The Gulf (Anna Spargo-Ryan, Picador)

Just a year after her debut novel The Paper House was released to enthusiastic reviews, Anna Spargo-Ryan returns with another impressive novel that will have readers feeling every emotion experienced by the beautifully written characters. Sixteen-year-old Skye is trying to escape from her mother’s violent partner, who has moved the family to a remote South Australian town. Skye’s fierce protective instinct for her younger brother Ben stands in stark contrast to her mother’s inability to care for her children, but it is testament to Spargo-Ryan’s skills that she elicits empathy for the mother without excusing her behaviour. The novel’s perfectly balanced conclusion refuses the simplicity of a fairytale ending, but remains hopeful in its takeaways: that good can be found in many people, that family can be found outside the nuclear stereotype and that female strength is truly powerful. There’s a steeliness in Skye that is echoed in the writing, which intersperses well-judged and engaging prose with shorter, carefully carved poetic passages. Perfect for handselling, The Gulf will have broad appeal to both literary and general fiction readers.

Lorien Kaye is a freelance writer and editor and has been writing about books and the book industry for over 20 years

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