Melbourne writer Ronnie Scott's first novel The Adversary was beloved by critics and readers and now he is back.
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He returns with his sophomore novel Shirley (Penguin, February 7, $32.99) - a witty and observant contemporary novel about deciding what to want in life while the world burns.
The daughter of a celebrity must discover who is worthy of her devotion and who is just a fan.
It's been 20 years since her mother was photographed, blood-soaked, outside the family home. A famous TV food personality, she fled the country.
Since that time, the girl has grown up. She's bought an apartment, learned her own cooking style, fallen in love. She lives a quiet life, working as a copywriter for a health insurance company. She's found happiness, finally.
In Collingwood, January 2020, and strange things are in the air. That is, smoke from bushfires is clouding the horizon.
A 30-something copywriter breaks up with her boyfriend, who wants to experiment with men at music festivals.
The young woman observes a new downstairs neighbour moving in, a nouveau-riche pickle entrepreneur who is pregnant via donor, and grows suspicious about the neighbour's continued overtures of friendship.
Soon enough, the pandemic will shrink Melbourne's orbits to people's own living spaces and their quiet, solitary routines, but in the weeks immediately before, the woman's life is upturned.
Shirley, her notorious childhood home in Abbotsford, is up for sale. She tries to forget about the day her mother's reputation was ruined there: the celebrity chef photographed on the street, covered in blood.
But the past isn't easy to escape, especially when it's become a soundbite - and then turned into a GIF. There are those who don't want to let her forget it, either.
Shirley charts a search for meaning in a world where the fracturing of ambitions - work and purpose, real estate and home, family and love - has left us uncertain how to recognise ourselves.
Shirley is a thoughtful and quietly funny book about a troubling moment in our country's recent history. Moving, stylish and original, Ronnie Scott confronts the ethics of trying to decide on a future.
Ronnie Scott teaches Creative Writing at RMIT University.
Therese Murray
Wordsmith. Senior journalist. Editor. I have a proven track record in helping people and communities solve their problems. My career is all about telling stories.
Wordsmith. Senior journalist. Editor. I have a proven track record in helping people and communities solve their problems. My career is all about telling stories.
