A stunning debut novel about hope, love and surviving, The Book of Emmett centres on a man beset by booze and obsessions. But when the lottery numbers and horses fail him, so do love and reason, and he becomes an ogre to his wife and children. For the children, the bonds formed hiding in hedges at the end of the street, waiting for the maelstroms to pass, are complex and unbreakable. Over the years, the consequences of Emmett’s rages shape their spirits, but as he lies dying they discover that love – however imperfect – is the best defense against pain.

Deborah Forster grew up in Footscray, Melbourne. She worked as a freelance journalist for many years and was a ‘This Life’ columnist on The Age and The Sunday Age.

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