THE DEBUT NOVEL FROM THE 2020 RICHELL PRIZE WINNER! An evocative and powerful story about marriage, culture, family and the uncertainties of love in all its forms
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THE DEBUT NOVEL FROM THE 2020 RICHELL PRIZE WINNER! An evocative and powerful story about marriage, culture, family and the uncertainties of love in all its forms
Description
'A stirring, magical, and emotional novel about family, belonging, marriage, race, and culture ... The best novels are never long enough, and you won't want After the Rain to end' The Australian
'A staggering soulful achievement' The Australian Women's WeeklyMalti Fortune is uneasy. She has turned away from her birthplace of Fiji to make a new life in Melbourne. But all that she thought was certain is now in danger of being swept away. Her husband, Benjamin, a linguist, is a conundrum. He has changed. Or has she? The stories and superstitions of her childhood are telling her something she knows but doesn't want to hear - about being a trespasser, about not belonging.In the years to come, Malti and Benjamin's daughters are also to learn some hard truths. For Ellery, the hands-on father of her memories vanishes for months on end and the remembered fragments of good times aren't enough to sustain her anymore. Verona, on the verge of adulthood, can't imagine a world without her beloved Dad. He is her rock and hero. But Malti and Ellery both know that you can't depend on Benjamin.What makes a family? What does home look like? All three women are seeking answers. Each is haunted by her own ghosts. And by Benjamin. To find what they are looking for, they need to be honest with themselves and make peace with their own unreliable memories.After the Rain is a moving, exquisitely observed novel about marriage and family, dislocation, culture and belonging, from an exciting new voice in Australian literature.'A beautifully realised exploration of family, identity and dislocation. Smith beautifully captures complicated feelings around building a home in a new country, choosing your own path in life and realising your parents are just people, too' Books and Publishing'A thunderous debut full of life, love and legends. A truly sensational read!' WINNIE DUNN'Aisling Smith's debut novel ... amply demonstrates her ability to write well and create complex and likeable characters. This is a novel about marriage, family dynamics and the attempt to live between two cultures and lands. I highly recommend it' Australian Book Review'An evocative and powerful story about marriage, culture, family and the uncertainties of love in all its forms' Kill Your Darlings'[like] Anne Tyler ... Smith is a powerful novelist with an extraordinary eye for the nuances of human bonds. Smith has written these characters with intelligence and compassion, imbuing them with a convincing complexity and fallibility that engenders remarkable authenticity' Kill Your Darlings'Complex and textured ... An intricate, subtly shaded exploration ofAbout the Author
Aisling Smith is a Melbourne-based writer. She was the winner of the 2020 Richell Prize for Emerging Writers. Her writing has appeared in Meanjin online, SWAMP, Verge and Verandah. She has twice been a Verandah Award winner (receiving an Editors' Choice Award in 2011 and a Deakin Literary Award in 2015) and placed third for the 2020 St Kilda Historical Society Short Story Competition. In 2019, Aisling completed a PhD in Literary Studies at Monash University, researching the fiction of David Foster Wallace. In her spare time, she is an aerialist and plays the cello.
Malti Fortune is uneasy. She has turned away from her birthplace of Fiji to make a new life in Melbourne. But all that she thought was certain is now in danger of being swept away. Her husband, Benjamin, a linguist, is a conundrum. He has changed. Or has she? The stories and superstitions of her childhood are telling her something she knows but doesn't want to hear - about being a trespasser, about not belonging.In the years to come, Malti and Benjamin's daughters are also to learn some hard truths. For Ellery, the hands-on father of her memories vanishes for months on end and the remembered fragments of good times aren't enough to sustain her anymore. Verona, on the verge of adulthood, can't imagine a world without her beloved Dad. He is her rock and hero. But Malti and Ellery both know that you can't depend on Benjamin.What makes a family? What does home look like? All three women are seeking answers. Each is haunted by her own ghosts. And by Benjamin. To find what they are looking for, they need to be honest with themselves and make peace with their own unreliable memories. After the Rain is a moving, exquisitely observed novel about marriage and family, dislocation, culture and belonging, from an exciting new voice in Australian literature.
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