Inga Simpson
Auteur van Nest
Over de Auteur
Inga grew up near Grenfell in central west New South Wales. She has a PhD in Creative Writing from the Queensland University of Technology. Her career in writing and research included working for the federal Parliament and the Commonwealth Ombudsman. She has published short stories, academic and toon meer non-fiction articles in the Review of Australian Fiction, Clues, Writing Queensland, and the Dictionary of Literary Biography. Her books include Where the Trees Were, Nest, Fatal Development, and Mr Wigg. (Bowker Author Biography) toon minder
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Statistieken
- Werken
- 8
- Leden
- 213
- Populariteit
- #104,444
- Waardering
- 3.7
- Besprekingen
- 15
- ISBNs
- 40
- Talen
- 1
Her father left home when she was at primary school the same week her best friend Michael disappeared. A girl goes missing not long after Jen’s return. The police question her about the disappearances.
Nest is a story of waiting. The town is waiting for the summer rains and for the mystery to be resolved. Jen is waiting for ... well we're never quite sure what.
The missing girl is in the same class as Henry who Jen is teaching art. Henry is believable and entertaining. Jen is good to him and encourages him to enter a piece of work in a competition he wasn’t going to. It wins. The Henry sub-plot provides some relief from Jen’s psychological immobility.
The tension of the lingering relationship memory and the missing girl is immersed in long, languid and loquacious descriptions of various wildlife and the environment it inhabits. Jen builds herself a “nest” to where she retreats from the world unlike the birds who flit hither and thither, never staying in one place too long. The metaphor is clear though over-worked.
Jen’s past is revealed through numerous flashbacks that hinder the narrative flow in the first half of the book. In one of the flashbacks we learn about Jen’s aunt who plays a major part in Jen’s upbringing. The aunt reveals a surprise secret later in the novel that gives the narrative a renewal of much-needed tension.
The action culminates in a cyclone that reveals Michael’s remains. The investigation leads to the killer of the girl who went missing soon after Jen’s return. The police, who interviewed Jen about the missing girl, visit her with surprising news about her father.
Nest would benefit from another edit. The descriptive passages about the birdlife become monotonous; the flashbacks at the beginning of the book hinder the pace. The writing was good but not enough to sustain the lack of action and tension. Jen is a frustrating character about whom I ended up feeling indifferent.
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