Serengotti

“Superbly inventive and original, Serengotti is a shimmering, screeching ride from the very opening pages. The confidence and raw energy of the narration makes this an addictive read as it hurtles through one day in the life of Ch’anzu where everything falls apart and catalyses hir move to an African diasporic community set in rural Australia. Nothing is safe or predictable, in this uniquely imaginative, gutsy story of haunting, displacement and simmering violence. This novel brims with the joy of playing with language and storytelling itself, even as it delves deep into traumatic legacies, love, family and the art of survival.”

—judges’ report, Victorian Premier’s Literary Award

“Thrillingly alive, visceral, funny, and poetic, this is a story of what happens after your world falls apart, and you are forced to piece together a new one—a bittersweet tale of love, desire and kin, of what we carry and what holds us afloat. A novel that dances with a haunted grace, with characters who will sear themselves into your memory.”

—DAVID CARLIN, award-winning author and editor of eight books, including The After-Normal, Our Father Who Wasn’t There and A–Z of Creative Writing Methods

“Eugen Bacon’s writing is visceral and ethereal, a heady mix of worlds that feel both familiar and foreign.”

—CHERYL S. NTUMY, author of the Nommo Award-nominated novel They Made Us Blood and Fury, and the short story ‘Empathy’ (shortlisted in the Commonwealth Short Story Prize)

“Bacon handles language like no one else, and her clear eye and wild imagination cook up a world of characters and contexts that is utterly transformative.“

—JEN WEBB, Distinguished Professor of Creative Practice at the University of Canberra, author and poet

“Bacon’s distinctive style infuses surreal, poetic elements into this mostly mainstream novel about identity, community, trauma, and being African in Australia.”

—LOCUS MAGAZINE

“Serengotti is a testament to Eugen Bacon's storytelling prowess and serves as a reminder of the enduring power of connection”

—ARTS HUB