Audrey’s Gone AWOL (Annie de Monchaux, Ultimo)

Annie de Monchaux’s debut novel, Audrey’s Gone AWOL, is a beautifully crafted and witty coming-of-middle-age tale that explores womanhood, motherhood, life, death, marriage and betrayal. Audrey has devoted her life to her family, her home and her husband’s aspirations, yet on the cusp of turning 60, she has become stagnant and rudderless as her adult children have left home. Her high-flying academic husband, Simon, has sequestered himself away, seemingly to work on his latest book, and Audrey’s sense of marital contentment is shattered when she discovers his co-author is also his bed-mate. When a family tragedy leads her to her aunt’s house in Breton, the French countryside and its eclectic cast of characters reinvigorates Audrey’s sense of self-worth and allows her to embrace her creative ambitions while losing the inhibitions that nearly 40 years of a buttoned-down relationship fostered. She finds joy in the simplicity of village life and pleasure in the company of new and old friends. She embraces herself—her body, age and mortality—and is finally free to be Audrey. Annie de Monchaux has created a wonderful novel brimming with quaint vignettes of village life and keen observations on love, death and living authentically. Her characters are quirky, and they evoked genuine affection from me as their stories unfolded. Perfect for fans of Nina George, Kristin Hannah and Gail Honeyman, Audrey’s Gone AWOL is a delight that will warm your heart.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Kate Frawley is a former bookseller and a librarian in training. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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