From the Bookshelf of Aussie Readers…

Bereft

Chris Womersley

Why we're reading this: It is 1919. The Great War has ended, but the Spanish flu epidemic is raging across Australia. Schools are…more
[close] It is 1919. The Great War has ended, but the Spanish flu epidemic is raging across Australia. Schools are closed, state borders are guarded by armed men, and train travel is severely restricted. There are rumours it is the end of the world.
In the NSW town of Flint, Quinn Walker returns to the home he fled ten years earlier when he was accused of an unspeakable crime. Aware that his father and uncle would surely hang him, Quinn hides in the hills surrounding Flint. There, he meets the orphan Sadie Fox — a mysterious young girl who seems to know more about the crime than she should.
A searing gothic novel of love, longing and justice, Bereft is about the suffering endured by those who go to war and those who are forever left behind.

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Apr 06, 2014 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: aussie-authors, mystery, borrowed-from-library, gothic, historical-fiction

As Sergeant Quinn Walker contemplated the vast blue ocean surrounding him with the murmur of the other soldiers behind him, he wondered at life – wondered at his survival while many others did not. The Military Cross he had received for bravery; acts he couldn’t remember but received assurances of the lives he had saved. The bitterness was deep within him, the savagery intense as he hurled the award far into the ocean, imagining it sinking into the depths as he sometimes wished he could do. The As Sergeant Quinn Walker contemplated the vast blue ocean surrounding him with the murmur of the other soldiers behind him, he wondered at life – wondered at his survival while many others did not. The Military Cross he had received for bravery; acts he couldn’t remember but received assurances of the lives he had saved. The bitterness was deep within him, the savagery intense as he hurled the award far into the ocean, imagining it sinking into the depths as he sometimes wished he could do. The troopship Argyllshire was returning the wounded, desolate soldiers home to Australia, home to a land which was suffering terribly from a plague of influenza.

The year was 1919 when Quinn returned to his home town of Flint in NSW – ten years since he had fled after his beloved sister, twelve-year-old Sarah had been murdered. He was unaware when he ran that he was being accused of her murder – but knew now that this was the case, and he needed to set things right. For Quinn knew who the murderer was – and he also knew he was in great danger if he showed himself to the locals.

The terrors of the plague (as people called it) had reached Flint as well – with Quinn hiding out in the bush, watching the town, watching and trying to work out what to do, he was surprised and shocked to be confronted by a young girl dressed in tattered, torn and ragged clothing, barefoot and mysterious. For Sadie Fox had been orphaned – her sanctuary was now the bush; but her wiles and canniness caused Quinn to fear her. And as time and sorrow moved slowly onward through days and weeks, could a war ravaged Quinn find peace at last? Would he see justice served – and what would happen with young Sadie?

What an amazing book! I thoroughly enjoyed it, and read it very quickly, unable to put it down. The depths of this gripping tale of tragedy, love and loss, of the deep need of one man for retribution was haunting. I have no hesitation in recommending this novel by Aussie author Chris Womersley highly. I would also like to thank my several Goodreads friends who recommended it to me.
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Dec 16, 2013 Kathryn rated it it was ok

Shelves: fiction, australian-authors, reading-list-2014

I liked parts of this book - I liked the first 200 pages, or thereabouts. I found the story interesting, I felt sorry for Quinn and was curious about the young orphan girl he meets, Sadie. But I felt it all went pear-shaped around 200 pages in (with a few hints of the way it was heading earlier in the book - but I was hoping I was wrong!) and I just found it all very strange. Once the witchcraft started in earnest, this book was a lost cause as far as I was concerned.

7 likes · Like · see review

Aug 15, 2011 Cathy rated it really liked it

Shelves: australian, history, wwi

I loved the beautiful writing in this haunting book. Great descriptions of place and how beauty was observed even in harshness and grief. it was gripping and quite "other-worldly" - a pleasure to read. ...more

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Jun 11, 2011 Tango rated it it was amazing

Beautifully written and well-paced. I loved this book from start to finish.

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Dec 21, 2011 Nettie rated it really liked it

I picked up this book because it was on an ABC list for books representing your State (or something like that - can't find the reference on the ABC site anymore). I read this more voraciously that I have read anything in quite a while. It was haunting and strange. Some really beautiful writing and a mosstly gripping narrative. I've come away wondering what was real and what was in the protagonist's mind. Or was he really there at all? ...more

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Dec 03, 2010 Nicki Markus rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-thrillers-mysteries

This book was on loan to me from a friend who won it in the Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
From the first page I was hooked on the story and keen to know what had happened and what was going to happen. The character of Quinn is instantly likeable and you really feel for him as he fights his way home to seek justice, hampered by memories of the past and his recent experiences fighting in the First World War.
The prose was both lyrical and compelling and I would be keen to read more work by this au ...more

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May 02, 2011 Claire Miller rated it it was ok

NOTHING WRONG WITH IT JUST NOT IN THE MOOD WHEN I READ IT. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SOMETHING I LIKED. THE MORAL: NEVER FORCE YOURSELF TO READ A BOOK YOU'RE NOT IN THE MOOD FOR. ...more

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Sep 05, 2011 Anne_MB rated it it was amazing

Shelves: australian-fiction, 2011

A powerful book that has stayed in my thoughts long after the last sentence. So much tragedy and trauma, yet maybe a sense of hope and definitely retribution in the end. A young man, scarred and traumatised by his experiences during WW1, returns secretly to the small town from which he fled when wrongly accused of killing his sister. Though grim and heart wrenching, I enjoyed reading this book very much.

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