We have a copy of An Ungrateful Instrument (Transit Lounge) by SA author Michael Meehan to giveaway!

In his remarkable new novel, award-winning SA author Michael Meehan sensitively explores the links between generational conflict, family, and the creative act.

At its heart An Ungrateful Instrument is a novel that portrays a son’s struggle to be more than a mere instrument of the father’s ambition. Antoine Forqueray and later his son Jean-Baptiste, were each brought up as child prodigies to the court of Louis XIV. Together, they were said to be the only musicians in France who could play the father’s brilliant, eccentric music for the viola da gamba.

In an imaginative masterstroke the story is told by Jean- Baptiste’s highly attuned mute sister, Charlotte-Elisabeth. Threaded throughout, deep in a forest an old man creates the gift of a special viol for the boy, Jean Baptiste.
This is a novel that can almost be heard like music, as it soars in language, theme, and a wisdom that both embodies and transcends its period setting.

Michael Meehan’s novels –The Salt of Broken Tears, Deception, Below the Styx and Stormy Weather – have been shortlisted for and won many awards and have also been published internationally. He is an Emeritus Professor at Deakin University and was for many years the chair of Adelaide Writers Week.

‘An imagination of another order.’ — The Australian

For your chance to win a copy, in 25 words or less tell us below: what historic period would you like to set a novel or short story in?

Competition closes 16 February 2023.