William Lane's disarming new novel, The Word, brilliantly satirises the waysin which we use language to define our lives. Kenric is an oddball advertising eccentricwho possesses an unusual gift for language. The brands he names, sell. Yet hecomes to believe advertising uses language too cynically. He is inspired byMaria to abandon the corporate world and establish a small residentialcommunity called The Word. The idealistic community relocates from Pittwater toa warehouse in industrial Mount Druitt, gathering about it others concernedwith the misuse of language.

The Word is both acharming ensemble piece of unforgettable characters, and an astute and humorous exploration of the waysin language beguiles, creates connections, but also misleads. Lane understandsthe human tendency to seek answers and directions in the unlikeliest ofindividuals but is happy to show us the folly of doing so. As such the novelparallels current world trends, while evoking with candour Sydney's waterybeauty and suburban harshness.

'A novel that revels inrisks and delivers rewards of an altogether less conventional kind.' - Peter Pierce, The Australian on The Horses