Border Street
Suzanne Leal
Commended, 2007 Asher Literary Award
'Utterly engrossing and moving … an exquisitely poised and intelligent unveiling of secrets; a book honouring the hidden, the intimate and the painfully unresolved.'
Gail Jones'A book that looms closer with every page … By the end, you start seeing the characters on the street, and you hear their voices in your sleep.'
Markus Zusak‘The unpretentious nature of [Leal’s] prose belies the subtlety of what she is doing. We follow Frank from the infamous Theresienstadt Ghetto into “the camps” and the tale is chilling. Kate becomes Frank’s listener and Cam becomes jealous. Leal is able to create shades and nuances in all these characters as she draws Kate and Cam towards a sadness of their own.’
Michael McGirr (Sydney Morning Herald)When Kate and Cameron rent a house on Border Street, they cannot possibly imagine how involved they will become with their elderly Czech-Australian landlords, Frank and Vera, who live next door.
Kate’s inquisitiveness about her new neighbours soon gets the better of her and, before long, the young woman and the older man have forged a strong bond. The more time Kate spends with Frank, the more she wants to find out about his earlier life.
As Frank gradually opens up to Kate, she is compelled to understand a dark European history that she’d never known or cared about — and is forever changed by the encounter. When her own tragedy occurs, Kate is forced to accept that not everything in life is within our control.
Border Street is a beautifully crafted novel whose vivid and authentic characters will stay with readers long after the book is finished.
'Tales of the Second World War and its prisoners are not new to us but Border Street gives a detailed account of the realities of genocide as they were experienced by two of its survivors. It also gives an honest impression of the deeply lonely plight of those who lost their families and friends in the butchery of 1940s Europe and sought to rebuild their lives a long way from their birthplace ... Border Street tells a story of one man's survival against enormous odds, and of its lasting effects. Leal has recounted this tale and woven a warm account of the unlikely friendship between people with 40 years and continents between them.'
(The Age)Suzanne Leal
Suzanne Leal lives in Sydney, has worked as a criminal lawyer and is now a member of several review tribunals. Border Street is her first novel.
Website: http://www.suzanneleal.com/
Buy from Readings
Extent: 320pp
Size: 234mm x 153mm
ISBN (10): 1920769 96X
ISBN (13): 9781920769963
RRP: $32.95
Pub date: August 2006
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