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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Two friends - Ruth and Mim are in their early thirties, and have known each other since they were twelve. They met when Ruth went on holiday in Mim's home town, on NSW's Central Coast, the summer after Ruth's mother died. Mim helped her through this, and they became 'friends for life'. At the beginning of the book they are living together, with Ruth's partner Simon. When Ruth becomes pregnant - after two years of desperate trying - Simon asks Mim to move out. Mim falls into free-fall panic while Ruth feels contentment and excitement about the new life that stretches before her. Ruth suffers a late-term miscarriage, which of course devastates her and Simon. The book deals with the death of Ruth and Simon's baby very explicitly and explores the ramifications closely and intimately. Mim, for the first time since Ruth's mother died, is not there. She has gone on a trip to Broken Hill, her mother's home town to escape the feelings of being left behind her friend. Ruth tries to contact her friend but Mim appears to be uninterested. Ruth does not know that Mim, as she arrived in Broken Hill, discovers that she's pregnant and has an abortion. Ruth grieves alone. Simon feels increasingly frustrated that his sadness is not taken into account by her. Ruth wants the support of Mim, her old friend, and is heartbroken by the silence. The baby's death reverberates with her mother's death and she feels as at sea as she did when she was twelve. This novel deals with difficult and dark themes but it draws to a realistic but positive conclusion. Misconceptionsis about women's bodies, women's choices. It's about the sadness we feel when we lose those close to us, our mothers, our babies, and our friends'.--(Publisher)
Notes
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Dedication: To Russell, because God only knows...
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Relationships with a Sting in the Tail
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , September vol. 3 no. 8 2008; (p. 22-23)
— Review of I Dream of Magda 2007 single work novel ; The Nearly Happy Family 2008 single work novel ; Misconceptions 2008 single work novel ; Walking to the Moon 2008 single work novel ; Wasp Season 2008 single work novel -
An Anthropological Turn?
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: Overland , Spring no. 192 2008; (p. 88-92)
— Review of On a Wing and a Prayer 2006 single work novel ; The Lost Dog 2007 single work novel ; Musk and Byrne 2008 single work novel ; The Solemn Lantern Maker 2008 single work novel ; The Biographer 2008 single work novel ; The Spare Room 2008 single work novel ; They Called Me the Wildman : The Prison Diary of Henricke Nelson 2008 single work novel ; Many Years a Thief 2007 single work novel ; Jamaica : A Novel 2007 single work novel ; The Good Parents 2008 single work novel ; Black Sheep : A Dystopian Novel 2007 single work novel ; Misconceptions 2008 single work novel -
Special Weave in Threads of Humanity
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 14 June 2008; (p. 13)
— Review of The Retreaters 2008 single work novel ; Misconceptions 2008 single work novel ; The Quakers 2006 single work novel -
Fiction
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 24 May 2008; (p. 24)
— Review of Misconceptions 2008 single work novel ; The Lost Boys 2008 single work novel ; The Torn Messiah 2008 single work novel -
[Review] Misconceptions
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , April/May vol. 87 no. 8 2008; (p. 34)
— Review of Misconceptions 2008 single work novel
-
[Review] Misconceptions
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , April/May vol. 87 no. 8 2008; (p. 34)
— Review of Misconceptions 2008 single work novel -
Fiction
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 24 May 2008; (p. 24)
— Review of Misconceptions 2008 single work novel ; The Lost Boys 2008 single work novel ; The Torn Messiah 2008 single work novel -
Special Weave in Threads of Humanity
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 14 June 2008; (p. 13)
— Review of The Retreaters 2008 single work novel ; Misconceptions 2008 single work novel ; The Quakers 2006 single work novel -
An Anthropological Turn?
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: Overland , Spring no. 192 2008; (p. 88-92)
— Review of On a Wing and a Prayer 2006 single work novel ; The Lost Dog 2007 single work novel ; Musk and Byrne 2008 single work novel ; The Solemn Lantern Maker 2008 single work novel ; The Biographer 2008 single work novel ; The Spare Room 2008 single work novel ; They Called Me the Wildman : The Prison Diary of Henricke Nelson 2008 single work novel ; Many Years a Thief 2007 single work novel ; Jamaica : A Novel 2007 single work novel ; The Good Parents 2008 single work novel ; Black Sheep : A Dystopian Novel 2007 single work novel ; Misconceptions 2008 single work novel -
Relationships with a Sting in the Tail
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , September vol. 3 no. 8 2008; (p. 22-23)
— Review of I Dream of Magda 2007 single work novel ; The Nearly Happy Family 2008 single work novel ; Misconceptions 2008 single work novel ; Walking to the Moon 2008 single work novel ; Wasp Season 2008 single work novel
Last amended 13 Aug 2021 12:58:03
Settings:
- Sydney, New South Wales,
- Broken Hill, Broken Hill area, Far West NSW, New South Wales,
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