- Format: Kindle Edition
- File Size: 359 KB
- Print Length: 210 pages
- Publisher: ORENDA BOOKS (14 Mar. 2020)
- Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
- Language: English
- ASIN: B081S12YDL
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
Synopsis
Fran hates her hometown, and she thought she’d escaped. But her father is ill, and needs care. Her relationship is over, and she hates her dead-end job in the city, anyway.
She returns home to nurse her dying father, her distant teenage daughter in tow for the weekends. There, in the sleepy town of Ash Mountain, childhood memories prick at her fragile self-esteem, she falls in love for the first time, and her demanding dad tests her patience, all in the unbearable heat of an Australian summer. As past friendships and rivalries are renewed, and new ones forged, Fran’s tumultuous home life is the least of her worries, when old crimes rear their heads and a devastating bushfire ravages the town and all of its inhabitants…
Review
Helen Fitzgerald is probably best know fro her book, The Cry which was adapted for television. Ash Mountain is her new novel and where it may only be just over two hundred pages it certainly packs a punch. Fran has to move back to her childhood home in Ash Mountain to look after her father who has had a stroke, with her daughter visiting at weekends. She has just separated from her long time partner so she is feeling vulnerable and moving home brings back memories that she would rather forget. As she tries to adjust to her new situation she has no idea that a terrifying bush fire will change the town for everyone.
There is so much packed into this book so it was easy to lose yourself in. Told over three different timelines, the day of the fire, the ten days leading up to the fire and thirty years ago when Fran got pregnant at fifteen. I loved Fran as a character, she had so many emotions going on with her new single status and moving home. Whilst she may not want to be back in Ash Mountain, she does want to be there for her dad, who she calls Gramps, and to see her son Dante who she had at fifteen. She is a character who has been touched by tragedy over the years and being back in Ash Mountain brings back a lot of those memories. Over the different time periods we see her develop from a naive teenager, to having low self esteem when she returns to gaining some confidence and having a chance at romance with an old friend. There are a wonderful cast of supporting characters including, The Captain a vegan widow looking after his four daughters, Father Frank the priest, Tricia an old friend/enemy of Fran and Rose, one of The Captain’s daughters who becomes friendly with Vonny.
Helen Fitzgerald really captures the atmosphere of the small town, where everyone knows you history, outsiders are treated with suspicion, the Church has influence and over the thirty years this book covers nothing really changes, in look and residents. Helen Fitzgerald doesn’t shy away from some difficult topics including sexual abuse, suicide, teenage pregnancy and racism. The most powerful chapters of this book come towards the end, when the bush fire rages towards Ash Mountain, destroying everything in it’s path. Helen Fitzgerald captures the panic and fear of those caught up in it, the hot ash and sparks setting people and buildings on fire, the heat and smoke and the utter devastation left in its wake. Having read the book and connected with the characters these chapters on the fire were shocking and horrifying to read, I felt I knew these characters, had been let into their lives so it felt almost personal.
The cover of this book is a dramatic image and a real one. The photographer, Rob Dixon, whose children had ran into his backyard to look at the sky. His daughter stood in the doorway, looking at the flaming orange that consumed the sky, he took a photo which became the cover of Ash Mountain. The family did manage to get away, but to think this is reality is very frightening.
Ash Mountain is a book I highly recommend you read. It is full of drama, touched with humour and the reality of living in a small town. This really is a powerful and emotive read that totally took my breath away, with the intricate plot and the wonderful, if dysfunction characters. Hard hitting in its devastating conclusion, this is a thriller I won’t forget in a hurry.
I would like to thank Anne Cater and Karen Sullivan of Orenda Books for the invite on the blog tour.
