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The Hope Fault
Iris’s family – her ex-husband with his new wife and baby; her son, and her best friend’s daughter – gather to pack up their holiday house. They are there for one last time, one last weekend, and one last party – but in the course of this weekend, their connections will be affirmed, and their frailties and secrets revealed – to the reader at least, if not to each other. The Hope Fault is a novel about extended family: about steps and exes and fairy godmothers; about parents and partners who are missing, and the people who replace them.
340 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2017
About the author
Tracy Farr
10 books32 followersTracy Farr is a novelist and short story writer who used to be a scientist. Originally from Australia, she’s lived in Aotearoa New Zealand for thirty years.
Tracy's debut novel The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt (Fremantle Press 2013) is about love, loss, electronic music and the sea. Her second novel, The Hope Fault (Fremantle Press 2017), is about family, anxiety and geology.
Her third and latest novel, Wonderland (The Cuba Press 2025), was awarded the 2024 NZSA Laura Solomon Cuba Press Prize.
Tracy curates Bad Diaries Salon – a live literary series that features writers reading, to a theme, from their diaries and unpublished notebooks – and its sister project, Bad Diaries Podcast.
Tracy's debut novel The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt (Fremantle Press 2013) is about love, loss, electronic music and the sea. Her second novel, The Hope Fault (Fremantle Press 2017), is about family, anxiety and geology.
Her third and latest novel, Wonderland (The Cuba Press 2025), was awarded the 2024 NZSA Laura Solomon Cuba Press Prize.
Tracy curates Bad Diaries Salon – a live literary series that features writers reading, to a theme, from their diaries and unpublished notebooks – and its sister project, Bad Diaries Podcast.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
February 24, 2018
I loved Tracy Farr's The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt so was looking forward to her next book.
The Hope Fault mostly takes place over a long weekend as a small, extended, blended family meet at the family beach house that has now been sold, as all their lives are moving on, they meet to pack everything up, to have one last party and to name their youngest member, the month old Baby that has yet to be given a name.
The one family member that is missing is 99-year-old Rosa, days shy of her 100th birthday, she's in a care facility, but remembered often throughout the weekend and among the various objects that are unearthed as they pack.
The mid-section of the novel is given over to Rosa, in a unique, slow revealing way, it maps out snippets of her life from the present, through the past, snapshots that reveal the cracks, turning points and little known aspects of her life, that have unbeknown to the group that now meets, had an impact on their lives.
Although it is ostensibly a novel about families, there are poems and letters from a geologist, which I won't reveal, as they are part of the mystery and intrigue of the novel, but they provide an interesting connection and create one aspect of the metaphor of the 'hope fault', natural occurrences that disrupt and reform landscapes, families, humanity.
Knowing that Tracy Farr has lived many years in NZ, I imagine she was in part inspired by the Nov 2016 earthquake in Kaikoura, NZ, a complex 7.8 earthquake of 21 faults (some previously unknown) that ruptured the landscape in various ways, including raising the seabed by more than a metre. It is thought to be part of the evolution of the boundary between the Australian and Pacific plates.
The fault is that unseen force that underlies what we think is a solid reality, it represents change, movement, transformation, as it has done so in the past, as it will do in the future, there for us to see in the present if we open our eyes and mind to it.
For me, this is what this story is about, change, transformation, moving on, new generations replacing old, letting go, the awkwardness and disturbance of youth as they encounter parts of themselves they don't understand, the various manifestations of middle life, how men and women deal with it, how it impacts families and of just making the best of it all, of not judging others for their flaws.
In dealing with its faults, cracks and flaws, it's actually a novel of quiet hope.
P.S. One little intrigue this novel does reveal, which isn't about the storyline per se, is the connection to the authors twitter account. I'd noticed a long time ago that Tracy Farr's twitter handle is @hissingswan and wondered what that was a reference to. In reading this novel, at least one of the reasons for this reference is revealed! How Mister Willow came to Missus Maker, from Miss Fortune's Faery Tales by Rosa Fortune.
The Hope Fault mostly takes place over a long weekend as a small, extended, blended family meet at the family beach house that has now been sold, as all their lives are moving on, they meet to pack everything up, to have one last party and to name their youngest member, the month old Baby that has yet to be given a name.
The one family member that is missing is 99-year-old Rosa, days shy of her 100th birthday, she's in a care facility, but remembered often throughout the weekend and among the various objects that are unearthed as they pack.
The mid-section of the novel is given over to Rosa, in a unique, slow revealing way, it maps out snippets of her life from the present, through the past, snapshots that reveal the cracks, turning points and little known aspects of her life, that have unbeknown to the group that now meets, had an impact on their lives.
Although it is ostensibly a novel about families, there are poems and letters from a geologist, which I won't reveal, as they are part of the mystery and intrigue of the novel, but they provide an interesting connection and create one aspect of the metaphor of the 'hope fault', natural occurrences that disrupt and reform landscapes, families, humanity.
Knowing that Tracy Farr has lived many years in NZ, I imagine she was in part inspired by the Nov 2016 earthquake in Kaikoura, NZ, a complex 7.8 earthquake of 21 faults (some previously unknown) that ruptured the landscape in various ways, including raising the seabed by more than a metre. It is thought to be part of the evolution of the boundary between the Australian and Pacific plates.
The fault is that unseen force that underlies what we think is a solid reality, it represents change, movement, transformation, as it has done so in the past, as it will do in the future, there for us to see in the present if we open our eyes and mind to it.
For me, this is what this story is about, change, transformation, moving on, new generations replacing old, letting go, the awkwardness and disturbance of youth as they encounter parts of themselves they don't understand, the various manifestations of middle life, how men and women deal with it, how it impacts families and of just making the best of it all, of not judging others for their flaws.
