Cirrus@Austlit

'Life’s binaries bleed into each other in a spirited memoir shadowed by a terminal illness'

'As a family therapist, Nina is the ultimate listener. Yet this is of little use with her latest clients, the Agostinos, who have been mandated to see her after stealing a car and disappearing into the outback.

'For support with the case, Nina meets with a supervising therapist, Erin. What they unearth in their sessions goes beyond the Agostino story into confronting personal territory for Nina. Meanwhile, despite her efforts, the Agostinos remain unwilling to speak—so how can Nina be sure that the two children are safe with their parents?

'In the tradition of Rachel Cusk’s Outline trilogy, Resistance is an elegant, hypnotic novel of stories within stories. Examining the unfathomable mysteries within our families, it also questions how we retell our history, both personal and collective.' (Publication summary) 

'A story of family and heredity, of the things that bind us together and that wrench us apart. In a small country town in the 1950s, the father of thirteen-year-old twins, Dominic and Mary Quinn, dies unexpectedly. While Dominic shoulders the mantle of family responsibility, free-spirited Mary escapes to the city in pursuit of love and the life of an artist. From there, she explores the bohemian haunts of a rapidly changing post-war city. Dominic and his mother don’t know where Mary is. When a generous widow offers money for Dominic’s education, Dominic returns to school and sets out for university in the city, determined to find his sister. He studies botany and becomes interested in genetics, a field on the brink of great things. He also meets the charismatic Hanna, a German Jewish refugee, psychology student, and devotee of Freud. When Dominic and Mary eventually reunite, they must come to terms with the truth behind their father’s death, a revelation with life-changing potential for them both.' (Publication summary)

'At forty-nine, Celeste has long renounced the religion of her childhood. Yet she finds herself reluctantly accompanying her mother and sister to a pilgrimage site in Romania, where her devout mother seeks a miracle — a cure for her terminal illness.

'As Celeste tries to come to terms with her mother's impending decline, she realises she has to confront the unspoken conflicts embedded in the foundations of her family. Away from her husband, she must also face her fear of what the future holds for them both.

'Full of compassion, warmth and grace, Pilgrimage is a powerful meditation on how our personal histories haunt us, and an affirmation of the hope and sustenance that may be found in our imperfect families.' (From the publisher's website.)