Fragile Creatures

A powerful debut from an extraordinary voice, gentle in the face of extremity

Khin's sister Theda has a strange illness and a euthanasia drug locked in a box under her bed. Her doctor thinks her problem is purely physical, and so does she, but Khin is not so sure. He knows what they both went through growing up in Perth – it wasn't welcoming back then for a Burmese-Australian family.

With Theda's condition getting worse, Khin heads off to the United States. He needs to sort things out with his ex-partner. Once there, events take a very odd turn, and he finds himself in court.

This is a family story told with humour, wonderment and complete honesty. It's about care, truth and the hardest choices – and what happens when realities clash. How do we balance responsibility for others with what we owe ourselves? Fragile Creatures will sweep you up and leave you stunned at its power.

'The miracle of this book is the writer's tone: calm, patient and searching, steadfast in the face of unthinkable suffering' — Helen Garner, author of The Spare Room

'Compelling and compassionate. Your heart will ache as you read Khin Myint's beautiful, poetic prose. Such wisdom and grace in these pages – an extraordinary story I will keep thinking about for a long time to come.' —Alice Pung, author of One Hundred Days

'A fearless and incisive exploration of masculinity, families and racism. Khin Myint brings a sharp emotional intelligence and a gentle sensibility to this extraordinary story that is at once quietly devastating and uplifting. A new and compelling voice in Australian non-fiction.' — Kristina Olsson, author of Boy, Lost: A Family Memoir