Lilian's Story by Kate Grenville

Lilian's Story was Grenville's first novel, recently reissued.

Book Review by Gemma Nugent | 09 Aug 2007
Book title: Lilian's Story
Author: Kate Grenville
Kate Grenville is not only a great writer, she is a great storyteller. There is a difference. A difference which has already been noted by the Australia/Vogel Awards and the Orange Prize for Fiction Awards, which she won in 1984 and 2001 respectively. Lilian's Story was Grenville's first novel, recently reissued as it was originally published in 1985. Since then, the Australian's captivating narrative style has spread through the literary world like a bush fire, winning her numerous awards and an army of fans. In this book, Lilian is somewhat of a disappointment, even from the very first day she enters into the world. Simply arriving as a girl was, "a contingency he was not prepared for" she says, displaying an early understanding of her father's yearning for a son. We grow up with Lilian and experience her childhood with her. We explore her father's study with her when we know we really shouldn't. We stare in awe at her Aunt Kitty who resembles a chandelier with all her beads and trappings. And at night, we recurrently hear her father's failed endeavours to conceive a son. Lilian tries desperately to resist the lifestyle imposed on her by her middle-class family; she lives in a fabricated reality with her Shakespeare quotes and her digging expeditions and lack of friends. But these things keep her imagination alive and give her the determination to live the life she wants and deserves, rather than the one that had always been planned for her. A decent first novel. [Gemma Nugent]
Out Now. Published by Canongate. Cover Price £7.99 paperback.