Bright Objects (Ruby Todd, A&U)

Sylvia Knight works at a funeral home—the same one that buried her husband after an unsolved hit-and-run. Two years on, she has given herself ‘permission to finally leave this planet’ and decides she will take her own life on the anniversary of his death. Coincidentally, this is also the date that the St John comet will be visible to the naked eye, with its epicentre above Sylvia’s small NSW town. A chance encounter with the comet’s namesake, the astronomer Theo St John, causes Sylvia to deviate from her path at the same time as she is drawn into the orbit of mystical guru Joseph. The comet’s approach casts a strange spell over the town, heightening existing tensions and bringing long-held secrets into the light—‘the comet seemed to be revealing us all to ourselves and each other, in our various registers of fear, hope, and hubris’. Sylvia’s narration is rather baroque, which could have detracted from the 1990s setting, but instead it serves to ratchet up the atmosphere, one oppressive detail at a time. Todd’s representation of the bereft widow is incredibly moving as Sylvia journeys from being ensnared in rage and obsessed with finding the truth to becoming more at peace with her discomfort. Bright Objects is a meditation on grief, trust, belief and justice that brings to mind Eleanor Catton’s The Luminaries and Jacqueline Bublitz’s Before You Knew My Name.

If you or someone you know needs support, Lifeline provides 24-hour crisis counselling and suicide prevention services on 13 11 14, via text on 0477 13 11 14 or through online chat. Suicide Call Back Service provides 24-hour support if you or someone you know is feeling suicidal on 1300 659 467.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Annie Waters sells books, writes about books and podcasts about books. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Category: Reviews