Floundering (Romy Ash, Text)

Floundering, the first novel from Melbourne-based writer Romy Ash, is a dark and lyrical tale of a family reunion that unfolds against a bleak rural Australian backdrop. Tom and Jordy have lived with their gran since their mother, Loretta, abandoned them a year earlier; but now Loretta is back and she wants her kids. The three hit the road in Loretta’s rusted car, travelling long miles along lonely roads as they struggle to reconnect as a family. But Loretta has no money and no destination; she’s lost in more ways than one. When the trio arrive at a beachside caravan park, Loretta disappears again, leaving Tom and Jordy to fend for themselves. Like Jennifer Mills’ Gone, another recent Australian novel, Floundering explores the attempts of damaged characters to find their place in unfamiliar—and often unforgiving—emotional and literal landscapes. Written from Tom’s perspective, Ash’s novel deftly captures the fading innocence of a boy who witnesses more than he understands; what he leaves unsaid is as revealing as what he articulates. Floundering blends spare but elegant prose with a gripping plot and an assured sense of place. It’s an impressive first novel that heralds the arrival of a talented new voice in Australian literary fiction. It was previously shortlisted for The Australian/Vogel Literary Award.

Carody Culver is a part-time bookseller at Black Cat Books in Brisbane and a full-time PhD student

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Category: Reviews