Geography travels widely across our planet while exploring the extremes of relationships, and it is the juxtaposition of these that makes for compelling reading. Sophie Cunningham describes the powerlessness of extreme desire and the obsession of a sexual relationship that never develops into a cerebral love. Catherine spends years of her life yearning for the love of Michael who is incapable of commitment. The tyranny of distance means that the times they are physically together are frenetic, and when apart she fills the void with waiting for phone calls and emails. She waits aimlessly and ultimately realises she has wasted the most productive years of her life. She recounts her story to Ruby who she meets while travelling in Sri Lanka. Catherine’s healing of her body and her mind is taking place in a country that has extreme contrasts of beauty, violence and spirituality. While Geography is graphic in exploring the sexuality of Catherine, for me it is her physical and spiritual journeys that shine.

Alexa Dretzke is from Readings Hawthorn