Saturday, December 28, 2013

Mandy Hager's "Into the Wilderness," the movie

Now showing at My Book, The Movie: Into the Wilderness by Mandy Hager.

The entry begins:
For a taster of the plot, here’s the blurb: Maryam, Ruth and Joseph have fled Onewēre, reluctantly taking Joseph’s troublesome cousin Lazarus as well. They arrive at their destination, Marawa Island, filled with hope for rescue and reprieve. But at first glance the island appears to be solely populated by birds. Perhaps the Apostle’s dire warnings about the fallout of the Tribulation were true after all?

As Maryam and Joseph experience all the topsy-turvy misunderstandings and sexual tension first love entails, the antagonism between Maryam and Lazarus reaches explosive proportions. But when disaster brings the crushing realization that time is now against them, all four must decided just who they can risk turning to for help.

It’s a pleasure to imagine Into the Wilderness as a film — in fact, as I write I visualise each story as if it’s a film playing out inside my head. This is the second book in my Blood of the Lamb trilogy, a series that looks at the way power and control is wielded over women, faithful populations and people of colour. Set in an apocalyptic future, the book takes its characters from a small island in the Pacific to the shores of an island detention centre off the coast of a transformed Australia (The Confederated Territories), based on the detention centre on Nauru.

One of the features of the book is that the main protagonist Maryam and her friend Ruth are Pacific Islanders – people who are not often represented in fiction. Maryam is a strong and courageous character, who rails against the oppressive religious sect that controls the island where she was raised and who, in Into the Wilderness, must learn to overcome great grief to stand up against...[read on]
Learn more about the book and author at Mandy Hager's website and Facebook page.

My Book, The Movie: Into the Wilderness.

--Marshal Zeringue