AustLit

'A Week in the Life of Cassandra Aberline slowly, gently describes a defining period in Cassie’s life when her past and present collide. The book begins as Cassie is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and decides to return home to Perth after spending most of her adult life in Sydney. Her journey westwards across Australia on the Indian Pacific forms the framework of the novel, as she contemplates what has led to this point. ' (Publication summary)

'A friend and I recently argued about Only the Animals by Ceridwen Dovey. A collection of stories about the souls of 10 animals caught up in wars of the 20th century, each of the animals also bears a relationship to a famous literary figure, such as Kerouac or Tolstoy, and often the animal has a proclivity for mimicking the author’s voice. I argued that the strength of the book was that anyone could have thought of it, but only Ceridwen Dovey could have pulled it off so well. My friend argued not only that she pulled it off so beautifully, but that it’s a miracle anyone came up with the idea at all.' (Introduction)