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Image courtesy of publisher's website.
y separately published work icon Sunbathing : A Novel single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 2022... 2022 Sunbathing : A Novel
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Summertime in Italy, fresh vegetables from the garden, taking turns washing dishes, reading to each other, learning about cherry worms. Strange how badly I could punish myself for abandoning you once, then go and do it again.

'After weeks of grieving, a woman books a plane ticket bound for an old villa in the mountains of Abruzzo. Invited to stay with her friends Giulia and Fab - in the weeks before they marry in a village orchard - she lives for a summer in the house's Birthing Room, where generations of women once had their babies.

'More often, though, she lives in her head: in the past, trying to make sense of her grief and wondering how to go on, or if she can.

'As her inner and outer worlds spar and converge, she passes the time helping with the household chores, walking in the sunshine and plucking fruit from the nearby orchards, all while dwelling on the moments with her father that might have warned her something was wrong.

'This spare, stunning novel explores the workings of the self in the wake of devastation and deep regret, and reveals the infinite ways that the everyday offers solace and hope.' (Publication summary)

Notes

  • Author's note: To my family

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Crows Nest, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Allen and Unwin , 2022 .
      image of person or book cover 1629484886342707485.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 304p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 3rd May 2022
      ISBN: 9781761065774

Other Formats

Works about this Work

A Personal Exercise Imogen Dewey , 2022 single work review
— Appears in: Meanjin Online 2022;

— Review of Sunbathing : A Novel Isobel Beech , 2022 single work novel
Isobel Beech : Sunbathing Robyne Young , 2022 single work review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , October 2022;

— Review of Sunbathing : A Novel Isobel Beech , 2022 single work novel
'Isobel Beech’s debut novel explores the grief left behind by a father’s suicide.'
Getting Sad or Getting Mad : Three New Novels Exploring Women’s Suffering Georgia White , 2022 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , August no. 445 2022; (p. 26-27)

— Review of Blue Hour Sarah Schmidt , 2022 single work novel ; Bone Memories Sally Piper , 2022 single work novel ; Sunbathing : A Novel Isobel Beech , 2022 single work novel
Isobel Beech Sunbathing Maria Takolander , 2022 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 4-10 June 2022;

— Review of Sunbathing : A Novel Isobel Beech , 2022 single work novel

'Sunbathing might sound like a relaxing holiday read but it is in fact an absorbing study of the grief of a nameless young woman who has lost her father to suicide. Isobel Beech makes apparent how complex grief can be in these circumstances and does so with an authority grounded in personal experience. Beech has acknowledged the autobiographical foundation of this book, which is written in first person and reads just like a memoir. Yet Sunbathing is subtitled “A novel”.' (Introduction)

‘Exquisite’, ‘Extraordinary’, ‘Insightful’ : The Best Australian Books Out in May Steph Harmon , Sian Cain , Lucy Clark , Steve Dow , 2022 single work review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 2 May 2022;

— Review of Homesickness : A Memoir Janine Mikosza , 2022 single work autobiography ; Bedtime Story Chloe Hooper , 2022 single work autobiography ; Here Goes Nothing Steve Toltz , 2022 single work novel ; Sunbathing : A Novel Isobel Beech , 2022 single work novel
‘Exquisite’, ‘Extraordinary’, ‘Insightful’ : The Best Australian Books Out in May Steph Harmon , Sian Cain , Lucy Clark , Steve Dow , 2022 single work review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 2 May 2022;

— Review of Homesickness : A Memoir Janine Mikosza , 2022 single work autobiography ; Bedtime Story Chloe Hooper , 2022 single work autobiography ; Here Goes Nothing Steve Toltz , 2022 single work novel ; Sunbathing : A Novel Isobel Beech , 2022 single work novel
Isobel Beech Sunbathing Maria Takolander , 2022 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 4-10 June 2022;

— Review of Sunbathing : A Novel Isobel Beech , 2022 single work novel

'Sunbathing might sound like a relaxing holiday read but it is in fact an absorbing study of the grief of a nameless young woman who has lost her father to suicide. Isobel Beech makes apparent how complex grief can be in these circumstances and does so with an authority grounded in personal experience. Beech has acknowledged the autobiographical foundation of this book, which is written in first person and reads just like a memoir. Yet Sunbathing is subtitled “A novel”.' (Introduction)

Getting Sad or Getting Mad : Three New Novels Exploring Women’s Suffering Georgia White , 2022 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , August no. 445 2022; (p. 26-27)

— Review of Blue Hour Sarah Schmidt , 2022 single work novel ; Bone Memories Sally Piper , 2022 single work novel ; Sunbathing : A Novel Isobel Beech , 2022 single work novel
Isobel Beech : Sunbathing Robyne Young , 2022 single work review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , October 2022;

— Review of Sunbathing : A Novel Isobel Beech , 2022 single work novel
'Isobel Beech’s debut novel explores the grief left behind by a father’s suicide.'
A Personal Exercise Imogen Dewey , 2022 single work review
— Appears in: Meanjin Online 2022;

— Review of Sunbathing : A Novel Isobel Beech , 2022 single work novel
Last amended 12 Oct 2022 14:07:27
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