Glasgow Herald Review

25 Aug 2005

Precocious teenager Sarah is seduced by Mr Carr, her thirty-something English teacher. The affair ends when Carr’s secret is discovered by his wife. They leave town and Sarah is a wreck. A series of self-abasing sexual encounters ensues until Carr reappears, years later, where the cycle begins again.

The Australian novelist eschews the obvious child abuse narrative for a more complex look at the nature of violence and sex in this emotional rollercoaster.