Fiction The Furies

Mandy Beaumont: Hachette, $33

Expect this debut novel to collect a swag of awards for its portrayal of isolation, misogyny, grief, mental health, violence, and characters lost and found. Cynthia is battling loss – the death of her sister, her mother’s incarceration in a psychiatric institution, and a final kick in the guts when her father abandons her. Beaumont envelops readers in emotion and despair as Cynthia navigates her new world alone, stumbling as she tries to avoid being her mother’s daughter. It’s a sad but compelling tale set in the isolating Outback. Beaumont’s unique writing style, littered with incomplete and short sentences, often just one word, is a telling way to convey the staccato structure and lack of continuity in Cynthia’s life. CARINA BRUCE