Crimson Light Polished Wood is, initially, a book about what we inherit, what we don’t, and how that gap can divide us. Beneath this, however, there is a body of insight that, rather than demanding to be heard, invites a reader to listen.
Monica Raszewski’s previous novel, The Archaeology of a Dream City, was shortlisted for the 2022 NSW Premier’s Literary Award for New Writing. In this new work, set largely within the familiar suburbs of Melbourne, author Raszewski writes about migration, loneliness, and the lasting consequence of displacement.
We begin with the death of Margaret, a schoolteacher who leaves behind her partner, Leonora, and her adversarial mother, Mrs Renfrew. What is an already tense relationship between Leonora and Mrs Renfrew descends into a bitter rivalry over the estate, fuelled by unspoken prejudice and unhealed trauma. Using legal documents and affidavits, the reader begins to piece together a fractured truth. While still grieving the loss of Margaret, Leonora befriends her neighbour, Anna, with whom she gradually develops an intense, complex friendship.
This is a story based equally on what is said and what is left unsaid. Told largely from the perspective of Anna’s daughter, Lydia, the identity and past of each character is clouded by generational silence. Plain-spoken and succinctly written, this is a quiet novel that explores the interior life of characters still unknown to themselves. Lydia’s understanding of her world is fragmented, punctured by her naïveté and emotion, leaving large gaps for a reader to create inferences of their own.
A tale rich in relational ambiguity and unresolved conflict, Crimson Light, Polished Wood provides ample material for book club discussions and character dissection; each reader will respond differently based on their own family complexities and experiences.
