Add free shipping to your order with these great books
The Truth About Her : A beautiful moving debut literary fiction novel about motherhood for readers of Meg Mason, Emily Maguire and Miranda Cowley Heller - Jacqueline Maley

The Truth About Her

A beautiful moving debut literary fiction novel about motherhood for readers of Meg Mason, Emily Maguire and Miranda Cowley Heller

By: Jacqueline Maley

Paperback | 7 April 2021

At a Glance

Paperback


RRP $32.99

$30.25

or 4 interest-free payments of $7.56 with

In Stock and Aims to ship next day

How can you write other people's stories, when you won't admit the truth of your own? An absorbing, moving, ruefully tender, witty and wise novel of marriage, motherhood and the paths we navigate through both, for fans of Ann Patchett and Anne Tyler.

"There’s so much to discover in this incredibly readable story about motherhood, the ownership writers take for their stories, the complex ways in which we grieve, and how women are marginalised in modern Australia. I think this will be the next big thing in Australian fiction." – Ben Hunter, Booktopia Fiction Category Manager

'I loved The Truth About Her. It's an intelligent, compelling, nuanced tale of guilt, culpability, pride, shame and atonement. But most of all, it's a love letter to daughters, from the mothers who raise them. An astoundingly good debut.' – Annabel Crabb

Journalist and single mother Suzy Hamilton gets a phone call one summer morning, and finds out that the subject of one of her investigative exposes, 25-year-old wellness blogger Tracey Doran, has killed herself overnight. Suzy is horrified by this news but copes in the only way she knows how - through work, mothering, and carrying on with her ill-advised, tandem affairs.

The consequences of her actions catch up with Suzy over the course of a sticky Sydney summer. She starts receiving anonymous vindictive letters and is pursued by Tracey's mother wanting her, as a kind of rough justice, to tell Tracey's story, but this time, the right way.

A tender, absorbing, intelligent and moving exploration of guilt, shame, female anger, and, in particular, mothering, with all its trouble and treasure, The Truth About Her is mostly though a story about the nature of stories - who owns them, who gets to tell them, and why we need them. An entirely striking, stylish and contemporary novel, from a talented new writer.

PRAISE FOR THE TRUTH ABOUT HER

'Heartfelt, funny and will resonate with many readers. This tender, witty and beautifully written novel is for fans of Georgia Blain, Charlotte Wood and Ann Patchett.' – Books+Publishing

'A stunning novel, sharply observed, beautifully written, enthralling.' – Julia Baird

'Read the first sentence of Jacqueline Maley's debut novel, and you will be in it until the end. Electrifying, deeply unsettling and so, so satisfying. And, if you've ever tried to manage the sharp end of a career with the blunt demands of parenthood, fiercely recognisable.' – Meg Mason, author of Sorrow and Bliss

'I loved The Truth About Her. I could not put it down - whip-smart, sexy and with so much heart - and god, that ending packed a punch. The sort of book that all mothers need to read.' – Eliza Henry- Jones, author of In the Quiet and Ache

More in Modern & Contemporary Fiction

The Work - Bri Lee

Paperback

RRP $32.99

$27.25

17%
OFF
Pheasants Nest - Louise Milligan

RRP $32.99

$30.25

Hurdy Gurdy - Jenny Ackland

Paperback

RRP $32.99

$30.25

The Lyrebird Lake Ladies Choir - Sandie Docker

RRP $34.99

$31.75

The Little Clothes - Deborah Callaghan

RRP $34.99

$31.75

I Hope This Finds You Well - Natalie Sue

RRP $34.99

$31.75

Call It What You Want : A Novel - Alissa DeRogatis

RRP $24.99

$23.75

Shadows of Winter Robins - Louise Wolhuter

RRP $34.99

$31.75

Our Holiday - Louise Candlish

Paperback

RRP $32.99

$30.25

Forgotten - Casey Nott

Paperback

RRP $28.95

$27.50

Lies and Weddings - Kevin Kwan

RRP $34.99

$31.75

The Skeleton House - Katherine Allum

RRP $34.99

$31.75

Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

RRP $24.99

$23.75