The Healing Party
A Novel
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3.9 • 8 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Evocative, taut and wryly funny, this stunning novel is about faith and lies, the spirit and the flesh
'The Healing Party succeeds in the aim all novels share: it suggests new ways of seeing.' --The Monthly
Estranged from her family, Natasha is making a life for herself in Darwin when her sister calls with bad news. Their mother is ill, with only a few months to live. Confused and conflicted, Natasha returns home. But her father, an evangelical Christian, is still the domineering yet magnetic man she ran from, and her sisters and mother are still in his thrall.
One night her father makes an astonishing announcement: he has received a message from God that his wife is to be healed, and they must hold a party to celebrate. As Natasha and her sisters prepare for the big event -- and the miracle -- she struggles to reconcile her family's faith with her sense that they are pretending. Is she a traitor or the only one who can see the truth? And what use is truth anyway, in the face of death?
Taut, funny and poignant, The Healing Party is an electrifying debut novel about faith and lies, the spirit and the flesh.
'A striking fictional debut and contemporary parable of religious salvation at all costs' --The Sydney Morning Herald
'A compelling portrait of religious zealotry but also of true goodness. The portrait of the family is wonderfully realised, especially the mother, whom Lee has imbued with warmth and grace, and her own inner mystery.' --Amanda Lohrey
'A wild family drama, shot through with a furious, pure and grieving love.' --Helen Garner
'I couldn't stop till I finished. Horrifying and wonderful.' --David Marr
'Incredibly gripping, highly recommended' --Leigh Sales
Shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards and the Dobbie Literary Award; Longlisted for the Voss Literary Prize
Customer Reviews
Multi-talented
Author
Malaysian-Chinese who migrated to Australia with her family when she was eight. They settled in Melbourne and became born-again Christians. Despite being confined to a wheelchair by spinal muscular atrophy, Ms Lee managed to qualify as a lawyer. As her condition progressed, she explored her creative side as a painter with some success, but had to abandon that as well when her arms became too weak. Undaunted, she decided to write, attended a creative writing course with Helen Garner as one of the tutors, and was quickly encouraged to seek a publisher for this work, which was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award and longlisted for the Voss prize.
Plot
The protagonist is Natasha, the twenty-something daughter of a Chinese family that migrated to Melbourne from Hong Kong. The rest of them are eager born again Christians. Natasha lost her faith, if ever she had it, and moved to Darwin where she's a social worker, sort of. Then her Mum is diagnosed with cancer and a guilty Natasha returns home to help with care of her now wheelchair-bound parent. Meanwhile, Natasha’s extremely pious father, who fancies himself as a painter of devotional images, prophesies a miracle and arranges a healing party with 250 witnesses to watch her Mum ride her wheelchair up the "ramp to salvation" and over the back fence to freedom. As you would. Or not, as the case may be. Lots of family dynamics ensue and Natasha eventually returns to Darwin where she must take a lesser position than she previously held at work. Before too long, her Mum dies though, and Natasha’s off to Melbourne again for the funeral and a rehash of the family dynamics.
Writing
The author has a nice style, even as she makes the reader uncomfortable, and provides interesting cultural insights. Considering this was her first and only attempt at creative writing, I understand why Helen Garner was impressed.
Bottom line
I heard an interview where Ms Lee said she wanted to show that Asian people did not all fit the stereotype of maths-science geek! She succeeded.