Heinrich Fliess came to the colony of New South Wales for one purpose only: to build the perfect house in a land unsullied by centuries of ill-conceived architecture. It didn’t quite go to plan. Years later, his grandson Archibald is growing up in the shadow of family mysteries: the mad architect grandfather who disappeared into the Australian wilderness, the whereabouts of his absent parents and an inherited deed to a theatre company, to name but a few. A chance escape from kidnappers leads Archibald to Glissando, the mythical house in the bush. Here he discovers his grandfather’s journals, and the parallel stories of the two Fliess men become entwined.

As the title suggests, Glissando is a musical piece of writing, gliding effortlessly from one pitch to another. David Musgrave is a Sydney based poet-turned-novelist, and his talent for rhythm and imagery are apparent on every page. Told with wit and sharp humour, particularly when describing a series of fanciful and surreal theatre performances, Glissando is a story that shines with elegant prose, philosophical musings, and interesting snippets of early Australian colonial history. Sleepers has a reputation for uncovering debut literary gems, and Musgrave’s book is no exception.