Diving, Falling
Overview
It’s never too late to rewrite your own story.
For years, Leila Whittaker has been the mediator in her family. She smoothes ruffled feathers between her sons; endures the volatile moods of their father, the acclaimed Australian artist Ken Black; and even swallows the bitter pill of Ken’s endless affairs. All this, for the quiet hum of creative freedom her marriage provides. Or so she tells herself.
When Ken dies, leaving his artist’s estate to their two sons, and the pointed amount of sixty-nine thousand dollars to his muse, Anita, Leila decides she’s had enough. It’s time to seek some peace (and pleasure) of her own …
Diving, Falling is an elegant, exhilarating journey through grief, betrayal, and the intoxicating rediscovery of joy. Ripe with wickedly wry observations, unashamedly bold and sexy, it examines the calculations and sacrifices women make to keep the peace, escape their pasts, and find the agency to pursue their own passions.
Details
- Format
- Size
- Extent
- ISBN
- RRP
- Pub date
- Rights held
- Other rights
- Paperback
- 234mm x 153mm
- 256 pages
- 9781761380662
- AUD$32.99
- 3 September 2024
- ANZ
- Jenny Darling
Categories
Praise
‘I just loved it … Bravo, Kylie. What a marvellous debut.’
‘Much of the novel’s narrative propulsion comes from the unfolding of Leila’s multi-faceted character. She is a complex woman on many levels … As a psychological drama, it forensically dissects complex relationships, in a fresh style devoid of clichés … Mirmohamadi’s writing was a high point for me. She is especially masterful at crafting nuance in interpersonal encounters … The prose is immersive and insightful, with layers of deep universal understandings that perhaps only art — including literature — can deliver.’
About the Author
Kylie Mirmohamadi is a writer and academic whose work and research spans domestic Australian landscapes, online fan fiction, and 19th-century English literature. She has a PhD in History and is currently an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow in English and Creative Writing at La Trobe University.
Kylie lives with her family in Melbourne where she often finds ideas for writing when walking among the tree-lined creeks of her inner suburb with her poodle.
Kylie has published widely in the academic sector, most recently on the long afterlives of Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters.
She was the recipient of a Wheeler Centre Hot Desk Fellowship in 2022 and her unpublished manuscripts have been highly commended in the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards and shortlisted for the Dorothy Hewett Award (2020).
Diving, Falling is her first novel.
