Turtle Diary
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  • Published: 2 July 2021
  • ISBN: 9780241485767
  • Imprint: Penguin Classics
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 208
  • RRP: $22.99

Turtle Diary

Formats & editions
Paperback
2 Jul 2021
EBook
25 Mar 2021
Audiobook
29 Apr 2021
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'Places Russell Hoban where he has got to be - among the greatest, timeless novelists' The Times

Born to swim thousands of miles in the ocean, the giant sea turtles are now trapped in a tank of golden-green water at London Zoo. But not for much longer. Two lonely people, a bookseller and a children's illustrator, have begun thinking turtle thoughts. As they come together to hatch a plan to release the turtles into the sea, their diaries reveal how they find their own lives changing in imperceptible and quite unintended ways.
  • Published: 2 July 2021
  • ISBN: 9780241485767
  • Imprint: Penguin Classics
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 208
  • RRP: $22.99
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About the author

Russell Hoban

Born in Pennsylvania in 1925 to Ukrainian immigrant parents, Russell Hoban's interest in writing started early, with his stories and poetry winning him prizes while still at school. During the war he served in the US Infantry. Following his discharge from the army he held a variety of jobs, including work as a freelance illustrator and a copy-writer. It was during this time that he started writing, taking it up as a full-time occupation in 1967. His first full-length novel, The Mouse and His Child was published in 1968, and is widely regarded as a children's classic. In addition to his acclaimed children's books, Hoban writes for adults. He has lived in London since 1969.

Also by Russell Hoban

Mr Rinyo-Clacton's Offer
Riddley Walker
The Medusa Frequency
Fremder
Kleinzeit
The Lion of Boaz-Jachin and Jachin-Boaz
Pilgermann
See all

Praise for Turtle Diary

This wonderful, life-saving fantasy places Russell Hoban where he has got to be - among the greatest, timeless novelists.

The Times

This lovely human fable seems to me one of the best things of its kind - a fine and touching achievement.

John Fowles

Crackles with witty detail, mordant intelligence and self-deprecating irony.

Time

A story about the recovery of life ... Like other cult writers - Salinger for instance, or Vonnegut - Hoban writes about ordinary people making life-affirming gestures in a world that threatens to dissolve in madness.

Newsweek

Russell Hoban is our Ur-novelist, a maverick voice that is like no other.

Sunday Telegraph

Worth rejoicing in ... a banquet of whimsical delights. Each Russell Hoban book is surprising ... but you also know what you're getting, which is curiosity, wonder and a world-encompassing empathy.

John Self, The Guardian

[Turtle Diary] has medicinal qualities. I only need to think about it and I'm in a better mood.

Max Porter

Tragicomic pleasure ... Metaphysical speculation undercut by dry humour is the signature style of Russell Hoban.

Richard Preston, The Times
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