Name: When Things Are Alive They Hum
ISBN: 9781761150081

Hannah Bent

A heartbreaking work of wonder about the hum that connects us all

When Things Are Alive They Hum

Australian Women’s Weekly Great Read ‘Hannah Bent’s outstanding debut is a wise, wondrous celebration of life.’ – The Australian ‘Hannah Bent has created a literary heroine of such pure beauty she takes your breath away.’ – Australian Women’s Weekly ‘Read it if you like: Your sister, anything by Trent Dalton, having a good cry, and My Sister’s Keeper.’ – Mamamia Marlowe and Harper share a bond deeper than most sisters, shaped by the loss of their mother in childhood. For Harper, living with what she calls the Up syndrome and gifted with an endless capacity for wonder, Marlowe and she are connected by an invisible thread, like the hum that connects all things. For Marlowe, they are bound by her fierce determination to keep Harper, born with a congenital heart disorder, alive. Now twenty-five, Marlowe is living abroad when she receives the devastating call that Harper’s heart is failing and she is being denied a transplant by the medical establishment. Marlowe rushes to her childhood home in Hong Kong to be by Harper’s side and soon has to answer the question – what lengths would you go to save your sister? When Things are Alive They Hum poses profound questions about the nature of love and existence, the ways grief changes us, and how we confront the hand fate has dealt us. Intensely moving, exquisitely written and literally humming with wonder, it is a novel that celebrates life in all its guises, and what comes after. PRAISE FOR WHEN THINGS ARE ALIVE THEY HUM ‘When literature is alive it hums, and rattles and warms and hurts and heals. Hannah Bent and her wondrous Harper and Marlowe have changed the way I’ve been going about my days. What a gift.’ – Trent Dalton, author of Boy Swallows Universe and All Our Shimmering Skies ‘A simply beautiful novel.’ – Good Reading ‘...what stayed with me was the achingly beautiful portrayal of the love between the two sisters. If I had a sister, that is how I would like to feel.’ – Nicole Abadee, Sydney Morning Herald ‘heartbreakingly beautiful’ – Family Circle

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Anna Pienaar

Very well written so kept me engaged, but wasn't quite enough plot progression for my liking

Eva Bailey

3.5 stars. This started off slow but is such a special book. I loved the exploration into sister bonds and grief, was a sobbing mess by the end.

Natalie Manuel

This is such a special, beautiful and quiet read about two sisters - Harper and Marlowe. 

For a debut, Hannah Bent has done such a great job of creating two very distinct narrative voices. Harper is one of the most delightful characters I’ve ever read - her voice is so strong, so beautiful.
Marlowe is frustrating at times but Harper’s insight into her guides us to be less judgemental and understand that she is just a young woman whose heart is broken from her previous loss.

Not quite 5 stars but a really solid debut and solid 4 star read.

When Things Are Alive They Hum

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