Finegan Kruckemeyer was born in Ireland, grew up in Adelaide, and somewhere along the way gained a massive amount of talent. What a debut! I am completely in love with this book and want to push it into the hands of everyone I know. It’s quirky, original (so original!), and full of heart and love and wisdom.
This is a story about stories, and how lives and places intertwine across generations.
It begins with Emma the Greek who believes she is cursed due to the untimely deaths of her family members, and who then swears herself to a life of isolation at sea, until one day when she is called to shore.
There’s so much more to the story, but I think the joy of reading it is having it unfold and not knowing what on earth was coming next. At times it felt almost like a collection of short stories or fables. Some parts are so beautiful they took my breath away. I cried and smiled, reread passages, and remembered why I love books so much. What a joy. I very rarely, if ever, re-read whole books, but as soon as I finished, I wanted to go back to the start and begin again.
I feel like if Trent Dalton and Fredrik Backman wrote a book together and they based it on North Woods, then they would come up with something like this. Maybe. Or maybe it’s just one of a kind and can’t be compared to anything else.
A very easy five stars from me.
Reviewed by Sarah Krause
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Finegan has had 105 commissioned plays performed on six continents and translated into eight languages. He has received 42 awards (at least one each year since 2002) including the 2017 Mickey Miners Lifetime Achievement Award for services to international theatre for young audiences, the 2015 David Williamson Award for Excellence in Australian Playwrighting, and an inaugural Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship.
In 2024, 78 seasons of 14 plays (including three world premieres) are presented globally, in six countries and five languages. In Germany, he is represented by Rowohlt Agency.
Also in 2024, Finegan’s first novel, ‘The End and Everything Before It’, was published by Text. A month later, it was reprint due to initial sales. It is rated 4.5 stars on Goodreads, and is the subject of many glowing reviews.
To date, Finegan’s plays have had seasons in: 200 international festivals; all Australian states/territories; eight US national tours; five UK national tours; and at the Sydney Opera House (seven works), Scotland’s Imaginate Festival (four works), New York’s Lincoln Center for the Arts (three works), DC’s Kennedy Center for the Arts (three works), Ireland’s Abbey Theatre (two works) and Shanghai’s Malan Flower Theatre (two works).
As well as the Mickey Miners and David Williamson Awards and Sidney Myer Fellowship, Finegan and his work have received eight Australian Writers Guild (AWGIE) Awards, 2012 Helpmann Award for Children’s Theatre, 2010 Rodney Seaborn Award, 2006 Jill Blewett Playwrights Award and 2002 Colin Thiele Scholarship.
He was one of 21 selected worldwide for the ASSITEJ Next Generation (young leaders in children’s theatre), and has sat on numerous arts boards including the Australian Script Centre and Tasmanian Arts Advisory Board, Arts Tasmania’s Assistance to Individuals, Tas Literary Awards and Artsbridge panels, and the Story Island Project board (promoting youth literacy and empowerment through storytelling with marginalised young people).
Finegan was born in Ireland and moved halfway around the world to Adelaide, Australia aged eight. After 15 years, he and his wife left for the island state of Tasmania. And after 15 more, with their son Moe, they returned.
He is committed to making strong and respectful work for children, which acknowledges them as astute audience members outside the play, and worthy subjects within.
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