Infinite Splendours
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4.0 • 67 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
The incandescent new novel from the acclaimed Miles Franklin winner author of The Eye of the Sheep and The Choke.
WINNER OF THE 2021 COLIN RODERICK AWARD
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 MILES FRANKLIN LITERARY AWARD
Lawrence Loman is a bright, caring, curious boy with a gift for painting. He lives at home with his mother and younger brother, and the future is laid out before him, full of promise. But when he is ten, an experience of betrayal takes it all away, and Lawrence is left to deal with the devastating aftermath.
As he grows into a man, how will he make sense of what he has suffered? He cannot rewrite history, but must he be condemned to repeat it?
Lawrence finds meaning in the best way he knows. By surrendering himself to art and nature, he creates beauty - beauty made all the more astonishing and soulful for the deprivation that gives rise to it.
Infinite Splendours is an extraordinary novel, incandescent with love and compassion, rich in colour and character. The power and virtuosity of Laguna's writing make it impossible for us to look away; by being seen, Lawrence is redeemed.
And we, as readers, have had our minds and hearts opened in ways we can't forget.
'...deserves to stand beside David Malouf's Harland's Half Acre or Michelle de Kretser's The Lost Dog in that slender collection of brilliant Australian novels about art' - The Weekend Australian
Customer Reviews
History repeating
3.5 stars
Author
Australian. Did law, then became an actor (tom-AY-to, tom-AR-to), did a writing diploma along the way and became an author and playwright. Has published highly regarded many titles for children. Her first novel for adults One Foot Wrong (2008) was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards and long-listed for the Miles Franklin Award. Screen rights were optioned and she wrote the screenplay. The Eye of The Sheep (2014) won the 2015 Miles Franklin. The Choke (2017) was better IMHO. It is fair to say children feature prominently in Ms Laguna's adult novels.
Plot
Two boys growing up in a small town in the Grampians in the early 1950s by their mother, after their pilot father perished in WW2. The older boy Lawrence is bright and talented artistically, the younger one Paul more athletic. Their uncle (her mother's brother) comes to stay. The boys are apprehensive but Mum and uncle went through a lot as kids, yada, yada. The nosy elderly neighbour thinks Uncle is dodgy, but Mum won't have it. Long story short, he rapes Lawrence, who ends up damaged from life as a result. He has an inappropriate relationship of his own with someone else's kid. Complications ensue. History repeating. Back to the old family home where he lives a hermit-like existence before resolution of sorts by the end.
Narrative
First person Lawrence in the main
Characterisation
Ms Laguna is a past master at portraying damaged kids, including when they become damaged adults. Most other characters lack nuance IMHO, not that it matters much.
Prose
Ms L is good at evoking place, time, and human emotion. There are some luminous passages here, and worthwhile points about fraught issues are made, but it felt repetitive at times.
Bottom line
Another class act from Ms Laguna likely to be a Miles Franklin and Stella contender. I think it would have been even better if it were a hundred or so pages shorter
Brilliant
I am so glad I discovered books by Sofie Liguna. She is an absolute beautiful writer. Her books and characters are so close to reality that at times I find myself not believing I am reading a book of fiction.
Infinitely tuturous
I didn't want to pick it up and I couldn't put it down. The only way forward was to read as much as I could in each reading to minimise the pain. How can words hurt so much? A truly extraordinary book. JW