say, the past is another country, then Carroll is the ideal guide' Sydney Morning Herald
'Rarely has such an arid place as suburban Melbourne in the heat of 1961 evoked such graceful and tender prose' The Age
Shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award, 2005