The October Child
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Markings: Previous owner
A landmark work of Australian children's and young adult fiction, The October Child chronicles the profound impact that the arrival of a severely autistic younger brother has on the Mariners, a close-knit family living on the New South Wales coast. The story centers on eldest son Carl, whose world is quietly upended as the family's attention and resources become consumed by the needs of young Dominic, leaving Carl to navigate feelings of neglect, confusion, and fierce, complicated love. Written with emotional honesty and quiet intensity, Spence illustrates the daily realities of raising a child with autism at a time when the condition was poorly understood, making the novel both a compassionate family portrait and a quietly groundbreaking work of social realism. The narrative avoids sentimentality, instead presenting the full weight of the family's struggle with unflinching tenderness and psychological depth. First published in 1976 and winner of the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award, it remains a touchstone of Australian literature for its humane and nuanced treatment of disability and family dynamics.
Author: Eleanor Spence
Format: Hardback
Published: 1977, Oxford University Press
Genre: Modern fiction
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Markings: Previous owner
A landmark work of Australian children's and young adult fiction, The October Child chronicles the profound impact that the arrival of a severely autistic younger brother has on the Mariners, a close-knit family living on the New South Wales coast. The story centers on eldest son Carl, whose world is quietly upended as the family's attention and resources become consumed by the needs of young Dominic, leaving Carl to navigate feelings of neglect, confusion, and fierce, complicated love. Written with emotional honesty and quiet intensity, Spence illustrates the daily realities of raising a child with autism at a time when the condition was poorly understood, making the novel both a compassionate family portrait and a quietly groundbreaking work of social realism. The narrative avoids sentimentality, instead presenting the full weight of the family's struggle with unflinching tenderness and psychological depth. First published in 1976 and winner of the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award, it remains a touchstone of Australian literature for its humane and nuanced treatment of disability and family dynamics.