Finished January 17
After the Fire, a Still Small Voice by Evie Wyld
This extraordinary novel follows a father and son in Australia as they deal with inner turmoil. Frank has run from the city to a small shack on the coast that his grandparents bought, and that his parents took him to on family vacations as a child. He is running from his own anger, and from a failed relationship that he didn't take the time to make work.
Leon, Frank's father, tells of his own teen years, taking on the responsible role in the family after his father returns from the Korean War scarred and unable to take on the responsibilities that he left behind. Leon himself is drafted into the Vietnam War and is also scarred.
Frank hasn't talked to his father in years, and doesn't really want to.
Told in alternating chapters by the two men, we see how the dealt with the life that they were dealt and how they cope with the things that have brought them to the present in their lives.
The story is heartbreaking and yet ultimately hopeful, and very well written.
I loved this book too; I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I think she's a writer definitely to watch, although Canadians don't tend to read that much fiction from Down Under, which always surprises me.
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