University student Will is dumped by his first true love, Laura. Heartbroken and humiliated, he impulsively flees to America. Vowing to say ‘yes’ to everything that comes his way, he hopes to mend his heart and emerge a new man. But his hedonistic week of drugs, alcohol and sex in New York ends in trouble and he hits the road to drive Route 66.
Running short on money, he stops in Littleproud, Ohio, to visit Tamsyn, who grew up in the same country town as Will. Through Tamsyn, Will meets Wayne, a Vietnam War veteran who collects exotic animals that he houses on his property, ‘Wayne’s Wild Kingdom’. Wayne and Will form an unlikely bond and Will agrees to work for Wayne for one month and then continue on his road trip. But naive Will has no idea how close to the edge Wayne is. The story slides towards a horrifying conclusion in which Will’s American journey will provide him with more life experience than he ever imagined.
In this beautifully written novel, Will’s personal story becomes panoramic: a meditation on our capitalist world and its problems – mental health, PTSD, toxic masculinity and our attitude towards animals and the environment – as we rush headlong towards, if not the end, then an end to current times. Don’t miss it.
Reviewed by Melinda Woledge
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Emily Bitto lives in Melbourne. She has a Masters in Literary Studies and a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Melbourne. Emily has been teaching for over a decade, and has taught creative writing at The University of Melbourne, RMIT, Victoria University and the Faber Writing Academy. Her writing has appeared in various publications, including Meanjin, Island, HEAT, the Monthly, the Age, the Saturday Paper, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Big Issue fiction edition.
The manuscript of her debut novel, The Strays was shortlisted for the 2013 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript. The published novel went on to win the 2015 Stella Prize. It was also shortlisted for The Indie Book Award for Debut Fiction, the NSW Premier’s Prize for New Writing, and the Dobbie Literary Award, and longlisted for the Dublin IMPAC prize. The Strays was published in the US and Canada in January 2017. Emily’s second novel, Wild Abandon, was in October 2021.
Emily is an obsessive reader, music fan, cook and dog-carer (having fostered 11 rescue dogs in one year). She also co-owns and runs Carlton wine-bar, Heartattack and Vine.
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