Thursday 30 April 2020

Book Review: Murmurations by Carol Lefevre

Murmurations
by
Carol Lefevre


Publisher: Spinifex Press 
Publication date: 1st April 2020
Genre: Contemporary Fiction / Short stories
RRP: $19.96 AUD
Pages: 112
Format read: Paperback
Source: Courtesy of the publisher via R M Marketing Services 

Lives merge and diverge; they soar and plunge, or come to rest in impenetrable silence. Erris Cleary’s absence haunts the pages of this exquisite novella, a woman who complicates other lives yet confers unexpected blessings. Fly far, be free, urges Erris. Who can know why she smashes mirrors? Who can say why she does not heed her own advice?

Among the sudden shifts and swings something hidden must be uncovered, something dark and rotten, even evil, which has masqueraded as normality. In the end it will be a writer’s task to reclaim Erris, to bear witness, to sound in fiction the one true note that will crack the silence.


Occasionally you will find a gem of a book that will give you cause to stop and think. Murmurations is that book!

I loved this little book of stories and once I had finished I read it all over again. I needed to capture those little details that can be missed in a first reading.
Characters ebb and flow through each story, their lives moving and flowing in formation, unknowingly lead by Erris.

There is the receptionist, Erris’s close friends, the landscaper, the writer, the cleaner, all touched by Erris and her cry for help. The question that runs through the readers mind is; ‘Was Erris mentally unstable or was something more sinister at play here?’

Each story reflects on a significant moment in that character’s life. Moments of revelation and despair, when their life was altered forever.

Carol Lefevre’s prose are lyrical, insightful and heartbreaking. Although coming in at only 112 pages it packs an emotional punch.

Murmurations is one of the best novellas I have read!


My rating  5/5      ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 



Photo credit: Spinifex Press
Carol Lefevre holds both a M.A. and a Ph.D in Creative Writing from the University of Adelaide, where she is a Visiting Research Fellow. Her first novel Nights in the Asylum (2007)  was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers Prize and won the Nita B. Kibble award. As well as her non-fiction book Quiet City: Walking in West Terrace Cemetery (2016), Carol has published short fiction, journalism, and personal essays. She was the recipient of the 2016 Barbara Hanrahan Fellowship, and is an affiliate member of the J.M.Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice, where she was writer in residence in 2017. Her most recent novel, The Happiness Glass, published by Spinifex Press in 2018. Carol lives in Adelaide. 






This review is part of the Book Lover Book Review Aussie author challenge
and Australian Women Writers challenge
 
 

20 comments:

  1. Quite the praise! Thanks for sharing your thoughts

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  2. Murmurations is a new word for me, I had to ask Mr. Google ;)

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    1. I had to look it up too. It’s a very apt title for this book.

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  3. Great review and thanks for sharing

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  4. I’m glad you liked it! It sounds very interesting and well written

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  5. Love those books that you finish and can't wait to start again :) Glad you enjoyed it so much!

    Megan | The Ginger Mom Reader

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    1. It is such a treasure and short too so I can read it over and over.

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  6. Not a book I'm familiar with. Looks good. Great review.

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  7. Not my type of book but I am glad you liked it.

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    Replies
    1. I never though short stories were for me but now I love them.

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  8. I love a book that demands a second reading. I love a book that demands a second reading.

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  9. New book to me. Thanks for sharing

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  10. I'll have to take a look at this one.

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