ASH MOUNTAIN
Book: Ash Mountain
Publication Day: 23 February 2021
Publisher: Affirm Press
Fran hates Ash Mountain, 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 to her hometown 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 old 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…
Simultaneously a warm, darkly funny portrait of small-town life – and a woman
and a land in crisis – and a shocking and truly distressing account of a
catastrophic event that changes things forever, Ash Mountain is a
heart-breaking slice of domestic noir, and a disturbing disaster thriller that
you will never forget…
ASH MOUNTAIN by Helen Fitzgerald does a great job in weaving together several seemingly disparate stories: A woman forced to confront her past after returning to her hometown to care for her father. A small town of people who will band together to help one another but complicit in keeping town secrets. A town facing the threat of bushfire; a far too often occurrence in Australia today.
This book took me on an emotional rollercoaster ride. I laughed. I got angry. I felt hope. I felt fear and devastation. The story is often written so subtlety; every sentence counts.
Fitzgerald does an excellent job in portraying the thoughts of not only her characters, but the reactions of the land to the current climate and the fire that is coming its way.
The characters are often quirky, offbeat and outlandish, but they are rooted in reality.
I have read several books where a bushfire forms part of the story but none have stayed with me like I know this book will. The experiences of escape and survival are harrowing.
ASH MOUNTAIN is the first of the author’s books I have read. I will certainly be reading more of her work.
Helen FitzGerald is the second youngest of thirteen children. She grew up in the small town of Kilmore, Victoria, Australia, and studied English and History at the University of Melbourne. Via India and London, Helen came to Glasgow University where she completed a Diploma and Masters in Social Work. She works part time as a criminal justice social worker in Glasgow. She's married to screenwriter Sergio Casci, and they have two children.
http://www.helenfitzgerald.net
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