'Stories told from the point of view of Beatie, a young girl growing up in Brisbane, (Publication summary)recreate family relationships and trace the path from adolescence to adulthood.'
In suburban stories such "Against The Wall," a young girl's year of home lessons (she stutters, and school is interrupted on that account) exposes her to the delicious boredom--yet terror--of seeing what one's parents' lives are like 24 hours of the day.
(Source: Kirkus Reviews)
'In 1978, Australia’s two most coveted national literary prizes of the time were both won by women: Helen Garner’s first novel Monkey Grip (1977) won the National Book Council Award for fiction, and the Miles Franklin Literary Award was won by Tirra Lirra by the River (1978), Jessica Anderson’s fourth novel. Both of these books have since become classics of Australian literature, rarely out of print and regularly rediscovered by new generations of readers.' (Author's introduction 30)