Wood Green

Michael, an aspiring writer who has recently finished his PhD, takes a job as the secretary to his literary hero, Lucian Clarke, a reclusive novelist with a mysterious cosmopolitan past, who lives in a cottage in a village on a mountain outside Hobart which gives the book its title, Wood Green. Peopled by an ensemble cast, the local publican, the single mother who manages the pub’s kitchen, the unhappily married couple that runs the corner store, a newcomer from Johannesburg with a murky past, a snivelling B&B proprietor and a determined ex-girlfriend, Wood Green artfully evokes the claustrophobia of small-town life. While Michael believes he is making a new life for himself, Lucian has other plans. Rabin writes with wit and intelligence – and deftly executes an unsuspected plot twist – in his exploration of the perils of literary ambition and the elusive prospect of artistic legacy.

About the Author

Born in Hobart, Tasmania, Sean Rabin has worked as a cook, script reader, copy-editor, journalist and librarian. He has lived in Ireland, Italy, London and New York, and now resides in Sydney, Australia. First published in 2016, Wood Green was shortlisted for The Victorian Premier's Literary Award, the Readings Prize, and longlisted for the ALS Gold Medal.