Australian writers do bleak family realism well and this short novel is no exception. Short-listed for this years Miles Franklin, which will be announced next week, it's a story about dysfunctional parenting reminiscent of Tony Birch's Blood. Again we have a child narrator, which seems to be the trend with many Australian writers at the moment, 11 year old Tom who is living with his grandmother and grandfather and older brother Jordy. The boys are living a stable and happy life but when the long lost Loretta returns to reclaim them their eyes will be opened to a far from salubrious side to life. This is a very good first novel in many ways and although child narrators can often be irritating (think Room) this one worked well. I especially liked the character of Jordy who although just that little bit older than Tom has made the jump from childhood to adolescence and was the voice of reason, albeit grumpy, throughout the novel whilst Tom remained naive and innocent. These boys are certainly not lucky in the circumstance they have been put in, however they are lucky to have each other. Throughout the novel normal sibling rivalry is apparent but below the surface there is an unspoken bond that speaks volumes. There was a real suspenseful build up to this novel and I kept waiting for some type of climax which didn't really happen however overall this is a worthwhile read.
