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Cover image courtesy of publisher.
y separately published work icon The Meaning of Grace single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 2012... 2012 The Meaning of Grace
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'"Mum is the reference point. If you ever get confused about anything, there she is, waiting with all her knowledge of you."

'Grace Fisher, mother of three, one day decides her husband is a sore disappointment and moves the family from Melbourne to a coastal village in Victoria. But Ian's slow dissolution on the couch masked a depression that will harrow him into an early grave, leaving the kids with a lifetime of questioning: what happened to their father; how did he get so sad?

'Between their father's demise and Grace's hardscrabble existence working at a local bakery, each child is left to find meaning on their own. Edie, the eldest child, locks herself into a romantic ideal so lofty that it can't help but fail. The middle child, Juliet, struts and careens through life, filling it only with what she can seduce, steal and manipulate. Sibling rivalry between sisters proves the slowest and fiercest of burns. Love comes easily for Ted, the youngest, but when his wife abandons him to raise two daughters on his own, the perils of fatherhood are laid bare.

'When Grace, the distant, imperfect hub of the family, is diagnosed with terminal cancer, the siblings are forced to confront each other as adults, and come to understand their mother.' (From the publisher's website.)

Notes

  • Dedication: For Alan

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • North Sydney, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Vintage Australia , 2012 .
      image of person or book cover 7494170983432095043.jpg
      Cover image courtesy of publisher.
      Extent: 273p.
      Note/s:
      • Publication date: May 2012.
      ISBN: 9781742755359 (ebk.), 9781742755342 (pbk.)

Other Formats

  • Braille.
  • Sound recording.

Works about this Work

De Kretster Lands Double in Premier's Awards William Yeoman , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The West Australian , 17 September 2013; (p. 6-7)
List Confirms Writing Vigour William Yeoman , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The West Australian , 2 July 2013; (p. 6-7)
Take Three : For Her Sophie Kilmartin , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: Sunday Canberra Times , 18 November 2012; (p. 34)

— Review of The House of Memories Monica McInerney , 2012 single work novel ; The Meaning of Grace Deborah Forster , 2012 single work novel
Words of Great Worth Robyn Annear , David Day , Lyn McCredden , Peter Pierce , Lucy Sussex , 2012 single work column
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 4 August 2012; (p. 30-31)
This column comprises the judges' comments on the shortlisted works for the 2012 Age Book of the Year Award. (The list includes three titles, outside the scope of AustLit, by James Boyce, Paul Ham and Jane Gleeson-White.)
Well Read Katharine England , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 2 June 2012; (p. 20)

— Review of The Meaning of Grace Deborah Forster , 2012 single work novel
Astral Weeks Jay Daniel Thompson , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , May no. 341 2012; (p. 28)

— Review of The Meaning of Grace Deborah Forster , 2012 single work novel
Torn Fabric of a Family Felicity Plunkett , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 19 May 2012; (p. 20)

— Review of The Meaning of Grace Deborah Forster , 2012 single work novel
Fault Lines Pan Out from Family's Mother Lode of Anguish Lucy Clark , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 9-10 June 2012; (p. 22)

— Review of The Meaning of Grace Deborah Forster , 2012 single work novel
Strength behind Life's Simple Truths Helen Elliott , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 16 June 2012; (p. 29) The Sydney Morning Herald , 23-24 June 2012; (p. 37)

— Review of The Meaning of Grace Deborah Forster , 2012 single work novel
Well Read Katharine England , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 2 June 2012; (p. 20)

— Review of The Meaning of Grace Deborah Forster , 2012 single work novel
Family Values 2012 single work column
— Appears in: Sunday Canberra Times , 13 May 2012; (p. 3)
There But for the Grace of Mum Samantha Selinger-Morris , 2012 single work column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 20 May 2012; (p. 18)
Words of Great Worth Robyn Annear , David Day , Lyn McCredden , Peter Pierce , Lucy Sussex , 2012 single work column
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 4 August 2012; (p. 30-31)
This column comprises the judges' comments on the shortlisted works for the 2012 Age Book of the Year Award. (The list includes three titles, outside the scope of AustLit, by James Boyce, Paul Ham and Jane Gleeson-White.)
List Confirms Writing Vigour William Yeoman , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The West Australian , 2 July 2013; (p. 6-7)
De Kretster Lands Double in Premier's Awards William Yeoman , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The West Australian , 17 September 2013; (p. 6-7)
Last amended 26 Aug 2021 13:34:03
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