Book launch

The Clinking | Susie Greenhill

In conversation with Jane Rawson.

In the early morning, Elena woke as Orla pulled back the doona and climbed into their bed. She unfolded Elena’s fingers and pressed a tiny model penguin into her hand. Still half asleep, Elena rolled over. Outside the window, black cockatoos were dropping wattle galls onto the street. The room was silent, the dawn light dull and grey. And Tom was gone . . .

In the not-too-distant future on the island of lutruwita, where the seas glow blue with bioluminescence and ancient forests wither in the heat, a young family are caught in the eye of a storm.

As an ecologist working on extinctions, Tom knows the world he loves is unravelling around him. He cares deeply for his wife Elena and their daughter Orla, but he is haunted by disappearing species and the news of bushfires, floods and famine. Elena can only watch helplessly as Tom’s grief consumes him. And then, one day, Tom vanishes.

Alone, Elena asks herself, ‘How can I be a mother to my child in this world?’ In the remote south-west wilderness, she sets out to find answers and the hope she needs. But is there hope left to find?

From Richell Prize-winning debut author Susie Greenhill comes this tender and profoundly moving exploration of life and loss. Susie lives on the mouth of the Huon River. Her short stories have been published in journals and anthologies in Australia and overseas. She has a PhD in Writing from Edith Cowan University and was awarded the University’s 2016 Postgraduate Research Medal.

Join Susie and Jane in conversation for the launch of The Clinking at the Afterword Cafe.