Dusk: A Novel [Hardcover]

A New Yorker best book of 2025 so far

“Arnott has an astonishing facility with language, and his prose imbues the Tasmanian wilderness with an extraordinary, immanent beauty . . . Starkly beautiful and deeply felt.” —James Bradley, The Guardian

This is a propulsive novel of survival and betrayal, enriched by arresting depictions of nature. —The Economist

Arresting . . . Readers will be utterly captivated by this atmospheric tale of danger and survival. —Publishers Weekly, starred review


For fans of North Woods and The Vaster Wilds, Dusk is a propulsive, moody, and atmospheric take on the Western.

In the distant highlands, a puma named Dusk is killing shepherds. Down in the lowlands, twins Iris and Floyd are out of work, money and friends. When they hear that a bounty has been placed on Dusk, they reluctantly decide to join the hunt. As they journey up into this wild, haunted country, they discover there's far more to the land and people of the highlands than they imagined. And as they close in on their prey, they're forced to reckon with conflicts both ancient and deeply personal.

From the critically acclaimed and award-winning author of The Rain Heron, Dusk is a masterful, mythical tale of loss, redemption, and survival. This is a propulsive novel of survival and betrayal, enriched by arresting depictions of nature.
—The Economist

[A] meditative novel . . . As [the twins] traverse a ghostly landscape of snow, mist, and fossils, they confront questions of morality and belonging.
—New Yorker&lƒ-