In dealing with its faults, cracks and flaws, it's actually a novel of quiet hope.
P.S. One little intrigue this novel does reveal, which isn't about the storyline per se, is the connection to the authors twitter account. I'd noticed a long time ago that Tracy Farr's twitter handle is @hissingswan and wondered what that was a reference to. In reading this novel, at least one of the reasons for this reference is revealed! How Mister Willow came to Missus Maker, from Miss Fortune's Faery Tales by Rosa Fortune.
August 1, 2017
This is a beautifully constructed book, telling the story of a family via two sections spanning a single weekend and one section that telescopes back through a century. Farr writes in detail about the sensual experiences of her characters - what they smell, see and taste - and she's created a complicated middle-class family to explore in depth. But this is a study of a family, not really a story - there's no propulsion to the plot, so if you're not enthralled by the beautiful language and the small moments that expose the nature of the characters then you're going to struggle to push through - I found my attention drifting when I wasn't concentrating properly on this, but there's a lot to enjoy if you give it the energy it deserves.
March 19, 2017
Wonderful.
April 18, 2017
The Hope Fault (Fremantle Press 2017) by Tracy Farr is a literary fiction novel of almost faultless breathtaking imagery and emotion. In a bay in Cassetown, an extended family gathers to unmake their home - a beachside house, once meant as a retirement escape, but due to life's circumstances, long since rented to strangers. But now it has been put up for sale, has indeed, been sold, and the family has come together to pack and sort, and to remember. Iris and her ex-husband Paul, their son Kurt, Paul's new wife Kristin and their baby (as yet unnamed), Paul's twin sister Marti and her daughter Luce, gather for one last hurrah. Not physically present, but nevertheless a significant character, is Iris' mother Rosa, 100 years old and residing in a nursing home.
It is a simple and unlikely cast (Paul and Iris get on remarkably well considering their situation), and the story too is simple - nothing much really happens, and yet everything is changing. What drives the narrative forward is the slow and intimate recording of family life, the pace of growth and change, the individuals that make up this family - their hopes and plans, their secrets and their truths, all set against the backdrop of the relentless barrage of rain that sluices down gutters and wipes clean the landscape, providing a watery stage for every interaction.
The prose in this book is a joy to read, the descriptions are vivid and sensual, the landscape and environment exposed and bare, the weather and the elements raw and primal. The sea, the rain, the bush, the evenings, the dead of night...all are depicted with such presence, such force, such minute capturing of detail, that we feel we are there, in that house by the sea, listening to the storms, sheltering inside the home's strong arms.
The entire book is set over one weekend, and what this demonstrated to me was the incredible emotion and feeling that can be packed into a novel based purely on family dynamics and relations. Plot here is not only incidental, it is unnecessary. There is so much going on in the interior lives of these few characters that we don't need any extraneous detail. I kept expecting something 'big' to happen, but when it didn't, I was not disappointed. The characters are enough. The house is enough. The rain is enough. And in fact, the lack of external factors emphasises the importance and significance of the myriad of small details of the human experience which each of us live, every day.
There is one clever and unusual device inserted into the middle of the novel that gives us a wider perspective: a calendar of Rosa's life, spinning backwards over the past 100 years, allowing us to glimpse, little by little, flashes of her life as an old woman, as a grandmother, as a mother, as a young woman, as a child. The structure of this section is short, sharp and again, very vivid and meaningful. We have spent the first third of the book with a handful of characters over a couple of days; suddenly we flip through 100 years of a single character; and then we spend the last third of the novel back with the same handful of characters, again over little more than 24 hours. The difference, of course is that we now have the knowledge of Rosa's experience; she has come alive for us through letters and memories, through poems and stories. And although she is not physically present in the house, the ripple effects of what we learn of her life touch our understanding of all those within.
I imagine this story would be a joy to read out loud. The prose is almost like poetry, but also like science, and like a song, too; imagery and language all stitched up together in an enviable rendering of family life that celebrates the joys and connections, that mourns the losses, and that seeks to comprehend - in small, still, quiet ways - the very essence of existence.
It is a simple and unlikely cast (Paul and Iris get on remarkably well considering their situation), and the story too is simple - nothing much really happens, and yet everything is changing. What drives the narrative forward is the slow and intimate recording of family life, the pace of growth and change, the individuals that make up this family - their hopes and plans, their secrets and their truths, all set against the backdrop of the relentless barrage of rain that sluices down gutters and wipes clean the landscape, providing a watery stage for every interaction.
The prose in this book is a joy to read, the descriptions are vivid and sensual, the landscape and environment exposed and bare, the weather and the elements raw and primal. The sea, the rain, the bush, the evenings, the dead of night...all are depicted with such presence, such force, such minute capturing of detail, that we feel we are there, in that house by the sea, listening to the storms, sheltering inside the home's strong arms.
The entire book is set over one weekend, and what this demonstrated to me was the incredible emotion and feeling that can be packed into a novel based purely on family dynamics and relations. Plot here is not only incidental, it is unnecessary. There is so much going on in the interior lives of these few characters that we don't need any extraneous detail. I kept expecting something 'big' to happen, but when it didn't, I was not disappointed. The characters are enough. The house is enough. The rain is enough. And in fact, the lack of external factors emphasises the importance and significance of the myriad of small details of the human experience which each of us live, every day.
There is one clever and unusual device inserted into the middle of the novel that gives us a wider perspective: a calendar of Rosa's life, spinning backwards over the past 100 years, allowing us to glimpse, little by little, flashes of her life as an old woman, as a grandmother, as a mother, as a young woman, as a child. The structure of this section is short, sharp and again, very vivid and meaningful. We have spent the first third of the book with a handful of characters over a couple of days; suddenly we flip through 100 years of a single character; and then we spend the last third of the novel back with the same handful of characters, again over little more than 24 hours. The difference, of course is that we now have the knowledge of Rosa's experience; she has come alive for us through letters and memories, through poems and stories. And although she is not physically present in the house, the ripple effects of what we learn of her life touch our understanding of all those within.
