The Labyrinth: Winner of the 2021 Miles Franklin Literary Award

Author(s): Amanda Lohrey

Fiction

Erica Marsden's son, an artist, has been imprisoned for homicidal negligence. In a state of grief, Erica cuts off all ties to family and friends, and retreats to a quiet hamlet on the south-east coast near the prison where he is serving his sentence.

There, in a rundown shack, she obsesses over creating a labyrinth by the ocean. To build it--to find a way out of her quandary--Erica will need the help of strangers. And that will require her to trust, and to reckon with her past.

The Labyrinthis a hypnotic story of guilt and denial, of the fraught relationship between parents and children, that is also a meditation on how art can both be ruthlessly destructive and restore sanity. It shows Amanda Lohrey to be at the peak of her powers.


Product Information

STAFF REVIEW

'The Labyrinth' follows Erica's move from Sydney to a small town on the coast in order to be near her son's new prison. Retured and looking for something to fill her days, she decided to build a labyrinth on her new property.

With such a simple premise, this book got me more than I expected as Erica battles with guilt an denial, the past actions and current distance of her son, and the creative and destructive powers of art. As the novel opens, 'the cure for many ills...is to build something'.

—Jordan from Brunswick Street Bookstore

General Fields

  • : 9781922458469
  • : The Text Publishing Company
  • : Text Publishing
  • : 27 February 2023
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Amanda Lohrey