When people ignore the obvious

Wimmera by Mark Brandi

Paperback, 262 pages, Published June 27th 2017 by Hachette Australia

Two young lads growing up in a rural Australian town, the sun is hot, the days are long and holidays are spent catching yabbies and playing cricket. Indirectly, the suicide of a teenage girl in who lives near by, for Fab and Ben brings about a slow tragic change in their relationship.  

The book is written in a lyrical poetic style as you are drawn into the world of the boys Fab and Ben. The boys try to understand their own sexual awakening and how to interact in the world of adults. There is so much that is left unsaid through out this book. The suicide of Daisy, it would seem that everyone in the town knew what has happening but looked the other way. Just as every one looks away from the alcohol and domestic abuse that happens on a regular basis. 

As the boys finish primary school we are catapulted into the future with Fab working a dead end job and using booze and drugs to forget the past. As the story progresses we understand more of what happened in the past and what the boys have done. 

This book lingers with you as you work through what has happened. The topic of child abuse is never easy to read but Brandi handles the subject with delicacy. It is disturbing to read the trust that is broken and the lies that are told. The last part of the book has a great deal of ambiguity and it took me a while to fully appreciate the reason for the last chapter. 

As a debut novel Brandi has demonstrated he can write dark and disturbing material but not be graphic. Some times what is not said makes it harder to read and Brandi succeeds.