I imagine this story would be a joy to read out loud. The prose is almost like poetry, but also like science, and like a song, too; imagery and language all stitched up together in an enviable rendering of family life that celebrates the joys and connections, that mourns the losses, and that seeks to comprehend - in small, still, quiet ways - the very essence of existence.
June 17, 2018
This book wasn't for me. I know that others liked it but I found my attention drifting while reading it.
Some people will love the descriptive language of this book, but I didn't find the story interesting.
Some people will love the descriptive language of this book, but I didn't find the story interesting.
July 4, 2018
I enjoyed Tracy Farr’s debut novel, The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt, so was happy when I received a copy of this, her second book. It is written in three sections and introduces the reader to an unusual family setup.
The protagonist is Iris who, over the course of a weekend, is organising the clearance of her old family holiday home in Cassetown, New Zealand. Farr has reimagined the Busselton suburb of Vasse as the location for her story. It is an up and coming area close to beaches and the Margaret River wine region. This is significant as the house was considered an investment by Iris’s ex-husband, Paul, when they made the purchase. It is he who wishes to sell. The proceeds will enable him to acquire a dream home to share with his second wife, Kristin, and their new baby girl.
I mentioned that the family set up is unusual. Arriving at the house with Iris is her grown up son, Kurt, back from university for the holidays. They bring with them fifteen year old Luce, the daughter of Iris’s best friend, Marti. Paul and Kristin arrive later in the day, with their recently born and much loved daughter, to help with the house clearance. Marti, Paul’s twin sister, will arrive the next day. All of these characters consider themselves family and appear to get on well. Iris has set aside the antagonism she once felt towards Kristin whose affair with Paul precipitated the breakdown of their marriage.
The first and third sections of the book are told from these characters’ points of view, the voice regularly shifting to enable the reader to better understand the effect of their words and actions on the others. In the background is Rosa, Iris’s elderly mother who lives in a care facility back in the city. The middle section of the book tells Rosa’s life story, moving through time from the present day to her birth.
There are many threads running through the tale. Geologists and map makers who work with the earth’s fault lines feature. These details are used as a metaphor for the fault lines running through the family. There is artistry: Kurt’s drawing; Luce’s music; Rosa’s writing; Iris’s embroidery. There are also dependencies – on alcohol and eating habits – alongside attention seeking and its effect. Kurt and Luce are particularly well rendered as they push for greater autonomy and privacy, the exasperation young adults feel towards the older generation is understood and conveyed.
The first section of the book covers the Friday and Saturday of the weekend, with the cast assembling and settling in. The narrative is kept sparse yet much is portrayed. Paul has decided that a final party will be held to which Iris has acquiesced. Through a first night dinner, the start of packing boxes and the arrival of party attendees the cast’s mindsets are unpeeled, their attitudes shared. My engagement in the story faltered as the second afternoon progressed but picked up as further threads were developed.
The second section, Rosa’s story, adds substance to the various histories so far revealed. What comes through is the way the elderly are treated, as if they have always been old, lacking in aspiration and individualism. With nearly one hundred years to cover only glimpses are given. The milestones of Rosa’s restless life contain secrets, achievements and a pivotal disloyalty. This relationship is given more pages than I felt it needed. I would have preferred more on how Rosa’s younger self came to be.
The third section returns to the holiday home and covers the Sunday and Monday of the weekend. Events of the previous night brought out a variety of irritations and weaknesses in the family members, yet most accept these as facets of people they love anyway. Iris worries about Kurt who is facing his demons. Luce is harbouring a secret, her mood volatile and resistant.
The rolling perspectives work well in portraying the mundane and how this affects different temperaments. Decisions made by adults as for the best have caused long term damage in their offspring that they struggle to articulate. What is regarded by the adults as an accepted weakness, a part of what makes the person as they are, is observed with disdain by their children.
Yet this remains a celebration of acceptance, the faults of each family member acknowledged and at times fretted over but not held against. By taking the reader through Rosa’s life we see that the children will move on, look back, and come to better comprehend. Eventually they too will see only an elderly relative in someone who was once a figurehead.
The writing offers touches of brilliance, insights that deserve further consideration. Although I found the pacing sporadic in places, my engagement wandering before once again being drawn in, the structure and premise provide an original take on family love, loyalty and affirmation. This is a worthwhile read.
The protagonist is Iris who, over the course of a weekend, is organising the clearance of her old family holiday home in Cassetown, New Zealand. Farr has reimagined the Busselton suburb of Vasse as the location for her story. It is an up and coming area close to beaches and the Margaret River wine region. This is significant as the house was considered an investment by Iris’s ex-husband, Paul, when they made the purchase. It is he who wishes to sell. The proceeds will enable him to acquire a dream home to share with his second wife, Kristin, and their new baby girl.
I mentioned that the family set up is unusual. Arriving at the house with Iris is her grown up son, Kurt, back from university for the holidays. They bring with them fifteen year old Luce, the daughter of Iris’s best friend, Marti. Paul and Kristin arrive later in the day, with their recently born and much loved daughter, to help with the house clearance. Marti, Paul’s twin sister, will arrive the next day. All of these characters consider themselves family and appear to get on well. Iris has set aside the antagonism she once felt towards Kristin whose affair with Paul precipitated the breakdown of their marriage.
The first and third sections of the book are told from these characters’ points of view, the voice regularly shifting to enable the reader to better understand the effect of their words and actions on the others. In the background is Rosa, Iris’s elderly mother who lives in a care facility back in the city. The middle section of the book tells Rosa’s life story, moving through time from the present day to her birth.
