Another great read by Aussie author Fiona Lowe. A contemporary domestic drama set in small coastal town Rookery Cove in Tasmania. This book deals with many issues such as alcoholism, child abuse, miscarriage, workplace sexual harassment, school cyber-bullying and the difficulties of “coming out” but it manages to do so without being “issuey” or “preachy”. The story comes first, told with Lowe’s characteristic perspicacity and understanding of the intricacies of human behaviour and interactions.

The book has three main characters, firstly hardworking Addy Topic, who has returned to her childhood home, pursuing a seemingly wonderful career opportunity with a supportive, interested boss. Addy has many ghosts and secrets, including feeling very conflicted about music, having avoided her late parents’ wish for her to pursue a career in music.

Stephanie Gallagher has just made a sea change with her husband and toddler, seeking an idyllic work-from-home and share-the-home-tasks life. Things soon seem less blissful when her sulky teenage stepdaughter Zoe joins the household, and Steph soon realises the couple’s 50:50 sharing of domestic responsibility has become more like 80:20, and not in her favour.

Brenda Lambeck is a middle aged widow who has moved from the family farm and built a home in town, where she lives with a boarder Marilyn. She has invested much energy into a fairly fraught relationship with her daughter Courtney. She plans to escape the shackles and expectations of her past and live life the way she wants to now, but this is not without hardship as her family do not adjust well when her secrets come to the fore.

The three women come together in a community choir, and one eventful evening creates a huge rift and spills some of the tightly guarded secrets. The characters are all well drawn, not always likeable, but realistically so. I found Zoe to be a petulant teenager, at least initially, Courtney an annoying helicopter parent, and Marilyn very selfish and pushy in her attitude towards Brenda, but I could not put down the book. I was cheering for Addy with all her battles, and enjoyed the likeable Irish surfer Kieran. 4.5 stars for me. ( )

Good, moderately realistic story, although a little too neatly wrapped up. ( )

The sixth contemporary novel from Australian author Fiona Lowe, A Family of Strangers is an appealing story that features three women- college lecturer Addy Topic who views her return to her late parents home in Rookery Cove, Tasmania, as a temporary convenience; Stephanie Gallagher who, along with her husband, toddler son and, unexpectedly, her teen step-daughter, has relocated from Melbourne in hopes of a better work/life balance; and mother, grandmother, and recent widow Brenda Lambeck, who is reluctant to reveal to her family, especially her narrow minded daughter Courtney, that her ‘boarder’, Marilyn, is actually her lover.

Strangers to one another, the catalyst to their meeting is the reformation of the Rookery Cove Choir at the behest of Marilyn. Stephanie is excited for both the opportunity to make friends and escape the rising tensions at home, and though neither Brenda, nor Addy are initially enthusiastic about the idea for their own reasons, the camaraderie of the choir proves to be a salve for them all. That is, until the night of their first performance, when an indiscreet comment exposes secrets that trigger confrontations and self examination.

Relationships-particularly those between mothers and daughters, escape, and being true to yourself are the main themes of A Family of Strangers, represented in different ways among the characters. Each struggle to find a balance between what others want from them, and what they need for themselves, in the way that is familiar to many women.

Brenda, Addy and Stephanie are well drawn, complex characters. They make good decisions, and bad, at times I found them sympathetic, at other times frustrating, but it’s their flaws make them realistic. Representing different ages and stages of life, it’s likely the experiences of one or more characters will resonate, their thoughts or actions reflecting your own.

Lowe addresses several topical issues, and in particular the ways in which they impact on women including alcoholism, sexual assault, sexual identity, workplace harassment, misogyny, the burden of domestic ‘mental load’, work/life balance, miscarriage, and infertility. Drawing on her experience as a counsellor, the author’s portrayal of the drama and emotion surrounding these challenging issues is genuine and sensitive.

A Family of Strangers is an engaging, thoughtful and astute novel. ( )