by Anna Solding

The Hum of Concrete is an evocative novel about a city and its people.

Set in the multicultural city of Malmö, Sweden, The Hum of Concrete is the story of five people whose lives intersect. Consumed with despair, Palestinian Nassrin walks into the ocean with her baby in her arms. Susanna dares to take a stand against gay-bashers. By starlight, Bodil sees the city from the roof of a church. Estella meets her tough little half-brother for the first time. Lonely Rhyme seeks shelter in a tree full of fairy lights. And all round them, the hum of concrete.

With photographic precision, Anna Solding captures both light and shadow found in the fleeting beauty of everyday life. From the silences between people and the ordinariness of places, she conjures narrative jewels of intelligence and pleasure.

The Hum of Concrete was shortlisted for the 2010 Adelaide Festival Award for Best Unpublished Manuscript and the 2013 South Australian Readers' and Writers' Festival People's Choice Award.

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