There are many threads running through the tale. Geologists and map makers who work with the earth’s fault lines feature. These details are used as a metaphor for the fault lines running through the family. There is artistry: Kurt’s drawing; Luce’s music; Rosa’s writing; Iris’s embroidery. There are also dependencies – on alcohol and eating habits – alongside attention seeking and its effect. Kurt and Luce are particularly well rendered as they push for greater autonomy and privacy, the exasperation young adults feel towards the older generation is understood and conveyed.
The first section of the book covers the Friday and Saturday of the weekend, with the cast assembling and settling in. The narrative is kept sparse yet much is portrayed. Paul has decided that a final party will be held to which Iris has acquiesced. Through a first night dinner, the start of packing boxes and the arrival of party attendees the cast’s mindsets are unpeeled, their attitudes shared. My engagement in the story faltered as the second afternoon progressed but picked up as further threads were developed.
The second section, Rosa’s story, adds substance to the various histories so far revealed. What comes through is the way the elderly are treated, as if they have always been old, lacking in aspiration and individualism. With nearly one hundred years to cover only glimpses are given. The milestones of Rosa’s restless life contain secrets, achievements and a pivotal disloyalty. This relationship is given more pages than I felt it needed. I would have preferred more on how Rosa’s younger self came to be.
The third section returns to the holiday home and covers the Sunday and Monday of the weekend. Events of the previous night brought out a variety of irritations and weaknesses in the family members, yet most accept these as facets of people they love anyway. Iris worries about Kurt who is facing his demons. Luce is harbouring a secret, her mood volatile and resistant.
The rolling perspectives work well in portraying the mundane and how this affects different temperaments. Decisions made by adults as for the best have caused long term damage in their offspring that they struggle to articulate. What is regarded by the adults as an accepted weakness, a part of what makes the person as they are, is observed with disdain by their children.
Yet this remains a celebration of acceptance, the faults of each family member acknowledged and at times fretted over but not held against. By taking the reader through Rosa’s life we see that the children will move on, look back, and come to better comprehend. Eventually they too will see only an elderly relative in someone who was once a figurehead.
The writing offers touches of brilliance, insights that deserve further consideration. Although I found the pacing sporadic in places, my engagement wandering before once again being drawn in, the structure and premise provide an original take on family love, loyalty and affirmation. This is a worthwhile read.
February 6, 2018
I may come back and change this rating because I'm still not sure if I loved or hated this book - the writing was marvellous, just so descriptive. The middle section of Rosa's life in reverse was moving and fascinating. But the lack of any resolution, while being true to life (it is messy, we don't always know what is going on, and we have complicated emotions) may not work for everyone. And I'm not sure yet if it worked for me - I did love most of the characters, and the weekend at the house was a clever setting.
I'd say it is less a novel with a plot or story and more just passages in time that are beautifully described.
I'd say it is less a novel with a plot or story and more just passages in time that are beautifully described.
April 21, 2017
Beautiful descriptive prose about connections to place and people - I enjoyed it.
April 10, 2017
Once again Tracy Farr delivers a beautiful novel, moving and with memorable characters.
She deserves to be read by thousands. Just as in The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt, she doesn't disappoint.
She deserves to be read by thousands. Just as in The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt, she doesn't disappoint.
March 28, 2017
A clever depiction of the ironic interface between family flaws and family loyalties. This is a book for readers who enjoy lengthy detailed descriptions rather than compelling plots.
November 29, 2017
Tedious :(
May 5, 2017
Tracy Farr is a writer and former research scientist who grew up in Perth, Western Australia. For the past twenty years she has called New Zealand home, weaving the Aussie/Kiwi connection into both of her novels The Hope Fault, and The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt. She is still a familiar face in the Australian writing scene and you can find gorgeous pics and details of her own book collection in Maureen Eppen’s bookish series, Shelf Awareness.
I throughly enjoyed her debut novel, The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt, which was shortlisted for the Barbara Jefferis Award and the Western Australian Premier’s Book Award in 2014, and longlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award. Both of her novels were published by Fremantle Press.
The Hope Fault centres around a rainy weekend in a seaside town south of Perth. The family holiday home has been sold and the now-blended family has gathered to pack up their possessions and celebrate the life they once shared there. The unusual family dynamics are written about sensitively (Iris, her ex-husband and his new, much younger, wife and their baby coincide peacefully within the thin walls), and in a way that made me question my own preconceived ideas as to why anyone would want to put themselves in that position.
The novel opens slowly and maintains a comfortable ‘weekend down South’ pace. You can sense the quiet hush inside the old home as everyone settles in on the first night while torrential rain falls outside. I enjoyed the cosiness of the home, still a sanctuary despite a broken marriage, as well as the scenery that the South West is famous for.
A late night visit to hospital early in the novel had me predicting plot twists that would eventuate from such an incident. But the novel isn’t about ‘plot twists’. It’s a beautiful work of literary fiction, where the situation and characters drive the story. It is more about reflection than action and conflict. I enjoyed this approach; the slower pace allowed me to think more deeply and challenged my own assumptions and prejudices. The blended family under one roof, a seemingly overprotective mother, an unnamed child – but as the story unfolds, the reasons why things are like this become clear. It’s a good reminder for real life – don’t judge; you never know what events in a person’s background shaped the way they behave.
I found the structure of the book interesting. Whilst the beginning and end of the book centre around the weekend down South, the middle section is written in a different style, in Rosa’s point of view. Rosa is Iris’s mother, almost 100 years old and residing in a nursing home. She is not physically present during the weekend, but is very much a part of it, especially towards the end of the novel. Rosa’s chapters are cleverly written, working backwards in time with her voice becoming younger as the novel moves on, and provide further insight into Iris’s character. I also like the way Tracy names her chapters rather than numbers them – it’s like a giving a small clue about what’s to come.
