Literary fiction

The Orphans by Fiona McIntosh, Penguin

This is Fiona McIntosh’s first novel set entirely in Australia. Her heroine, Fleur, is just eight when she is already helping her adoptive undertaker parents prepare bodies. Mother Mae knows their only daughter is capable of running the Port Adelaide business and so does Dad Henry. As Fleur battles the male-dominated profession she becomes the first Australian female undertaker. Running parallel is the tale of Tom, 10, who does everything at home to help pregnant Mum while Dad herds cattle. When an “earth shock” brings Mum’s labour on prematurely, Tom suffers a life-changing tragedy. Eventually Tom and Fleur meet and develop a unique bond. Flawless.

This Devastating Fever by Sophie Cunningham, Ultimo

It’s 1936 and Virginia Woolf, keen for herself and husband Leonard to attend a dress-up do at her painter sister Vanessa’s, reveals why they must go.

“We’re going as bookshelves, fiction and non-fiction.” “Which of us will be which?” he asks, hangdog. In 2020, Melbourne writer Alice Fox is penning a memoir of “Lenny”. Set in two time zones, this extraordinary tale conjures an imaginary Leonard talking to Alice. Extinction, climate change, the pandemic, love and loss are all there in this vital, virtuoso candle in a jar for eternity.

Best of Friends by Kamila Shamsie, Bloomsbury

In Karachi, Pakistan, in 1988, Maryam and Zahra, both 14, can’t wait to see each other after the summer break. Maryam’s mother drops her off in the family Mercedes; Maryam back from their annual sojourn in London. They are entering class 10, after which they will go to an English or American university. Maryam has fleshed out – she wears a “sack-like grey kameez”. It was her father who insisted she cover up her curves. Maryam will return to Karachi after uni, to take over the luxury leather goods business which pays for expensive armed guards at their home. Zahra has no intention of