Grief can take many forms, whether the grieving is caused by a death, divorce, or a lost job. In the case of Billie, an ageing woman living in Brisbane, her grief at the murder of her only daughter 16 years before is all-encompassing. Even the site of her death, a small park, is a living memorial to Jess, the young woman knifed to death by an unknown assailant while out walking with her toddler son. Billie has placed a plaque on the tree under which Jess was found.
That toddler has grown into teenager Daniel, with just a few special memories of his mother. Billie tries to lay more memories on him, so his mother is never forgotten. His father, gentle woodworker, Angus, has remarried and has a daughter. His wife, Carla, tries to navigate through Billie’s grief, and Daniel and Angus’ sense of responsibility for Billie.
Piper has developed those characters so well that I could feel Daniel’s guilt at wanting to get away; Angus’ desire to not alienate Billie; Carla’s frustration; and Billie’s utter belief that the house where Angus and his family live, her granny flat behind it, and the very soil on which the buildings stand is sacred to her dead daughter, and in fact inhabited by her spirit.
Billie is at one with the natural world, regularly walking in the bush behind the house; teaching Daniel that people learn who they are by how they treat the land; and outspoken when she spots wrongdoing. Readers may be torn between deepest sympathy for her, and frustrated irritation at her beliefs, which Piper portrays with compassionate accuracy.
Reviewed by Jennifer Somerville
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