Welcome to Litsy!

“I became a new person a long time ago. I‘m more outer-suburban folklore than great unsolved mystery.”
This melancholy novel about a bisexual woman on the run from her tragic past is rather too long in the middle but ultimately satisfying because she is such a vivid and memorable character, tenderly portrayed. #OzFiction #LGBTQ

Sometimes we played Azaria. Someone was Lindy and someone was baby Azaria, someone was the dad and someone was the baddie (murderer, wild dog, evil spirit) and someone was the policeman. Every role other than Lindy was a bit part. Sometimes she was a grief-stricken mother, sometimes a villainous murderer.

Thinking of our dear friend Jenny Colvin, @ReadingEnvy - she loved finding jacaranda references in her reading. 💜

Just finished this 2022 Miles Franklin Award winner. There is some heavy content, but handled in a way that made it somehow palatable/tolerable 🤔. A character-driven page-turner by a young Australian novelist. Bravo 👏. #ozfiction

So beautifully written. This book kept me reading just by the way it is written. It deals with a lot of tragedy and things I could not imagine. I almost didn‘t finish it as I was not in a good space myself at the time. However I kept going as the words flowed along , and I‘m very glad I did. A book so very worthy of the prize.

I loved this book. I hesitated to read it because of the dark subject-matter but it‘s handled so thoughtfully & Maggie is so engaging that it didn‘t feel heavy (mostly). She‘s a great character, a survivor who is flawed but resilient & smart. It made me think about the children who fall through the cracks & equally, the people who can make a difference. The middle section was hard going but overall I was thoroughly engrossed.

I loved this book. I hesitated to read it because of the dark subject-matter but it‘s handled so thoughtfully & Maggie is so engaging that it didn‘t feel heavy (mostly). She‘s a great character, a survivor who is flawed but resilient & smart. It made me think about the children who fall through the cracks & equally, the people who can make a difference. The middle section was hard going but overall I was thoroughly engrossed.

I finished reading this and felt breathless and so sad for the main character, Maggie. And for others like her whose lives are so tortured. This is a novel that will stay with you for a long time...I highly recommend it, but it's very real and may not be for everyone. I found it compulsive reading...had to keep going at a rapid pace to the end.

Defo want to read this one, winner of 2022 Miles Franklin award

Wow. Just wow. I have no idea who recommended this book to me but…wow. After following the hard life of Maggie from childhood to middle age, I feel like I know this woman and am already missing her. I keep wanting to tell other people about her story as if it‘s real. Warning: this is a bleak read (it reminded me of Shuggie Bain) with many trigger warnings. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me and I‘ve already bought another of Jennifer Down‘s books. #doublespin