The writing is stunning, the circumstances intriguing and the backstory appealing. Tracy has a way of describing everyday events in intricate detail; a vivid ‘show not tell’, providing delicious imagery.
This particular book had an added layer of enjoyment for me; a few of those ‘aha‘ moments when I read certain scenes. I attended Tracy’s Teaching the Monster to Speak workshop at the Perth Writers Festival in 2016 and remembered Tracy referring to her ‘work in progress’ at the time, her now published Hope Fault. I hope authors never underestimate the inspiration they give to new writers when sharing details of their work or writing processes during workshops and author talks. I love those little sparks of recognition I get when I read a novel that has shared snippets of its making.
There are some questions I would love answered about the baby and Rosa that weren’t tied up at the end, but the details are probably irrelevant anyway. One question that has been answered however, is why Tracy uses @hissingswan as her Twitter handle. If you’re curious too, have a look at the book’s resource notes on her website.
I throughly enjoyed her debut novel, The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt, which was shortlisted for the Barbara Jefferis Award and the Western Australian Premier’s Book Award in 2014, and longlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award. Both of her novels were published by Fremantle Press.
The Hope Fault centres around a rainy weekend in a seaside town south of Perth. The family holiday home has been sold and the now-blended family has gathered to pack up their possessions and celebrate the life they once shared there. The unusual family dynamics are written about sensitively (Iris, her ex-husband and his new, much younger, wife and their baby coincide peacefully within the thin walls), and in a way that made me question my own preconceived ideas as to why anyone would want to put themselves in that position.
The novel opens slowly and maintains a comfortable ‘weekend down South’ pace. You can sense the quiet hush inside the old home as everyone settles in on the first night while torrential rain falls outside. I enjoyed the cosiness of the home, still a sanctuary despite a broken marriage, as well as the scenery that the South West is famous for.
A late night visit to hospital early in the novel had me predicting plot twists that would eventuate from such an incident. But the novel isn’t about ‘plot twists’. It’s a beautiful work of literary fiction, where the situation and characters drive the story. It is more about reflection than action and conflict. I enjoyed this approach; the slower pace allowed me to think more deeply and challenged my own assumptions and prejudices. The blended family under one roof, a seemingly overprotective mother, an unnamed child – but as the story unfolds, the reasons why things are like this become clear. It’s a good reminder for real life – don’t judge; you never know what events in a person’s background shaped the way they behave.
I found the structure of the book interesting. Whilst the beginning and end of the book centre around the weekend down South, the middle section is written in a different style, in Rosa’s point of view. Rosa is Iris’s mother, almost 100 years old and residing in a nursing home. She is not physically present during the weekend, but is very much a part of it, especially towards the end of the novel. Rosa’s chapters are cleverly written, working backwards in time with her voice becoming younger as the novel moves on, and provide further insight into Iris’s character. I also like the way Tracy names her chapters rather than numbers them – it’s like a giving a small clue about what’s to come.
The writing is stunning, the circumstances intriguing and the backstory appealing. Tracy has a way of describing everyday events in intricate detail; a vivid ‘show not tell’, providing delicious imagery.
This particular book had an added layer of enjoyment for me; a few of those ‘aha‘ moments when I read certain scenes. I attended Tracy’s Teaching the Monster to Speak workshop at the Perth Writers Festival in 2016 and remembered Tracy referring to her ‘work in progress’ at the time, her now published Hope Fault. I hope authors never underestimate the inspiration they give to new writers when sharing details of their work or writing processes during workshops and author talks. I love those little sparks of recognition I get when I read a novel that has shared snippets of its making.
There are some questions I would love answered about the baby and Rosa that weren’t tied up at the end, but the details are probably irrelevant anyway. One question that has been answered however, is why Tracy uses @hissingswan as her Twitter handle. If you’re curious too, have a look at the book’s resource notes on her website.
August 6, 2018
A gorgeously constructed novel lacking in plot momentum
After selling her holiday home, Iris and her extended family – her ex-husband Paul, his new wife Kristin and their baby, her son Kurt and her best friend’s daughter Luce – gather at the house one last time to pack up all the furniture before moving out forever. As they do, they uncover secrets and revelations about each other, and about Iris’s mother Rosa that may shake the foundations of the family and will reveal how messy and convoluted family relationships can be.
This was a well-written book that at times felt less like a story and more like a comprehensive study of an unusual family and their convoluted relationships. The author focusses intricately on seemingly routine and mundane interactions and aspects of family life and slowly unveils their complexity and depth to the reader, in a way that requires an incredible level of observational skill and understanding. Several different themes are woven throughout the novel – the blanket Iris is stitching for the baby, geology, poetry – and they all combine to create some quite beautiful pieces of writing that are almost poetic in nature. I found the middle section of the book (which describes the elderly Rosa’s life in reverse through a series of first-person passages) to be a particular highlight, and both this and other aspects of the tale were quite emotional and moving.
Despite the brilliant writing, I, unfortunately, did find The Hope Fault a little tedious at times. Nothing much really happens over the course of the book, and the ending felt abrupt and unsatisfactory. I also found the relationship between Iris and her ex-husband and his new wife to be quite unrealistic – whilst I’m sure some estranged couples do get on, it just seemed inconceivable to me that Iris could invite into her home and befriend a woman with whom her husband cheated on her and left her for. Kristin herself is also quite an irritating character, and I didn’t really connect with her or any of the other players in the story, which meant I enjoyed reading about the intricate details of their lives less than I had hoped to.
In conclusion, whilst the author is clearly talented, and some of the writing was excellent, this story was a little too slow paced and unexciting for me. I did enjoy reading it but would not recommend it to readers looking for a dramatic page-turner.
