AustLit

At her mother's insistence, Juliska re-reads a letter to her from Laszlo, her brother. Her mother, a Romanian immigrant, cannot read English. She is worried that her son has not been in touch with his family. Juliska knows that Laszlo, hating his family, has left for good, but she has long concealed this from her mother by pretending the letter says that Laszlo has gone to the Pilbara to work. Though sorry for her mother, who longs for her son, and who has slaved for years to give Laszlo everything he wanted, Juliska is sick of lying to her.