Hailed as a "literary sensation" by "The New York Times Book Review," Carpentaria is the luminous award-winning novel by Australian Aboriginal writer and activist Alexis Wright.Alexis Wright employs mysticism, stark reality, and pointed imagination to re-create the land and the Aboriginal people of "Carpentaria."In the sparsely populated northern Queensland town of Desperance, loyalties run deep and battle lines have been drawn between the powerful Phantom family, leaders of the Westend Pricklebush people, and Joseph Midnight's renegade Eastend mob, and their disputes with the white officials of neighboring towns. Steeped in myth and magical realism, Wright's hypnotic storytelling exposes the heartbreaking realities of Aboriginal life.By turns operatic and everyday, surreal and sensational, the novel teems with extraordinary, larger-than-life characters. From the outcast savior Elias Smith, religious zealot Mossie Fishman, and murderous mayor Bruiser to activist Will Phantom and Normal Phantom, ruler of the family, these unforgettable characters transcend their circumstances and challenge assumptions about the downtrodden "other." Trapped between politics and principle, past and present, the indigenous tribes fight to protect their natural resources, sacred sites, and above all, their people.Already an international bestseller, "Carpentaria" has garnered praise from around the world.

亚历克西斯•赖特（Alexis Wright,1950- ），澳大利亚著名原住民作家。她是生活在澳大利亚卡彭塔利亚湾南部高原瓦安伊部落的成员。亚历克西斯•赖特的曾祖父是十九世纪下半叶流落到澳大利亚的中国人。

亚历克西斯•赖特也是澳大利亚著名的捍卫原住民权利的社会活动家。她曾经为澳大利亚土著人的土地权、为北部地区原住民自治政府和宪法的改革，为抵制官方政策对原住民利益的损害，奔走呼号，做了多年斗争。她在捍卫原住民权利的报刊工作多年，经常发表针砭时弊的文章。一九九七年，亚历克西斯•赖特出版了《格洛格酒之战》（Grog War）。这本书深刻剖析了生活在偏僻的滕南特克里克地区的原住民与格洛格酒有关的严重的社会问题，引起广泛关注。同年，她的长篇小说《希望的土地》（Plains of Promise），获英联邦文学创作提名奖，新南威尔士总理小说奖和年度文学奖，并被翻译成多种文字出版。但是，迄今为止，亚历克西斯•赖特最受欢迎的作品是她的长篇小说《卡彭塔利亚湾》。

亚历克西斯•赖特创作的新小说《天鹅》（The Swan Book）将于二〇一二年出版。目前她是西悉尼大学文学院研究员，RMIT大学荣誉博士。