Peggy Frew

'They were inescapable, the tensions of the adult world - the fraught and febrile aura that surrounded Ishtar and those in her orbit, that whined and creaked like a wire pulled too tight.' It is the winter of 1985. Hope Farm sticks out of the ragged landscape like a decaying tooth, its weatherboard walls sagging into the undergrowth. Silver's mother, Ishtar, has fallen for the charismatic Miller, and the three of them have moved to the rural hippie commune to make a new start. At Hope, Silver finds unexpected friendship and, at last, a place to call home. But it is also here that, at just thirteen, she is thrust into an unrelenting adult world - and the walls begin to come tumbling down, with deadly consequences. Hope Farmis the masterful second novel from award-winning author Peggy Frew, and is a devastatingly beautiful story about the broken bonds of childhood, and the enduring cost of holding back the truth. 'Completely absorbing. Hope Farmis elegant, tender, and very wise.' Chris Womersley, award-winning author of Bereft and Cairo

Hope Farm

A compassionate and surprisingly funny novel that is impossible to put down and even harder to forget, from the award-winning author of Islands. They were still who they always had been, still those sisters, but on this afternoon, in this car, driving with the windows down between cane fields under a deepening sky with purple cut-out mountains in the distance, they were wearing it so lightly, their bossiness and flakiness and wildness; they were wearing it like they used to, like it was supple, slippery, not completely fixed. Like it could be taken off.' ... In the car Meg had been laughing too. Meg and Amber laughing in the front and Nina in the back hiding secret tears of hope behind her sunglasses. They had been close then, the three of them, together in that moment of lightness... Meg and Nina have been outshone by their younger sister Amber since childhood. They have become used to living on the margins of their parents' interest, used to others turning away from them and towards charismatic Amber. But Amber's life has not gone the way they all thought it would, and now the three of them are together for the first time in years, on the road to a remote holiday rental in Far North Queensland, where Meg and Nina plan on helping Amber overcome her addiction. As good intentions gradually become terrifying reality, these sisters will test the limits of love and the line between care and control. Peggy Frew is a consummate observer of human frailty and fragile love, and in Wildflowers she has created a riveting, compassionate and affecting novel that is impossible to put down and even harder to forget. Praise for Islands 'An unforgettable portrait of youth and family disintegration, told with piercing insight and tenderness. Peggy Frew is a rare and precious talent.' Kristina Olsson, author of Shell 'This novel knows, at its heart, that stories always belong to more than one person. Rich, complex and properly thought-provoking, it is Peggy Frew's ?nest work to date.' Tegan Bennett Daylight, author of The Details 'Islands is a riveting and brilliant portrait of a family in crisis.' The Age 'Frew has fashioned another heartbreaker . . . the scattered chronology plays with the tragic inevitability of damaged people hurting others. Just the tip of an iceberg of sadness is glimpsed, and the story is the more powerful for its restraint.' Sydney Morning Herald 'Frew's talent for descriptive prose and psychogeography is evident throughout . . . her experimentation makes Islands stand out, puncturing the narrative at key moments before exploding the notion of the Family Story. Her writing verges on the sublime.' The Saturday Paper 'Overwhelming . . . a deep and meditative piece of literature. As we watch the family unravel, we are all the time hoping that Anna will come back, that this catastrophe can be fixed . . . utterly engrossing.' Australian Women's Weekly 'In this multi-voiced story, Frew's outstanding ability to empathise with characters who are unable to empathise with each other shines through . . . a work of great compassion and insight.' Books + Publishing 'A beautiful study of sorrow that describes the disintegration of a family and the ongoing trauma of a disappearance.' Readings

Wildflowers

A compassionate and surprisingly funny novel that is impossible to put down and even harder to forget, from the award-winning author of Islands.

A Novel

House of Sticks

A stunning literary novel from the author of the Stella Prize shortlisted Hope Farm.

Islands

There was a house on a hill in the city and it was full of us, our family, but then it began to empty. We fell out. We made a mess. We draped ourselves in blame and disappointment and lurched around, bumping into each other. Some of us wailed and shouted; some of us barely made a sound. None of us was listening, or paying attention. And in the middle of it all you, very quietly, were gone. Helen and John are too preoccupied with making a mess of their marriage to notice the quiet ways in which their daughters are suffering. Junie grows up brittle and defensive, Anna difficult and rebellious. When fifteen-year-old Anna fails to come home one night, her mother's not too worried; Anna's taken off before but always returned. Helen waits three days to report her disappearance. But this time Anna doesn't come back ... A spellbinding novel in the tradition of Helen Garner, Charlotte Wood and Georgia Blain, Islands is a riveting and brilliant portrait of a family in crisis by the breathtakingly talented author of House of Sticks and Hope Farm. 'Peggy Frew is an amazing writer...Elegant, tender and very wise.' Chris Womersley, author of Bereft on Hope Farm 'Peggy Frew's novel, Hope Farm, tells an original tale, drawing into the body of Australian literary fiction, a world between the cracks. Peggy's voice is contemporary, her observations sharp and sensitive. Hope Farm describes the cycle of loss and damage when there are no boundaries to protect us.' Sofie Laguna, author of The Eye of the Sheep, 2015 Miles Franklin Literary Award winner 'Brilliant. Peggy Frew is a superb writer, and this is a remarkably confident debut.' Clare Bowditch on House of Sticks

WINNER OF THE 2010 VICTORIAN PREMIER'S LITERARY AWARD PRIZE FOR AN UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPT SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2012 NSW PREMIER'S LITERARY AWARD UTS GLENDA ADAMS AWARD FOR NEW WRITING Bonnie has given up her life as a musician to become a stay-at-home mum. She tells herself she has no regrets, but sometimes the isolation and the relentless demands of three small children threaten to swamp the love between Bonnie and her partner, Pete. Then an old mate of Pete’s arrives. Doug is eccentric and intrusive, and his unsettling presence disrupts Bonnie’s world further. Yet as the cracks really start to show in the life Bonnie and Pete have built together, it seems the dangers might also come from within. House of Sticks is a revealing portrait of contemporary family life, its joys and compromises, and how quickly things can unravel. It’s about trying to stay connected in our disconnected society; a story of identity and community, loyalty and love. PRAISE FOR PEGGY FREW ‘[House of Sticks is] the kind of tune that hovers in the air well after the last note has sounded.’ The Sunday Age ‘Her [Frew’s] prose is deceptively powerful … House of Sticks is vivid and contemporary on the page.’ The Weekend Australian

Peggy Frew

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