Anna Romer’s second novel, Lyrebird Hill, effectively blends contemporary and historical fiction with a tense mystery to deliver a modern Gothic tale grounded in the Australian landscape.
About the Book
There are gaps in Ruby’s Cardel’s memories. Gaps that mean she can’t recall the accident that killed her sister and shattered her family. At a gallery showing of her mother’s paintings – images depicting her sister’s life which conjure memories of their time at Lyrebird Hill – Ruby learns Jamie’s death was no accident. Unable to forgive Ruby for living when her favourite child died, her mother refuses to discuss it. To find the truth, Ruby returns to Lyrebird Hill. But her sister’s death isn’t the only secret lurking in the timbered walls of the old homestead. Before the truth is revealed a century-old tale of love and murder will be brought to light, and as Ruby questions her own role in Jamie’s death, danger closes in on Lyrebird Hill.
My Thoughts
At the heart of this absorbing novel is a question: can a propensity to murder be inherited? In the opening scene the narrator reveals love has made her a murderer, and from there the motifs of familial love, loss and grief weave through both the contemporary and historical narratives. There are many layers to this novel, told from the point of view of two women separated by more than a century. Revelations about Jamie’s death and the Cardel’s life at Lyrebird Hill trickle through Ruby’s memories, and while one disclosure gets close to straining believability, the groundwork Romer lays for this storyline means the truth, when revealed, is utterly plausible. Ruby is on the passive side for a contemporary heroine, which makes her all the more realistic, and the subtle discord between her and her mother is done well. Brenna’s voice is perfect for a young woman of privilege living at the end of the nineteenth century. She has her own mystery to solve and through her we understand the history of Lyrebird Hill and her connection to the land, both central to her later choices – choices that bleed into Ruby Cardel’s life.
Lyrebird Hill is a compelling story with an outstanding sense of place. Romer’s writing is literary and so evocative of the rural Australian landscape it’s easy to hear the song of the long-gone lyrebirds, smell the eucalypts warmed by the sun and feel the lichen-pitted granite beside the quiet billabong. A fitting follow-up to her debut novel, Lyrebird Hill cements Romer’s reputation as a new talent in Australian women’s fiction.
With thanks to Simon and Schuster for an ARC
Reviewed as part of the Australian Women Writers challenge
About the Author
Anna Romer grew up in a family of book-lovers and yarn-tellers, which inspired her lifelong love affair with stories. A graphic artist by trade, she also spent many years travelling the globe stockpiling story material from the Australian outback, and Asia, New Zealand, Europe and America. Her first novel, Thornwood House, reflects her fascination with forgotten diaries and letters, dark family secrets, rambling old houses, and love in its many guises—as well as her passion for the uniquely beautiful Australian landscape. When she’s not writing (or falling in love with another book), Anna is an avid gardener, knitter, bushwalker and conservationist. She lives and works in a secluded bush hideaway surrounded by national parks.
Read my interview with Anna Romer
Read my review of Anna Romer’s Beyond the Orchard