Thirteen-year-old David is confused and staying in Bondi with his grandparents. His mum seems to have abandoned him to run off with her lover, and his grandfather, Jimmy, spends his days at the local RSL grumbling with his best mates, all of them Jewish survivors of the Thai-Burma Railway.

Longlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award & Shortlisted for The Age Book of the Year.

Thirteen-year-old David is confused and staying in Bondi with his grandparents. His mum seems to have abandoned him to run off with her lover, and his grandfather, Jimmy, spends his days at the local RSL grumbling with his best mates, all of them Jewish survivors of the Thai-Burma Railway. But underneath their bickering and banter struggle three men haunted by the ghosts of long-dead comrades.

The only person Jimmy can confide in is David, a boy from a different world, who is trying to make sense of his future and the daunting business of growing up.

Praise for Spirit House

‘The writing has real freshness … the story glides effortlessly from an intriguing start to a hear-warming resolution … Dapin impresses with the understated authority of his storytelling.’ The Telegraph (UK)

‘Funny, poignant, vibrantly witty … a treat.’ Canberra Times

‘Strikingly original, this is a novel of war and its terrible legacies that eschews sentimentality, that is full of uniquely funny and wonderfully human characters, and is also profoundly moving and honourable.’ Christos Tsiolkas