THE QUIET AND THE LOUD

Set in Sydney, Australia, during the wildfires of 2019, this first-person novel focuses on 18-year-old Georgia, a young woman struggling to find her voice.

Georgia is the “quiet” and her best friend, Tess, the “loud” of the title. Georgia routinely subsumes her needs to take care of Tess’ anxiety. This dynamic becomes challenging when Tess’ postpartum depression coincides with the reemergence of Georgia’s estranged alcoholic father. He tells Georgia he is dying and begs for forgiveness and a visit—and for her to keep his diagnosis a secret from her mother. Readers come to understand the multiple layers of trauma her father’s alcoholism laid on Georgia and her mother as flashbacks throughout the book reveal the depth of his disease and cruelty. However, by this point her mother has long since left her father and married a woman named Mel. Mel is an artist who introduces Georgia to the coping mechanisms of kayaking and painting. She is also the person who delivers the central lessons Georgia needs to learn: that she does not have to look after everyone or keep burdensome secrets. Laced throughout the book are engaging descriptions of Georgia’s burgeoning romance with Sri Lankan Australian Calliope (main characters read White). A subplot concerning climate change activism feels a little like an afterthought, although descriptions of the choking smoke make the horror of the wildfires vivid.

Heavy themes made bearable by lyrical and evocative writing.