An Invisible Tattoo (Suellen Dainty, Echo)

Suellen Dainty (The Housekeeper, After Everything) deftly transforms her literary novel An Invisible Tattoo into a gripping mystery, social exposé and moral dilemma by skilfully concealing then revealing how a 1970s British rock star mysteriously died and what became of his final songs. The novel elevates the fictitious musician James Bennett to the level of music icon alongside stars such as Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Van Morrison. James’ privileged, hedonistic lifestyle with his expat Australian wife, Adela, and her friend Ruth makes for voyeuristic reading. Insights into how music generates new ideas and experiences subtly foreshadow what will come. Decades later, when his final album is discovered, ambitious journalist Kate seizes the opportunity to interview the now-elderly Ruth in Sydney. Ruth, who has long avoided the ‘dark corners’ of her past, reluctantly reflects on her self-deception and the truths she continues to conceal. She sees in Kate the same insecurities and fear that once defined her life and that of Adela, women relegated to the roles of ‘handmaidens’ to men. Interlacing time and place, the narrative is told through Ruth’s voice as a girl in rural Australia, during her prime in England, while suffering age-related indignities, and through Kate’s observations of Ruth, and of Kate’s bullying boss and insouciant partner. The ‘invisible tattoo’ of the title symbolises the indelible bonds between women, particularly those formed in childhood and from shared suffering. With feminist themes and meticulous prose, An Invisible Tattoo will resonate with readers of Carol Lefevre, Mette Jakobsen and Vanessa McCausland.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Joy Lawn has worked for independent bookshops and blogs at 'Paperbark Words'. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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