In 1981, a car overturns on a remote West Australian road. Nobody is hurt, but the impact is felt for decades.
Nicole and Samantha Cooper both remember the summer day when their mother, Tina, lost control of their car - but not in quite the same way. It is only after Tina's death, almost four decades later, that the sisters are forced to reckon with the repercussions of the crash. Nicole, after years of sabotaging her own happiness, seems finally content but still can't get through to her sister. And Samantha is hiding something that might just tear apart the life she's worked so hard to build for herself.
The Spill explores the cycles of love, loss and regret that can follow a family through the years - moments of joy, things left unsaid, and things misremembered. Above all, it is a deeply moving portrait of two sisters falling apart and finding a way to fit back together.
Staff Review by Ashleigh Berry
The Spill is the gorgeous debut novel from Imbi Neeme which tackles the life’s painful moments with poise and love. I absolutely adored this book to the very last page, where hope nestled itself into the pages despite heartbreak and regret.
In 1981, a car overturned on a remote road. Nicole and Samantha were both in the car when their mother Tina lost control, but they remember it quite differently. The impact of this accident was felt for decades, but their mother’s death forces them to confront their own perceptions of that day and how it has shaped their lives.
Nicole and Samantha have a complicated relationship with each other, their parents and their own selves. Nicole, after struggling for years to find direction and stability in both work and her relationships, now seems content but cannot get through to her sister. Samantha, meanwhile, has been battling a deep secret that threatens the life she’s worked so hard for. The Spill is framed by the moment their lives began to drift apart, the car accident, and the moment they began to find their way back to each other after their mother’s death.
This is a heartbreaking story of family and the things that go unsaid. It’s about isolation, abandonment, the fear of not being enough and the cycle of misunderstanding and miscommunication. It’s about how certain events can be perceived so differently based on what you want to believe and the information available. And it’s about needing to come to terms with living with these perceptions, and being able to accept the truth.
The story is interspersed with pieces of their lives, jumping through the years to experiences of pain, loneliness, realisation and strain. Despite the grief that radiates from each character, The Spill shines with heart, tenderness and warmth. Imbi Neeme manages to sneak bursts of true joy into this moving story of regret and disconnection. She has crafted this story with care and gentleness, and it’s a true pleasure and delight to have read it.
On the surface, The Spill is a thoughtful portrayal of two sisters fighting their way through life and striving for more. Beneath this is a bubbling chasm of so much more, making this a book sure to inspire conversation and thought.
