A Far-flung Life (ML Stedman, Penguin)

From the acclaimed author of The Light Between Oceans comes A Far-flung Life, ML Stedman’s much-anticipated second novel. Set in rural Western Australia in 1958, the story follows the MacBride family, who have lived and worked on the sprawling sheep station at Meredith Downs for generations. Phil and Lorna MacBride and their three children, Warren, Rosie and Matt, are well-known in the farming community, so it comes as a shock when a terrible accident leaves Phil and Warren dead and Matt grappling with a severe brain injury. Changed forever are the lives of the surviving MacBrides and those within their orbit, including Miles Beaumont, the well-bred English station hand, and Pete Peachey, the resident kangaroo shooter. When a chain of events is set in motion, suppressed memories and new secrets are revealed. From a mother’s guilt to a brother’s struggle, a sister’s shame and a son’s search for identity, Stedman’s characters face the ultimate battle of sacrifice and forgiveness in the harshest of environments. A Far-flung Life is full of emotion and grit, with all the promise to become an Australian classic. So evocative is the story that the arid landscape of Meredith Downs feels as much of a character as the MacBrides themselves. Fans of Stedman’s first novel and Tim Winton’s The Shepherd’s Hut will find much to ponder in this heart-wrenching Australian tale.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Shannon Grey is a writer and editor based in Naarm/Melbourne. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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