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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'A little girl disappears in the wilderness. Two years later her mother is arrested for her murder. A provocative and unflinching literary novel of love, guilt and grief set against the wilderness of the Australian coast.
'Anne Forster, recently divorced and trying to find her feet, takes her daughter Aida on an overnight bushwalk in the moody wilderness of Wilson's Promontory. Aida, who is six and autistic, disappears; Anne returns from the walk alone. Some of the emergency trackers searching for Aida already doubt Anne's story.
'Nearly two years later and still tormented by remorse and grief, Anne is charged with her daughter's murder. Witnesses have come forward, offering evidence which points to her guilt. She is stalked by the media and shunned by friends, former colleagues and neighbours.
'On bail and awaiting trial, Anne works to reconstruct her last hours with Aida. She remembers the sun high in the sky, the bush noisy with insects, and her own anxiety, seemingly as oppressive as the heat haze.
'A superbly written and conceived literary work about the best and the worst aspects of family life, this story asks difficult questions about society, the media, and our rush to judgment. This is a thoughtful, provocative and unflinching novel in the tradition of Helen Garner, Joan London and Charlotte Wood, from a respected writer and renowned teacher of writing.' (Publication summary)
Notes
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Dedication: To Warwick, for believing in me. And to Anita, Ellen and Matthew. My love, always and all ways.
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Epigraph: Women found guilty of infanticide were executed by drowning them in a sack in company with sundry fauna according to the code of Justinian. –John A, Davis, The Lancet, 27 February 1999.
Affiliation Notes
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Writing Disability in Australia:
Type of disability Autism. Type of character Primary. Point of view Third person (not the disabled character).
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Olga Lorenzo, The Light on the Water
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 20 February 2016;
— Review of The Light on the Water 2016 single work novel -
Well Read : Mother's Story Echoes Chamberlain Case
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 2 April 2016; (p. 36)
— Review of The Light on the Water 2016 single work novel ; Running Against the Tide 2016 single work novel -
Shamed and Stunned : An Outsider Longs to Belong
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 13 March 2016; (p. 12)
— Review of The Light on the Water 2016 single work novel -
A Mother's Burden of Grief and Guilt
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 12-13 March 2016; (p. 24) The Saturday Age , 12-13 March 2016; (p. 24)
— Review of The Light on the Water 2016 single work novel -
Two Kinds of Absences
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 12-13 March 2016; (p. 22)
— Review of Like I Can Love 2016 single work novel ; The Light on the Water 2016 single work novel
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Two Kinds of Absences
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 12-13 March 2016; (p. 22)
— Review of Like I Can Love 2016 single work novel ; The Light on the Water 2016 single work novel -
A Mother's Burden of Grief and Guilt
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 12-13 March 2016; (p. 24) The Saturday Age , 12-13 March 2016; (p. 24)
— Review of The Light on the Water 2016 single work novel -
Shamed and Stunned : An Outsider Longs to Belong
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 13 March 2016; (p. 12)
— Review of The Light on the Water 2016 single work novel -
Well Read : Mother's Story Echoes Chamberlain Case
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 2 April 2016; (p. 36)
— Review of The Light on the Water 2016 single work novel ; Running Against the Tide 2016 single work novel -
Olga Lorenzo, The Light on the Water
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 20 February 2016;
— Review of The Light on the Water 2016 single work novel
Awards
- 2017 longlisted Davitt Award — Best Adult Crime Novel