April Book - Bereft by Chris Womersley

This book was chosen because it was set in Australia and because "it was short, with big writing" - always elements of a promising bookclub book! There was a general murmur of appreciation for this. The blurb:

It is 1919. The Great War has ended, but the Spanish flu epidemic is raging through Australia. Schools are closed, state borders are guarded by armed men, and train travel is severely restricted. There are rumours it is the end of the world.

In the NSW town of Flint, Quinn Walker returns to the home he fled ten years earlier when he was accused of an unspeakable crime. Aware that his father and uncle would surely hang him, Quinn hides in the hills surrounding Flint. There, he meets a mysterious young girl called Sadie Fox, who encourages him to seek justice — and seems to know more about the crime than she should.

Early on in the book we learn what "the unspeakable crime" was. We agreed that we were grateful that this was dealt with early in the book so the reader can concentrate on the core of the book which was the return of Quinn and his defence of his innocence. Discussed:

• The author believes the book has definite musical themes, one of which is Chopin's "Nocturnes".


• We discussed whether Sadie Fox was real or imagined? None of us considered the possibility that she was imagined but agreed it was possible.


• The book is set in a real area of NSW - Hillend, near Bathurst - the site of early gold rushes.


• The book was full of spiritual themes - seances, witchcraft.


• It was well edited. Apparently the (female) editor cut the book by about a half.


• The imagery of NSW countryside was beautiful and compared in power to that in Breath by Tim Winton.


• One member, who was born overseas, didn't like the imagery in the book and the book didn't interest her which makes us wonder if the book would really only appeal to Australians who know or like the country.

In general, a very well-liked book. Scoring: Range: 7-9