Daenerys
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review
After selling her holiday home, Iris and her extended family – her ex-husband Paul, his new wife Kristin and their baby, her son Kurt and her best friend’s daughter Luce – gather at the house one last time to pack up all the furniture before moving out forever. As they do, they uncover secrets and revelations about each other, and about Iris’s mother Rosa that may shake the foundations of the family and will reveal how messy and convoluted family relationships can be.
This was a well-written book that at times felt less like a story and more like a comprehensive study of an unusual family and their convoluted relationships. The author focusses intricately on seemingly routine and mundane interactions and aspects of family life and slowly unveils their complexity and depth to the reader, in a way that requires an incredible level of observational skill and understanding. Several different themes are woven throughout the novel – the blanket Iris is stitching for the baby, geology, poetry – and they all combine to create some quite beautiful pieces of writing that are almost poetic in nature. I found the middle section of the book (which describes the elderly Rosa’s life in reverse through a series of first-person passages) to be a particular highlight, and both this and other aspects of the tale were quite emotional and moving.
Despite the brilliant writing, I, unfortunately, did find The Hope Fault a little tedious at times. Nothing much really happens over the course of the book, and the ending felt abrupt and unsatisfactory. I also found the relationship between Iris and her ex-husband and his new wife to be quite unrealistic – whilst I’m sure some estranged couples do get on, it just seemed inconceivable to me that Iris could invite into her home and befriend a woman with whom her husband cheated on her and left her for. Kristin herself is also quite an irritating character, and I didn’t really connect with her or any of the other players in the story, which meant I enjoyed reading about the intricate details of their lives less than I had hoped to.
In conclusion, whilst the author is clearly talented, and some of the writing was excellent, this story was a little too slow paced and unexciting for me. I did enjoy reading it but would not recommend it to readers looking for a dramatic page-turner.
Daenerys
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review
July 26, 2018
THE HOPE FAULT by Tracy Farr is a beautiful novel centred wholeheartedly on family and family dynamics, with prose that will lull you gently into this engaging story.
Iris has sold their holiday home and must now, over the course of a weekend, pack up all of its belongings and say goodbye. Along to help is her son, her ex-husband and his new wife and their new baby, her best friend (who is also her ex-husband's twin sister) and her best friend's daughter. And then there is the spectre of Rosa - Iris's mother who is 100 years old, living in a nursing home, and who no longer talks or remembers them at all. As everyone converges on the house which has a special place in all of their hearts for different reasons, old hurts, anxieties, and emotions will slowly simmer to the surface as the characters try to find their footing with what is happening in their lives.
This is not a fast-paced, energetic drama with plot twists around every corner, but rather a slow unwrapping of a story that is very much character centred and which unfurls this complicated family structure one piece at a time in an almost melodic fashion. The poetic language comes alive in this deep and thought-provoking novel and I fell under its spell each time I picked it up. While Rosa isn't physically at the house she is such a central character and I loved getting to know her through letters and memories as the story developed.
There is depth, love, and complicated feelings throughout THE HOPE FAULT by Tracy Farr and a beauty all of its own among the descriptive prose that will transport you to the home that makes it all possible. Definitely a book worth reading!
*I voluntarily reviewed this book from the Publisher
Iris has sold their holiday home and must now, over the course of a weekend, pack up all of its belongings and say goodbye. Along to help is her son, her ex-husband and his new wife and their new baby, her best friend (who is also her ex-husband's twin sister) and her best friend's daughter. And then there is the spectre of Rosa - Iris's mother who is 100 years old, living in a nursing home, and who no longer talks or remembers them at all. As everyone converges on the house which has a special place in all of their hearts for different reasons, old hurts, anxieties, and emotions will slowly simmer to the surface as the characters try to find their footing with what is happening in their lives.
This is not a fast-paced, energetic drama with plot twists around every corner, but rather a slow unwrapping of a story that is very much character centred and which unfurls this complicated family structure one piece at a time in an almost melodic fashion. The poetic language comes alive in this deep and thought-provoking novel and I fell under its spell each time I picked it up. While Rosa isn't physically at the house she is such a central character and I loved getting to know her through letters and memories as the story developed.
There is depth, love, and complicated feelings throughout THE HOPE FAULT by Tracy Farr and a beauty all of its own among the descriptive prose that will transport you to the home that makes it all possible. Definitely a book worth reading!
*I voluntarily reviewed this book from the Publisher
October 14, 2018
In Cassetown, Geologue Bay, Iris and her extended family ― her ex-husband (Paul) and his wife (Kristin) and their new baby (yet to be named); her troubled son (Kurt), Paul's twin sister (Marti) and her daughter (Luce) ― gather on a midwinter long weekend, to pack up the family holiday house now that it has been sold.
The Hope Fault describes the weekend in loving detail, revealing secrets and tensions within the family with a break in the middle where the narrative shifts to tell moments from the almost 100 years of the life of Rosa, Iris's mother. The narrative then shifts back to the weekend preparations for the party that will mark both forever leaving the house and finally naming the baby.
I particularly liked how the story reveals each family member's creativity, Rosa's faery tales, Iris carefully making a quilt for the baby, Luce composing a song for the baby and Kurt constantly drawing:
'Kurt sleeps in his clothes and dreams of a page in a notebook, ink-washed deep black, split in the centre by a wedge of page-white light, that wedge of light with a figure in shadow at its centre, the figure itself casting a shadow on another figure,something he can't quite see, or touch, or draw. He floats above the page, pencil in his hand. He dreams in light and dark.'
The Hope Fault itself is a geological fault in the south island of New Zealand, as explored by Zigi, a geologist poet who many years ago had an affair with Rosa. This is reflected in the family story by the hidden weaknesses in the family that threaten to change things.
