The Healing Party

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