Flames

Robbie Arnott's debut novel, Flames, came to me via a friend's child who studied it for VCE, so this copy is nicely annotated, underlined and highlighted so that I couldn't possibly miss anything significant. My only previous exposure to Arnott's writing was Limberlost, which I absolutely loved, but I didn't realise that that book was a bit of a departure from Arnott's usual magic realist style. It was a wonderful surprise to read a novel set in Tasmania that is shot through with shimmers of the uncanny and the magical; it felt unusual, but at the same time, so right.

Flames switches points of view with each chapter: a fleeing daughter, a dogged son, a tough (female) detective, a mad wombat farmer, and most surprisingly, the spirit of fire itself. Arnott's writing is extraordinary in its lyricism and beauty, but the ideas and the unashamed embrace of magical and supernatural elements are just as powerful. Flames was greeted with superlatives on its publication in 2018, but it's astonishing to note that Arnott has only got better since then. I really need to read the rest of his books, and it's good to know I have some treats in store.