'A stunning debut novel from a bright new voice in Australian fiction in this deeply affecting portrait of a dysfunctional family.
'For the past seven years, Clare has been living in London. She works for a judge on child protection cases. Her partner, Miriam, is devoted to raising their young son, Rupert; their days are dominated by nap times, laundry, and hiding from each other.
'When Clare returns to Melbourne to visit her ailing father, another family crisis looms - her brother Max's long-term drug addiction. She turns her efforts towards helping Max into rehab, but is this at the expense of her family back in London?
'Moving, heartbreaking and insightful, Together We Fall Apart is a beautifully written novel about running away and coming home.' (Publication summary)
'Sophie Matthiesson’s debut novel, Together We Fall Apart, is another contribution to the genre of feminine middle-class melodrama in Australian fiction, the growing appetite for which might be bound up with the rise of book groups. This type of book is characterised by a well-educated, professional female protagonist and a plot centred on individual romance and familial challenges, with the latter most typically involving the death of a parent. These novels, which seem to prize being relatable, are often characterised by what Patrick White might have called a “dreary, dun-coloured” realism. Matthiesson’s novel isn’t always compelling – descriptions of busy airports and train stations are unnecessary and the dialogue is often banal – but the story is certainly not without appeal. This is primarily because it retains a bold interest in the unsentimental, even unpalatable, complexity of human relationships.' (Introduction)
'Sophie Matthiesson’s debut novel, Together We Fall Apart, is another contribution to the genre of feminine middle-class melodrama in Australian fiction, the growing appetite for which might be bound up with the rise of book groups. This type of book is characterised by a well-educated, professional female protagonist and a plot centred on individual romance and familial challenges, with the latter most typically involving the death of a parent. These novels, which seem to prize being relatable, are often characterised by what Patrick White might have called a “dreary, dun-coloured” realism. Matthiesson’s novel isn’t always compelling – descriptions of busy airports and train stations are unnecessary and the dialogue is often banal – but the story is certainly not without appeal. This is primarily because it retains a bold interest in the unsentimental, even unpalatable, complexity of human relationships.' (Introduction)
