As is to be expected of Louise Wolhuter, this is a dark and complicated tale. The wonderful title (in the tradition of ‘Good Will Hunting’) refers to the name of the main character, Winter Robins, a girl who was born in England and is taken to Western Australia as a child. By the time Win arrives in Western Australia, accompanied by her twin brother, Four, she has suffered the multiple traumas of her mother’s death, her father’s withdrawal from her in his grief, and the separation from her grandmother. Much more is yet to come.
Pretty much nothing is as it seems in this story and it is terribly important for the reader to read the date line at the beginning of each section. After reading An Afterlife for Rosemary Lamb I knew there would be previously unimagined twists and turns, right to the end, and I was right. This is perfect story-telling, character driven and heavily atmospheric.
I was pleased I had bought a physical copy because there was much re-reading involved. I’ve previously referred to Louise as Tim Winton with punctuation and now I’m calling her a modern Daphne du Maurier, but more spine tingling. The book is written in the first person, so all characters and events are seen from Winter’s perspective, which left it up to me to work out what was real, who was who they were supposed to be and, basically, whodunnit? Such a delicious dilemma!
As an afterthought, I’m reminded of an artists’ colony I once visited in an idyllically beautiful place which, instead of leaving me feeling inspired, creeped me out. But I digress.
Louise Wolhuter’s books are going to become Australian classics. Lovers of literary fiction would be wise to start their collections now.
Published by Ultimo Press
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