A Great Hope (Jessica Stanley, Picador)

When ACTU boss John Clare falls to his death from the roof of the family home, a note found on him makes it seem like suicide. But is that the case? It’s 2010 and John has helped put Kevin Rudd in power, only to be toppled by Julia Gillard. A failed bid to win the seat of Melbourne has plunged John into a depression and on top of that his personal life is a mess. He’s carrying on an affair with a staffer and his fed-up wife voted for his Greens rival. His daughter is having an emotional meltdown while his son has been accused of serious misconduct. No-one is happy. When John’s body is found it causes everyone to examine their own behaviour. Debut novelist Jessica Stanley has worked in journalism and politics, experiences that strongly inform the text—the dialogue and narrative events have the compelling ring of truth. While the novel is situated in the world of politics, its main focus is, to paraphrase Tolstoy, an unhappy family unhappy in its own particular way. Resentments, betrayals and outraged egos litter every page. An emotional train wreck coupled with a mysterious death, A Great Hope is written in an addictive prose that keeps the reader firmly in its grip. This is affluent, successful Australia mired in unrelenting misery—think Richard Yates’s Revolutionary Road set in Fitzroy, Melbourne. 

Chris Saliba is the co-owner of North Melbourne Books.  

Category: Reviews