In the rural village of Garnet on the far south coast of New South Wales, Ramesh is the proprietor of a rundown petrol station and diner. He’s working twelve-hour days, seven days a week, to pay the mortgage, and battling the fuel supply company on a daily basis, all while dodging his mother’s matchmaking efforts.
In the way of small towns, Ramesh’s diner is the hub around which Garnet’s residents spin out their own dramas: Olivia, haunted by a family tragedy; motor-wrecker Wayne watching his beloved wife fade away; Hetty’s desire to make amends with her estranged grandson; lawyer Claire, trapped in a loveless marriage. And more.
Garnet is a droll, insightful, and often tender novel of rural life in Australia in the late 1990s. Told in eight threaded narratives, it weaves a lush tapestry of a village’s foibles, loves, tragedies – and comedies.
Garnet. Even the most close-knit communities have a few dropped stitches.
‘Garnet is a quiet triumph — a rich, memorable tapestry woven from the lives of ordinary yet extraordinary people, and the deep connections they share with one another and the place they call home.’ Emily Maguire, author of Love Objects
‘Beautifully observed portraits of a community. A world of emotions inside a small town.’ Gretchen Shirm, author of The Crying Room
‘… Whether describing the workings of a scrapyard, the rhythm of a milking machine, or the careful feeding of a poddy calf, you are completely grounded in the physical world of the town. Small moments –shattering glass, a languid cricket match, the flicker of a fluorescent light – become vivid and memorable…’ Elizabeth Lancaster, author of Marzipan and Magnolias
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