Not much happens in this slow paced novel and though I mostly enjoyed the writing and the detailed descriptions I was a little underwhelmed and felt it wasn't as insightful as it could have been.
The Hope Fault describes the weekend in loving detail, revealing secrets and tensions within the family with a break in the middle where the narrative shifts to tell moments from the almost 100 years of the life of Rosa, Iris's mother. The narrative then shifts back to the weekend preparations for the party that will mark both forever leaving the house and finally naming the baby.
I particularly liked how the story reveals each family member's creativity, Rosa's faery tales, Iris carefully making a quilt for the baby, Luce composing a song for the baby and Kurt constantly drawing:
'Kurt sleeps in his clothes and dreams of a page in a notebook, ink-washed deep black, split in the centre by a wedge of page-white light, that wedge of light with a figure in shadow at its centre, the figure itself casting a shadow on another figure,something he can't quite see, or touch, or draw. He floats above the page, pencil in his hand. He dreams in light and dark.'
The Hope Fault itself is a geological fault in the south island of New Zealand, as explored by Zigi, a geologist poet who many years ago had an affair with Rosa. This is reflected in the family story by the hidden weaknesses in the family that threaten to change things.
Not much happens in this slow paced novel and though I mostly enjoyed the writing and the detailed descriptions I was a little underwhelmed and felt it wasn't as insightful as it could have been.
May 3, 2018
The Hope Fault is about Iris and her messy extended family:
- Paul, her ex-husband
- Kurt, their son
- Kristin, Paul's second wife
- their as yet unnamed baby
- Marti, Paul's twin sister and Iris's best friend
- Luce, Marti's daughter.
They have gathered together for a weekend to unpick their holiday home; the house by the sea Paul and Iris had intended to retire to which has been rented out complete with all their possessions in the years since their split and which is now sold. An end of an era party is in order.
In the novel the weekend is split like the geological fault of the title. As the party warms up, the narrative turns to Rosa, Iris's 99 year old mother. She is in a care home, but her presence permeates the rest of the story.
It's a lyrical, intricate portrait of a modern family. The geological metaphor is appropriate; as rock fractures and folds, so do the familial relationships - maybe not quite in geological time but with the wisdom of hindsight events take on less significance and rifts are healed.
The writing is beautiful, the dialogue is delightful, the characters are warm but realistic, the rain that hammers down all weekend permeates the page and the blanket that Iris is making for the baby stitches the stories together.
This book has cemented Tracy Farr as one of those authors I will always want to read, regardless of subject matter.
May 11, 2017
This novel was a luminous fable, which focused on structure. The structure of a person's life, as well as how families may be structured. And of course, the holiday house as a structure is the setting and raison-d'etre of the 'blended/extended' family having a weekend down south in Western Australia, in order to pack up the house. Over the course of a rainy long weekend, punctuated by a 'housebreaking' party, and ending with a naming ceremony, Iris, her son Kurt, his father Paul, his new wife Kristin, their nameless baby, Paul's sister Marti, and Marti's daughter Luce, inhabit the house's rooms, and each other's inner lives. The story is visual, like scenes from a film in storyboard form, or the pages of a flip book. The second part of the book's structure is a literary version of this, as Iris's mother Rosa's life is rapidly brought to life from 100 to 0. Rosa was a writer of 'faery' tales, and this motif is richly evoked, through Iris's stitching and the baby's nameless state.
August 11, 2017
An easy and captivating read, fully relatable but simple plot revolving around a family during a time of change as they pack up a home. Beautifully written, not overwrought or melodramatic but moves along at a nice pace as we gain insight to the family dynamics and in particular the history of Rosa, the elderly grandmother. There are echoes of Tim Winton in Farr's writing, and I enjoyed the references to New Zealand. Nicely done.
July 9, 2018
It's a slow, lyrical, pensive look at life and families. Nothing much happens, so if you're looking for a gripping page-turner, you'll be disappointed, but the power of the prose is in the ability to pause and look at the intricate and seemingly insignificant details and complex relationships that make up the everyday experience of family life.
full review on my blog : http://madhousefamilyreviews.blogspot...
full review on my blog : http://madhousefamilyreviews.blogspot...
July 25, 2023
absolutely LOVED. the writing style had a dreamy quality throughout that made it feel like you were reading a book of memory, so wonderfully unique. a beautiful story of love and togetherness that takes an honest but ultimately uplifting look at all phases of life and accompanying emotions
May 7, 2017
A very enjoyable read. Tells story of family over a weekend, packing up their former home. Slow paced , detailed, lots of good dialogue, likeable characters and a natural way of writing.
April 19, 2018
Enjoyed it but not a gripping page turner.
June 25, 2018
Beautifully written story of a family. I just found some of the poetry/letters a little repetitive.
September 28, 2018
A beautifully crafted narrative with lush, intricate description. Iris' whānau are complicated, messy and familiar. I loved Rosa's life journey in reverse, too.
January 6, 2019
A beautiful book about family and place. The author's love for the natural world is obvious in every sentence - she has drawn a landscape in words.
February 4, 2019
A reconstituted family gathers to pack up their old lives in their once-upon-a time holiday home, which has now been sold. Iris and her ex, who now has a new wife and baby get on just fine. So does her son, Kurt, with his younger cousin Luce. The story drifts along, and I'm not all that engaged. Then Iris' mother, all but 100 years old comes into the frame. Her story is tracked backwards from just now, until over 60 years ago, via letters, diaries, and Rosa's published faery tales. I was hooked. She had quite a life, and having it revealed in that gradual way that a friend or family member might come to discover it was interesting, and carried me along when we reverted once more to the present day narrative. This is the story teller as geologist, unpacking the past gradually, and in reverse order. In the end, this was an absorbing read.
