Marie King is fifty-nine, recently divorced, and has lived a rather privileged suburban existence. And though her three adult children have moved out, they are telling her what to wear, making her buy smarter furniture, and urging her to sell the family home and with it her beloved garden. Marie feels trapped.
On a drunken whim, Marie gets a tattoo – the beginning of an unexpected friendship with her tattoo artist, Rhys. Her children are mortified by their mother’s transformation, but have their own self-absorbed challenges to deal with: workplace politics, love affairs and the real-estate market. Before long, Rhys has introduced Marie to a side of her city that she never encountered before and she begins to realise that the affluent world she has left behind has kept her in its clutches for far too long.
Editorial Reviews
Review
The most talked-about new Australian novel… Ian McEwan: watch out. ― Big Issue
McGregor, through her
unusual and compelling use of language, transforms this family’s story into something epic. ― Sydney Morning Herald
The
richest and most complete evocation of Sydney since Patrick White’s The Vivisector — Geordie Williamson ― The Monthly
An
exceptional novel: complex, confronting, richly imagined and beautifully wrought. — Debra Adelaide ― author of The Household Guide to Dying
Book Description
‘Marie King is destined to become one of the great characters of Australian literature. This is a superb book by one of our finest writers.’ Christos Tsiolkas, author of The Slap
About the Author
Fiona McGregor is the author of four works of fiction: Au Pair, shortlisted for The Australian/Vogel Award; Suck My Toes, winner of the Steele Rudd Award; chemical palace, shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Award for fiction; and, most recently, Indelible Ink Main Edition. Fiona has also written a travel memoir, Strange Museums. She was voted one of the inaugural Best Young Novelists by the Sydney Morning Herald in 1997. Fiona is also known as a performance artist. She has performed live across Australia and Europe, and her video works have been seen internationally.
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