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'"Mum is the reference point. If you ever get confused about anything, there she is, waiting with all her knowledge of you."
'Grace Fisher, mother of three, one day decides her husband is a sore disappointment and moves the family from Melbourne to a coastal village in Victoria. But Ian's slow dissolution on the couch masked a depression that will harrow him into an early grave, leaving the kids with a lifetime of questioning: what happened to their father; how did he get so sad?
'Between their father's demise and Grace's hardscrabble existence working at a local bakery, each child is left to find meaning on their own. Edie, the eldest child, locks herself into a romantic ideal so lofty that it can't help but fail. The middle child, Juliet, struts and careens through life, filling it only with what she can seduce, steal and manipulate. Sibling rivalry between sisters proves the slowest and fiercest of burns. Love comes easily for Ted, the youngest, but when his wife abandons him to raise two daughters on his own, the perils of fatherhood are laid bare.
'When Grace, the distant, imperfect hub of the family, is diagnosed with terminal cancer, the siblings are forced to confront each other as adults, and come to understand their mother.' (From the publisher's website.)
Notes
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Dedication: For Alan
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Braille.
- Sound recording.
Works about this Work
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List Confirms Writing Vigour
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Words of Great Worth
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— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 4 August 2012; (p. 30-31) This column comprises the judges' comments on the shortlisted works for the 2012 Age Book of the Year Award. (The list includes three titles, outside the scope of AustLit, by James Boyce, Paul Ham and Jane Gleeson-White.) -
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— Appears in: The Advertiser , 2 June 2012; (p. 20)
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Astral Weeks
2012
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— Appears in: Australian Book Review , May no. 341 2012; (p. 28)
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Torn Fabric of a Family
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— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 19 May 2012; (p. 20)
— Review of The Meaning of Grace 2012 single work novel -
Fault Lines Pan Out from Family's Mother Lode of Anguish
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— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 9-10 June 2012; (p. 22)
— Review of The Meaning of Grace 2012 single work novel -
Strength behind Life's Simple Truths
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 16 June 2012; (p. 29) The Sydney Morning Herald , 23-24 June 2012; (p. 37)
— Review of The Meaning of Grace 2012 single work novel -
Well Read
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 2 June 2012; (p. 20)
— Review of The Meaning of Grace 2012 single work novel -
Family Values
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: Sunday Canberra Times , 13 May 2012; (p. 3) -
There But for the Grace of Mum
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 20 May 2012; (p. 18) -
Words of Great Worth
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 4 August 2012; (p. 30-31) This column comprises the judges' comments on the shortlisted works for the 2012 Age Book of the Year Award. (The list includes three titles, outside the scope of AustLit, by James Boyce, Paul Ham and Jane Gleeson-White.) -
List Confirms Writing Vigour
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The West Australian , 2 July 2013; (p. 6-7) -
De Kretster Lands Double in Premier's Awards
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The West Australian , 17 September 2013; (p. 6-7)
Awards
- Coast,
- Victoria,