The Last Will and Testament of Henry Hoffman (John Tesarsch, Affirm Press)

The Black Saturday bushfires loom ominously over this new novel by John Tesarsch, set in country Victoria over the summer of 2008-2009. Perhaps it was just me, but knowing that the bushfires were approaching tinged the novel with a fearful anticipation—as if there wasn’t enough tension already, with the novel’s fragile, self-centred characters, fraught relationships, and plot that opens with a mother’s departure and, years later, a father’s suicide. All this might make The Last Will and Testament of Henry Hoffman sound like grim reading, but this is in fact a really gripping book, with deft, realistic character studies and lots of intrigue. I never grew to like, or even respect, the Hoffman family, but as I learnt more about the deceased Henry Hoffman’s war-torn past and followed his gifted but troubled children through a complex legal battle over his will, I grew truly interested in what would become of them. This is a highly readable and enjoyable account of some very troubling times. 

Hannah Cartmel is an editor, former bookseller and co-founder of The Rag & Bone Man Press