The Strays
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
‘Remarkable first novel... vividly written, almost painterly' -- The New York Times Book Review
‘Full of lush, mesmerising detail' -- The New Yorker
'Emily Bitto writes so well about art, childhood, infatuation, loneliness--you name it. The Strays is a knowing novel, and beautifully done.' -- Meg Wolitzer, author of The Interestings
'...an immensely pleasurable read.' -- Bookseller + Publisher
'Emily Bitto has written a very stylish and enjoyable debut novel.' -- The Sunday Mail
'...a marvellously accomplished and assured debut... Rich in atmosphere and beautifully observed.' -- Caroline Baum, Booktopia
On her first day at a new school, Lily befriends one of the daughters of infamous painter Evan Trentham. He and his wife are trying to escape the conservatism of 1930s Australia by inviting other like-minded artists to live at their home. Lily becomes infatuated with this wild, bohemian lifestyle and longs to truly be a part of the family. But as the years pass, Lily observes the way the lives of these artists come to reflect their art. Yet it's not Evan, but his own daughters, who pay the price for his radicalism. Almost 30 years later, Lily contemplates the ordinary path her own life took, how she has played it safe, but does freedom come at a cost? Brought together once more, this is a story of the impact of loss, devotion and obsession, and the demise of one family.
Shortlisted for the HWA Debut Crown 2017 - Winner of the Stella Prize 2015 - Winner of the Tina Kane Emergent Writers Award - University of Canberra 'Book of the Year' 2016 - Long-listed for the Dublin IMPAC Literary Award - Shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript - Shortlisted for the Dobbie Literary Award - Shortlisted for the Indie Book Award for Debut Fiction - Shortlisted for the NSW Premier's Prize for New Writing - Shortlisted for an Amazon Rising Star Award - Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The lyrical first novel by Australian Bitto observes the life of a bohemian household in 1930s Melbourne from the point of view of one of the "strays" the artistic Trenthams take in. Narrator Lily, an only child, is eight when she meets Eva, who will be her best friend for years. Bored with her conventional parents, whose idea of a good time is a jigsaw puzzle and a cup of cocoa, she begins to spend weekends with Eva, who lives with her controversial painter father; Eva's mother, whose inherited wealth supports the household; Eva's mature older sister, Bea; and her troubled younger sister, Heloise. As the years go by, other artists and their partners join the household. Eva's father's status is threatened by a young artist whose works sell better than his, and the parents' neglect of the children leads to a horrific outcome. Lily, in 1985 a professor of art history, is a thoughtful and articulate observer, aware of her own emotional investment in the family as well as of the many fractures within its seemingly structure. By placing her so firmly in a comfortable future, however, the core story loses much of its suspense, and too many of the novel's crucial events take place offstage, described rather than depicted.
