Eyrie: A Novel
Thomas Keely, an outspoken environmental activist whose career has flamed out in spectacular fashion, now spends his days in a drug- and alcohol-infused daze in a downtrodden high-rise overlooking Fremantle, a grubby Australian harbor. Improbably, an old childhood friend and her six-year-old grandson live just down the hall, and it is this unlikely reconnection with the physically and emotionally damaged Gemma and Kai that brings Keely out of his self-destructive stupor. Gemma’s daughter is in prison, and the boy’s meth-head father blackmails Gemma for money she doesn’t have, threatening to harm his preternaturally sensitive and reclusive son. Summoning a physical, emotional, and moral courage he thought had forsaken him, Keely goes to grueling lengths to protect both woman and child from any further harm. Winton reveals Keely’s, Gemma’s, and Kai’s backstories with tantalizing languor, doling out one dolorous detail at a time and filling the gaps with scenes of soaring insight and sharp satire. Acclaimed Australian Winton (The Turning, 2005) is underappreciated by American readers, but his latest should find its way to fans of T. C. Boyle and Jonathan Franzen. --Carol Haggas