Allira, a journalist for Folk magazine, meets Nora at a nursing home. Nora has dementia, no family, and is obsessed with her doll. Allira gets a glimpse behind the dementia curtain and is compelled to try to connect with Nora as often as possible and try to shape the pieces of her life. Allira is holding on to heartbreak and through her interaction with Nora she finds a salve for her wounds too.

The Secrets of the Huon Wren is set in current day Launceston and also in the 1950s. Tasmania and the Great Western Tiers are the perfect backdrop for this stunning debut.

Nora as a young woman is a complicated character and she is written very authentically. She is spirited, passionate, loyal and strong. Her beloved father is an undertaker and she sews the linings into the coffins he makes and also attends the dead. This unusual occupation in rural Tasmania sees her as an outcast and loner. It is understandable that she is drawn to the charming and charismatic Polish-German migrant who delivers wood to the farm.

The writing is elevated and breathtaking in parts. The story is believable and never tips into being overly sentimental. It is grounded, beautiful and real, which helped me connect with all the characters instantly. I was so invested in the story that my life just seemed to fall away around me.

This is a story of discovery, grief. friendship, of seeing deeper into someone’s soul and never giving up on them even when their own mind has. A perfect gift and should be read and shared far and wide.

Reviewed by Nicola Skinstad