April 16, 2024
This book was an easy read with short chapters, and I think the target audience would be women at least 20 years older than me.
That aside, the book was really boring. Nothing happened. It was just a family doing mindless activities. There is a whole chapter devoted to a random cat killing a random snake and another one of Marti baking a cake.
The dialogue is horribly written. There will be just lines and lines of dialogue and no mention of who says what.
Nothing is resolved at the end. We never learn the Baby's name. Iris never learns if Rosa is dead. We never learn if Ziggy is Iris's real father.
There was no character development. And if I'd been a character in this book I would've been bored out of my mind because no one was really doing anything.
That aside, the book was really boring. Nothing happened. It was just a family doing mindless activities. There is a whole chapter devoted to a random cat killing a random snake and another one of Marti baking a cake.
The dialogue is horribly written. There will be just lines and lines of dialogue and no mention of who says what.
Nothing is resolved at the end. We never learn the Baby's name. Iris never learns if Rosa is dead. We never learn if Ziggy is Iris's real father.
There was no character development. And if I'd been a character in this book I would've been bored out of my mind because no one was really doing anything.
May 20, 2017
Tracy Farr is an author I discovered when her debut novel, The Life and Loves of Lena Gault was longlisted for the Miles Franklin award in 2014. (See my review here). The novel went on to be shortlisted for the Barbara Jefferis and the WA Premier’s awards, and it’s been published in the US and the UK as well. The Hope Fault is her second novel.
I’ve tagged Tracy as a Kiwi in my Meet a Kiwi Author series but although she’s lived in New Zealand for twenty years, she grew up in Australia, and The Hope Fault is set in a fictional town called Cassetown in south-western Australia. It feels like the Margaret River region on a very wet day, though the action of the novel takes place almost entirely inside a house. But the rain begins as the extended family arrives at the weekender that now has to be packed up and vacated, and the full-on, pelting deluge persists throughout the weekend. They can always hear it from inside guttering and gushing, sinking into the earth, wetting, muddening, all damp and glorious. Sometimes they feel a bit anxious about the strength and intensity of this rainstorm, but their house is like an ark, with representative souls to carry on into the future, whatever the rain may bring.
A place of family memories, the house brings together for this one last time: Iris, the quiet, reliable one who stitches everything together, and her son Kurt; her ex-husband Paul, his new wife Kristin and their nameless baby; and (arriving late) Marti, the ‘life of the party’ sister of Iris. Marti’s daughter Luce travelled down with Iris, not with her mother, for reasons that become obvious. Not able to join them is Rosa, mother of Iris and Marti, and now mute after a stroke and in aged care. But she is not forgotten – the family is planning celebrations for her 100th birthday which coincides with Kurt’s 21st.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2017/05/20/t...
I’ve tagged Tracy as a Kiwi in my Meet a Kiwi Author series but although she’s lived in New Zealand for twenty years, she grew up in Australia, and The Hope Fault is set in a fictional town called Cassetown in south-western Australia. It feels like the Margaret River region on a very wet day, though the action of the novel takes place almost entirely inside a house. But the rain begins as the extended family arrives at the weekender that now has to be packed up and vacated, and the full-on, pelting deluge persists throughout the weekend. They can always hear it from inside guttering and gushing, sinking into the earth, wetting, muddening, all damp and glorious. Sometimes they feel a bit anxious about the strength and intensity of this rainstorm, but their house is like an ark, with representative souls to carry on into the future, whatever the rain may bring.
A place of family memories, the house brings together for this one last time: Iris, the quiet, reliable one who stitches everything together, and her son Kurt; her ex-husband Paul, his new wife Kristin and their nameless baby; and (arriving late) Marti, the ‘life of the party’ sister of Iris. Marti’s daughter Luce travelled down with Iris, not with her mother, for reasons that become obvious. Not able to join them is Rosa, mother of Iris and Marti, and now mute after a stroke and in aged care. But she is not forgotten – the family is planning celebrations for her 100th birthday which coincides with Kurt’s 21st.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2017/05/20/t...
Read
October 21, 2018The strength of Farr’s sophomore novel lies in its melodic language and her play with its structure. Words almost fall over one another in their anxiousness to be heard, from dialogue that doesn’t stop to tell the reader who’s speaking, to songs, poetry, and an unexpected memoir of the family matriarch taking prime position at the center. The style fits the family whose story Farr tells, that of Iris, her son, her niece, her ex-husband, his new wife, their baby, and eventually, Iris’s ex-sister-in-law. This amorphous family has gathered in a small bay town in southwestern Australia to pack up a house over what turns out to be a dreary, rainy weekend. Iris’s mother, Rosa, while not physically present, divulges secrets and complex family connects in the photographs, books, and memories through which this complex family sorts. Additional insights come from Iris, her son, and her niece as they struggle to understand their place in the family. A scientist by training, Farr captures faults of people and land in a story that will appeal to anyone who loves character studies of family.
First appeared in Booklist September 13, 2018
First appeared in Booklist September 13, 2018
Did Not Finish
February 19, 2019I read the first 44 pages. The style is reminiscent of Virginia Woolf’s, or Tessa Hadley’s, especially as in The Past. The whole family has returned to the ancestral home, which has just been sold and needs to be cleared, in the midst of a deluge. We meet Iris, her grown son Kurt, her niece Lulu, and her ex-husband Paul – with his new wife Kristin and their still-unnamed one-month-old daughter. The shifting POV mostly sticks with Iris. Chapter titles are nicely random phrases plucked from that chapter. The short sections, some of them pure dialogue, are so short you don’t feel you get anywhere or have anything to latch onto. I loved Farr’s previous novel, The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt, and hoped to love this one too, but the narrative drive just wasn’t there.
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