Readings Newsletter
Become a Readings Member to make your shopping experience even easier.
Sign in or sign up for free!
You’re not far away from qualifying for FREE standard shipping within Australia
You’ve qualified for FREE standard shipping within Australia
The cart is loading…
Estranged sisters—Eva and Elisabeta Novak—have not spoken since Eva’s young daughter, Gracie, was killed in a road accident. More than a decade after the accident, and long after Eva has moved overseas, Elizabeta calls, insisting that Eva return home.
But when Eva arrives at her sister’s house, she discovers that Elizabeta is dead. Eva finds that she has been appointed the executor of Elizabeta’s estate, and as she works her way through the monumental task of clearing out her sister’s house, she comes to know her sister again through the objects and documents that she encounters. In this process of clearing the house, Eva is forced to reckon with their shared past and the possibility that her mind cannot be trusted.
Foreign Country engages with themes of grief and loss, and the instability of memory. The novel explores the difficulty of coming to terms with conflicting accounts of the past and asks how well we ever really know the ones that we love, or our own past selves.
$9.00 standard shipping within Australia
FREE standard shipping within Australia for orders over $100.00
Express & International shipping calculated at checkout
Estranged sisters—Eva and Elisabeta Novak—have not spoken since Eva’s young daughter, Gracie, was killed in a road accident. More than a decade after the accident, and long after Eva has moved overseas, Elizabeta calls, insisting that Eva return home.
But when Eva arrives at her sister’s house, she discovers that Elizabeta is dead. Eva finds that she has been appointed the executor of Elizabeta’s estate, and as she works her way through the monumental task of clearing out her sister’s house, she comes to know her sister again through the objects and documents that she encounters. In this process of clearing the house, Eva is forced to reckon with their shared past and the possibility that her mind cannot be trusted.
Foreign Country engages with themes of grief and loss, and the instability of memory. The novel explores the difficulty of coming to terms with conflicting accounts of the past and asks how well we ever really know the ones that we love, or our own past selves.
Sisters, no matter the age gap or where they were born or what decade they grew up in, share a bond. Your sister can’t judge you, because she is part of you. She shared your childhood in a way no one else could. She can make you angrier than anyone else ever could, and yet hers is the only opinion you need when deciding on a new pair of shoes to wear to that very important event you have next week.
Eva and Elizabeta were sisters, inseparable until the unthinkable happened. They relied on each other when they were uprooted from their home and moved to the other side of the world. They were there for one another when their father died, and their mother fell apart. And then, suddenly, Eva can’t bear the sight of El, refuses to take her phone calls, moves back to the other side of the world, and flees a past too difficult to bear. Eva assumes there will be time someday, if not for reconciliation or even forgiveness, but at least for one more conversation. And then Elizabeta is gone, and Eva is left to pick up the pieces.
In her sister’s home, back among the gum trees, Eva literally picks through the debris left behind, gradually finding out who this older version of El was, and slowly realising that in her own grief her memory failed her in a most devastating way. Ten years ago, not only did Eva lose a daughter, she also gave up her sister at the one point in time when she needed her the most.
Written in pieces, reflecting Eva’s emotional state as she attempts to deal with the past, this is a poetic story of emptiness and renewal, trauma and catharsis, loss and love.
See what the Readings’ team have to say on the blog, discover related events and podcast episodes.
Our shelves are currently full of novels exploring complex relationships between sisters, from Coco Mellor's bestselling Blue Sisters to classics like Little Women, and even new releases from local Australian authors. Explore our collection of new and old books that explore this foundational bond.
Discover our latest new release fiction and nonfiction books.