The Eulogy (Jackie Bailey, Hardie Grant) 

The Eulogy by Jackie Bailey is at once sprawling and intimate: it’s a novel of race, disability, trauma, poverty, abuse and maternal rage that takes place over the course of a few days within one family. Kathy, the youngest of eight siblings, returns to her childhood home in the poorest part of Queensland for the funeral of her sister, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour as a child. Over the next few days, as Kathy writes the titular eulogy, she reflects on the lives they’ve both led and the complexity of their relationship, as well as their traumatic family upbringing. Meanwhile, Kathy is hiding out from her own life, dodging her husband’s calls as she contemplates the container of 300 sleeping pills in her glove box. Throughout the novel Kathy’s life growing up, both her parents’ histories and the events of present day intermingle. The result is sometimes disorienting but always immediate and powerful. While The Eulogy is a story of trauma it remains buoyed by hope. It is infused with complex family dynamics, particularly the understanding between siblings and the kindnesses and defences they employ against each other. There are layers of tragedy but also layers of love and caring. For readers of Emily Bitto or Alice Pung, this novel is a haunting web of secrets, stories, personal traumas and private sorrows. But instead of dwelling on them, the author uses hints and clues, peppering the story with dark humour. This subtlety gives The Eulogy all the more power and it’s a story that will stay with the reader long after the end. 

Fay Helfenbaum is a freelance writer and editor and was a bookseller for five years. 

Category: Reviews