Slip

An intoxicating novel of a young woman in Sicily reckoning with the cost of desire

'There are many ways to know someone. You will see. I will show you.'

Grace, a young linguist, plans a trip to Sicily to research Italian dialects. Travelling alone, she hopes for six weeks of total immersion in the language, food and social dynamics of Palermo. Then she’ll be joined by her long-term partner and barrister, Jack, for the holiday he needs after his first major trial.

But when Grace rents a room in writer Nico’s apartment, what was intended as a period of study and internal reflection takes a different turn. Moving gently at first, Nico and Grace talk and prepare meals together, and he opens the door to the local experience she craves. As they spend more and more time together, however, Grace and Nico’s conversations turn thrillingly intimate. And all the while, Jack’s arrival in Sicily draws nearer.

An intoxicating, sensual novel that interrogates ideas of authenticity, tourism and the power of language, Slip is a portrait of a woman reckoning with the cost of desire.

'A beautifully rendered portrait of desire, Slip is gorgeously attuned to the gentle drama and everyday beauty of a life. Lay asks us to think about the power of language to shape experience and our understanding of who we are. I was utterly immersed in this vivid depiction of a scorching Sicilian summer and the narrator's reckoning with its potential consequences.' Katherine Brabon

'Vivid and consuming, Slip explores the intersection between loneliness and desire. A sensual, transportive novel about the paradox of language – its slippery nature to isolate as well as connect – and about the bargains we make with ourselves.' Kylie Needham

About the Author

Abbey Lay grew up in Geelong and now lives in Melbourne. Lead Us Not is her first novel, which was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier’s Award for an Unpublished Manuscript.