Gender:
Female
Believe in Me
St Lucia
:
University of Queensland Press
,
2021
21861257
2021
single work
novel
'An unforgettable and profound novel about three generations of one family and the healing power of understanding where you've come from.
'As a teenager in the 1970s, Sarah is forced to leave her home in upstate New York to accompany a missionary to Idaho. When she falls pregnant, she is despatched to relatives in Sydney, who place her in a home for unmarried mothers. Years later her daughter, Bet, pieces together her mother's life story, hoping to understand her better. As she learns more about Sarah's past, Bet struggles to come to terms with her own history and identity, yet is determined to make peace with Sarah's choices before it's too late.
'Lucy Neave's moving and deeply personal second novel, Believe in Me, explores the relationships between mothers and their children across three generations of one family. The book questions what we can ever truly know of our parents' early lives, even as their experiences weave ineffably into our identities and destinies.' (Publication summary)
Who We Were
Melbourne
:
Text Publishing
,
2013
5996084
2013
single work
novel
'Melbourne, 1938. Annabel's dream is to be a scientist. Falling in love is not part of her plan. But when she meets Bill Whitten she knows instantly that they are destined for each other.
'She has to wait for him to come back from the war. Their life together, as lovers and microbiologists, can now begin.
'The newlyweds emigrate to New York. They are at once captivated by fellow immigrants Frank, an ex-Communist from Hungary, and his playwright wife, Suzy. It's the 1950s and the Cold War is in full swing. Frank, Annabel and Bill find work on weapons projects, experimenting with lethal infectious diseases.
'Did they cross the world for this? Annabel's whole being is anchored in her ardour for Bill, and their work together. But other forces—suspicion, paranoia, deceit—are at play. Everything begins to unravel: her work, her career and her marriage.
'With its backdrop of science and politics Who We Were is a love story to be reckoned with, an intimate and powerful first novel about trust, obsession and the truth itself.' (Publisher's blurb)
