‘So poignant and so true. … A fabulous debut novel for Australian author Claire Corbett, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for what she does next.’ – read the rest of this review at the My Four Bucks blog
‘The flying sequences featured throughout When We Have Wings have a vivid, dreamlike intensity. Corbett’s characters are well developed, and she engages with a range of important social issues. These issues include genetic modification, motherhood, and class stratification…. Corbett skilfully depicts a bleak future in which advanced technology only exacerbates social inequalities. The plight of her characters (particularly Peri) is gripping and often moving.’ – from the review by Jay Daniel Thompson, ABR
‘Not one of the moral quandaries in this book is improbable as they are the same dilemmas the world now struggles to resolve: whose life is worth saving, how to define a parent, how should the resources of the planet be allocated, what is love. This is what makes When We Have Wings unsettling–the realization that this is a metaphor for today’s world….
‘The pages of [Peri’s] her solo flight are truly memorable, exhilarating and terrifying, and the linchpin upon which the story appears to pivot. But as with all thoughtful fiction, everything is not what it seems. Humanity is still the force that matters and endures. And it is this which gives strength and depth to this book.’ – from the review by Mary Philip, Daily Telegraph