Young adulthood and life at university can be the start of a bright new future. But it’s also a time of tension; of navigating a new world, fitting in, making new friends, and being exposed to new ideas and people from different backgrounds, classes and political views.
Sam is studying law at university and struggling to fit in. She is from a low socio-economic background. Her father died when she was 12 and her older brother is often in trouble with the law. She sees and feels things differently from her friends.
When Sam’s lecturer introduces her to his charming and clever wife, Julia, she glimpses a future. Julia mentors Sam, guiding her in law and life. Sam starts to understand who she is and who she wants to become. But as time goes on, the boundaries blur, and the two women must navigate their feelings and where their relationship is heading.
This novel captures the angst of early adulthood at university: where you’ve come from, where you are now, and what you could become in the future. The issues of class, sexuality and identity are examined, as well as the power of education to open doors that may otherwise remain closed.
Reviewed by Melinda Woledge
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kira McPherson is originally from Western Australian and has lived in London since 2013, where she works in politics and research for film and TV.
Her short stories have been published in Westerly and the Stockholm Review of Literature. She was a recipient of a 2018 London Writers Award, highly commended in the 2018 Spread the Word London Short Story Prize, shortlisted for the 2017 London Magazine Essay Competition and longlisted for the 2017 Exeter Writers Short Story Competition. Higher Education is her first novel.
0 Comments