Home Fires - Fiona Lowe - Mel's Bookshelf

Home Fires – Fiona Lowe

From the bestselling Australian author of Daughter of Mine and Birthright. When a lethal bushfire tore through Myrtle, nestled in Victoria’s breathtaking Otway Ranges, the town’s buildings – and the lives of its residents – were left as smouldering ash. For three women in particular, the fire fractured their lives and their relationships.

Eighteen months later, with the flurry of national attention long past, Myrtle stands restored, shiny and new. But is the outside polish just a veneer? Community stalwart Julie thinks tourism could bring back some financial stability to their little corner of the world and soon prods Claire, Bec and Sophie into joining her group. But the scar tissue of trauma runs deep, and as each woman exposes her secrets and faces the damage that day wrought, a shocking truth will emerge that will shake the town to its newly rebuilt foundations…

With her sharp eye for human foibles, bestselling author Fiona Lowe writes an evocative tale of everyday people fighting for themselves, their families and their town – as only this distinctively Australian storyteller can.

My Review of Home Fires

It has been way to long since I have read an Australian contemporary novel. I always enjoy them, but Home Fires was a cut above the others!

The story is set in Victoria, Australia in a town named Myrtle. Myrtle was devastated by a bushfire two years prior and the town is still feeling the aftermath. Especially three couples, with some very serious problems. Home fires explores what happens to families after such devastation, and explores some intense issues such as PTSD and domestic violence.

The story is set in the present and also goes back in time to before the fires to give the reader a better understanding of the characters lives, and the events that led up to where they are now.

This is the first novel by Aussie author Fiona Lowe that I have read and it won’t be the last! Her writing is wonderful. Even though it is quite a long book, it wasn’t a long read.

I adored all the characters, and they just get more interesting as the story went on and we were able to get to know them all well and understand their motivations. Claire annoyed me a bit, I couldn’t understand her choices – but her character was my favourite towards the end of the book.

I found the back and forth a bit confusing at times, as there was pre-fires and PRE pre fires, but I got over that confusion quickly as the book went on and I got to know the characters better.

There were a few twists that I figured out at the very beginning. But that didn’t deter my enjoyment of the story. And although the ending was good, it didn’t blow me away.

It was slightly slow in some parts, perhaps because it was a long book. But I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

The way she writes about the fires and aftermath was eerie. We so often forget how devastating bushfires can be and the atmosphere she creates when the fire strikes was authentically terrifying. I have nursed many burn victims and the medical aspects of the story were great and she has obviously done her research.