The Labyrinth: Winner of the 2021 Miles Franklin Literary Award
Winner of the 2021 Miles Franklin Literary Award
By Amanda Lohrey
Harry Hartog's review
Winner of the 2021 Miles Franklin Literary Award, this is an ideal book for these uncertain times. The characters are wandering, searching for meaning beyond the trappings and constraints of their lives. It is a story of surrender and loss; the labyrinth the winding paths of memories, and an ideal setting to promote reflection. Interesting strangers intersect for their own reasons to help create the labyrinth in Erica's sandy backyard at a beach house she impulsively bought to be close to her incarcerated son. I loves that it was not sentimental and that it offers a view of what comfort solitude can bring. A worthy read. - Bibi, Bookseller
Description
Erica Marsden's son, an artist, has been imprisoned for homicidal negligence. In a state of grief, Erica cuts off all ties to family and friends, and retreats to a quiet hamlet on the south-east coast near the prison where he is serving his sentence.
There, in a rundown shack, she obsesses over creating a labyrinth by the ocean. To build it-to find a way out of her quandary-Erica will need the help of strangers. And that will require her to trust, and to reckon with her past.
The Labyrinth is a hypnotic story of guilt and denial, of the fraught relationship between parents and children, that is also a meditation on how art can both be ruthlessly destructive and restore sanity. This multi-award-winning bestseller shows Amanda Lohrey to be at the peak of her powers.
- ISBN:
- 9781922458469
- Format:
- Paperback
- Pages:
- 256
- Published:
- Publisher:
- Text Publishing
- Imprint:
- The Text Publishing Company