A review by noveldeelights
Ash Mountain by Helen Fitzgerald
4.0
Helen Fitzgerald combines one of the most devastating events in recent times with a healthy dash of humour in Ash Mountain. It seems like this combination shouldn’t work but it actually really does. Just like in her previous book, Helen Fitzgerald tackles an incredibly serious topic but she does it in such a way that it doesn’t leave you wanting to curl up into a tiny ball under your duvet, lamenting the current state of the world. Even if it at times I chuckled and immediately wondered if it was an appropriate moment to do so or not.
Fran is returning to her hometown of Ash Mountain. She thought she’d escaped this small town with its claustrophobic atmosphere and judgmental residents. But when her father has a stroke and needs care, Fran begrudgingly returns. Not only is she faced with childhood memories, there is also the taking care of her father and falling in love. All this during one of the most unbearably warm summers in Australia and devastation is just around the corner.
I’m sure many of us remember the horrible scenes from last Summer when Australia was ravaged by extremely fierce bush fires. I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s like to step out of my front door and see nothing but a wall of fire and smoke but Helen Fitzgerald paints such a realistic, believable and harrowing picture that I almost felt like I was right there. Just take a look at that cover, which is an actual photo from a father taking a picture of his daughter watching the fire from their home. That photo and Helen Fitzgerald’s writing almost made me feel the heat, smell the smoke and sense just a tiny inkling of the panic that must course through people.
It’s not all doom and gloom though. Fran is one of those characters I instantly warmed to. With a high dose of humour and snark, she had no problems getting me onside from the beginning. Every character in this story came across as highly realistic and believable, which makes some of the harrowing choices and circumstances they find themselves in every harder to read about. Because you know this won’t end well. Just like it didn’t in real life. The final chapters are immensely tough and distressing, leaving me feeling breathless and as if someone had punched me in the stomach.
Ash Mountain is raw, it’s sometimes brutal but it’s also extremely honest and a terrifying portrayal of a disastrous reality. But you know, it’s witty too at times
Fran is returning to her hometown of Ash Mountain. She thought she’d escaped this small town with its claustrophobic atmosphere and judgmental residents. But when her father has a stroke and needs care, Fran begrudgingly returns. Not only is she faced with childhood memories, there is also the taking care of her father and falling in love. All this during one of the most unbearably warm summers in Australia and devastation is just around the corner.
I’m sure many of us remember the horrible scenes from last Summer when Australia was ravaged by extremely fierce bush fires. I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s like to step out of my front door and see nothing but a wall of fire and smoke but Helen Fitzgerald paints such a realistic, believable and harrowing picture that I almost felt like I was right there. Just take a look at that cover, which is an actual photo from a father taking a picture of his daughter watching the fire from their home. That photo and Helen Fitzgerald’s writing almost made me feel the heat, smell the smoke and sense just a tiny inkling of the panic that must course through people.
It’s not all doom and gloom though. Fran is one of those characters I instantly warmed to. With a high dose of humour and snark, she had no problems getting me onside from the beginning. Every character in this story came across as highly realistic and believable, which makes some of the harrowing choices and circumstances they find themselves in every harder to read about. Because you know this won’t end well. Just like it didn’t in real life. The final chapters are immensely tough and distressing, leaving me feeling breathless and as if someone had punched me in the stomach.
Ash Mountain is raw, it’s sometimes brutal but it’s also extremely honest and a terrifying portrayal of a disastrous reality. But you know, it’s witty too at times