The Burrow

In her unforgettable new novel, Victorian Premier's Literary Award-winner Melanie Cheng has created this year's literary masterpiece.

Amy, Jin and Lucie are leading isolated lives in their partially renovated, inner city home. They are not happy, but they are also terrified of change. When they buy a pet rabbit for Lucie, and then Amy's mother, Pauline, comes to stay, the family is forced to confront long-buried secrets. Will opening their hearts to the rabbit help them to heal or only invite further tragedy? The Burrow tells an unforgettable story about grief and hope. With her characteristic compassion and eye for detail, Melanie Cheng reveals the lives of others—even of a small rabbit.

‘Cheng is an elegant, unpretentious writer, carefully observant of the rhythms of ordinary human life—but when her imagination moves outside, into the natural world, The Burrow becomes something deeper, stranger, and truly beautiful.’ Oprah Daily

‘Best novel I read all year. And I read some great novels this year. A slender work of such composure and grace and humanity…It’s superb.’ Annabel Crabb

‘An exquisite portrait of grief and the small things that save us. I was mesmerised.’ Shankari Chandran

‘An exquisite morsel of a book where each character is perfectly realised through their response to a shared grief.’ Pip Williams, Best Books of 2024, Spectrum