Although well written, this is not an uplifting story. Ingvar is a man haunted by his failures. When tragedy destroys life as he knows it, he takes off. He leaves his wife, his work and all the comforts he has known to walk, just walk.

He must stay on the move. If he stops, he will remember, and his self-loathing will overtake him. He believes he is ‘darkness itself’ and wants to die but not by his own hand. He wanders across the Australian landscape sleeping rough, eating whatever and whenever he can. ‘Now I eat roadkill.’

Among all this suffering Stewart manages to evoke the beauty of the land with such descriptive language, it offers welcome relief from the angst.

When Ingvar stops in a small community in a valley for the first time in three years, he surprises himself by wanting to stay. He meets an older woman, Hilda, whose husband has just killed himself. Hilda brings a touch of humour to the story; she talks to her dead, philandering husband. Hilda and Ingvar have love and loss in common, but Hilda seems more resilient.

He encounters people in the valley, they are all misfits, who are at first wary, then slowly, kind. Ingvar realises how much he needs people, even though he is trying to run away.

The back stories are cleverly told using short chapters and changing points of view. The ending is, on one hand, shocking and, on the other, emotionally incomplete for the reader.

Reviewed by Sue Stanbridge

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cameron Stewart lives and works on Gadigal land in Sydney, Australia. He grew up on farm near Mullumbimby, by way of Alice Springs, Canberra and Cairns. Diversity of place informs much of his writing as does an interest in flawed characters trying to do their best.

Cameron holds an MA (Creative Writing) from the University of Technology, Sydney and a BA (Performing Arts) from the University of Western Sydney. His debut novel is Why Do Horses Run?

Visit Cameron Stewart’s website