AustLit logo

AustLit

image of person or book cover 2947021962528492603.jpg
This image has been sourced from Booktopia
y separately published work icon Misconceptions single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 2008... 2008 Misconceptions
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

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

  • Dedication: To Russell, because God only knows...

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Sydney, New South Wales,: Bantam Australia , 2008 .
      image of person or book cover 2947021962528492603.jpg
      This image has been sourced from Booktopia
      Extent: 319p.
      Note/s:
      • Published: 1st May 2008
      ISBN: 9781741667844 (pbk.)

Works about this Work

Relationships with a Sting in the Tail Kathy Hunt , 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 Stefan Laszczuk , 2007 single work novel ; The Nearly Happy Family Catherine McKinnon , 2008 single work novel ; Misconceptions Sophie Townsend , 2008 single work novel ; Walking to the Moon Kate Cole-Adams , 2008 single work novel ; Wasp Season Jennifer Scoullar , 2008 single work novel
An Anthropological Turn? Nathan Hollier , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: Overland , Spring no. 192 2008; (p. 88-92)

— Review of On a Wing and a Prayer Peter Bensley , 2006 single work novel ; The Lost Dog Michelle De Kretser , 2007 single work novel ; Musk and Byrne Fiona Capp , 2008 single work novel ; The Solemn Lantern Maker Merlinda Bobis , 2008 single work novel ; The Biographer Virginia Patricia Duigan , 2008 single work novel ; The Spare Room Helen Garner , 2008 single work novel ; They Called Me the Wildman : The Prison Diary of Henricke Nelson Robert Hollingworth , 2008 single work novel ; Many Years a Thief David Hutchison , 2007 single work novel ; Jamaica : A Novel Malcolm Knox , 2007 single work novel ; The Good Parents Joan London , 2008 single work novel ; Black Sheep : A Dystopian Novel Ben Peek , 2007 single work novel ; Misconceptions Sophie Townsend , 2008 single work novel
Special Weave in Threads of Humanity Diane Stubbings , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 14 June 2008; (p. 13)

— Review of The Retreaters Sharlene Miller Brown , 2008 single work novel ; Misconceptions Sophie Townsend , 2008 single work novel ; The Quakers Rachel Hennessy , 2006 single work novel
Fiction Cameron Woodhead , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 24 May 2008; (p. 24)

— Review of Misconceptions Sophie Townsend , 2008 single work novel ; The Lost Boys Sam De Brito , 2008 single work novel ; The Torn Messiah Yvonne Fein , 2008 single work novel
[Review] Misconceptions Angela Meyer , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , April/May vol. 87 no. 8 2008; (p. 34)

— Review of Misconceptions Sophie Townsend , 2008 single work novel
[Review] Misconceptions Angela Meyer , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , April/May vol. 87 no. 8 2008; (p. 34)

— Review of Misconceptions Sophie Townsend , 2008 single work novel
Fiction Cameron Woodhead , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 24 May 2008; (p. 24)

— Review of Misconceptions Sophie Townsend , 2008 single work novel ; The Lost Boys Sam De Brito , 2008 single work novel ; The Torn Messiah Yvonne Fein , 2008 single work novel
Special Weave in Threads of Humanity Diane Stubbings , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 14 June 2008; (p. 13)

— Review of The Retreaters Sharlene Miller Brown , 2008 single work novel ; Misconceptions Sophie Townsend , 2008 single work novel ; The Quakers Rachel Hennessy , 2006 single work novel
An Anthropological Turn? Nathan Hollier , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: Overland , Spring no. 192 2008; (p. 88-92)

— Review of On a Wing and a Prayer Peter Bensley , 2006 single work novel ; The Lost Dog Michelle De Kretser , 2007 single work novel ; Musk and Byrne Fiona Capp , 2008 single work novel ; The Solemn Lantern Maker Merlinda Bobis , 2008 single work novel ; The Biographer Virginia Patricia Duigan , 2008 single work novel ; The Spare Room Helen Garner , 2008 single work novel ; They Called Me the Wildman : The Prison Diary of Henricke Nelson Robert Hollingworth , 2008 single work novel ; Many Years a Thief David Hutchison , 2007 single work novel ; Jamaica : A Novel Malcolm Knox , 2007 single work novel ; The Good Parents Joan London , 2008 single work novel ; Black Sheep : A Dystopian Novel Ben Peek , 2007 single work novel ; Misconceptions Sophie Townsend , 2008 single work novel
Relationships with a Sting in the Tail Kathy Hunt , 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 Stefan Laszczuk , 2007 single work novel ; The Nearly Happy Family Catherine McKinnon , 2008 single work novel ; Misconceptions Sophie Townsend , 2008 single work novel ; Walking to the Moon Kate Cole-Adams , 2008 single work novel ; Wasp Season Jennifer Scoullar , 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,
Newspapers:
    Powered by Trove
    X