A tight knit group of friends are shocked when a dear friend dies unexpectedly. They need to deal with their grief at this monumental loss, but a note left behind unravels a 30-year-old secret which causes far-reaching emotional collateral damage.
This is a story of women in their 70s who have been friends since school. They have had careers, children, husbands, divorces and affairs. Most of all they had each other.
The death of Claire opens wounds and secrets. The fractious mother-daughter relationship between Lizzie and Margot is tested and found lacking. The devastation of the long-held secret though leads to them building something real and based on truth.
This is a character-driven story, and the ensemble are all well drawn and have their time to learn and grow.
Lizzie is an interesting character. She has been selfish in her life and has put her career before Margot. So much so that Margot often lived with Claire, making her death even more far reaching and traumatic.
Women’s choices are examined; from remaining unmarried and childless by choice, careers, aged care and love in later years, all woven into the story. The result is just a lovely read.
If you enjoyed The Weekend by Charlotte Wood then you will love this book. Whenever You’re Ready is an excellent book club book, especially if the group has wide-ranging life experiences. It could open up some really meaningful discussions that might be hard to start in normal life.
Reviewed by Nicola Skinstad
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Trish Bolton is a writer based in Melbourne.
She has a Diploma of Professional Writing and Editing from RMIT. Her writing has been published in The Age, Sunday Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Canberra Times, Overland, New Matilda, The Big Issue and Visible Ink.
Trish has been the recipient of an Australian Society of Authors mentorship, a Varuna Publishing Introduction Pathway Fellowship, a Varuna Residential Writer’s Fellowship, joint-winner of a Fellowship of Australian Writers (FAW) Jim Hamilton unpublished manuscript award, runner-up FAW Whitelight Drama Script Award and longlisted for the Virginia Prize for Fiction (UK) and the Mslexia Women’s Novel Competition (UK).
She has been a media adviser to the federal leader of a political party, worked in policy and research in women’s health, and taught media and communications at a number of Melbourne universities.
Trish lives with her partner on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri people.
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