Dark Roots by Cate Kennedy

Dark Roots

Cate Kennedy

The predominant theme of these stories is how people – young and old, male and female - react to circumstances in their lives and how chance and coincidence can impact on their future. In some cases the reaction is extreme resulting in death; in others the character steps back from the brink. If you love books with hugely atmospheric settings – both on the coast and in rural locations – read this. You will feel you are really there.

Extract
My mother watched me, her hand over her mouth, her eyes puffy from lack of sleep. As I stepped on the floorboards that didn't creak to catch the 6.00am bus, she was standing in the doorway and gave me her good purse that had been wrapped in tissue paper in the trunk with her money inside folded in a white hanky. As I took it she made a sound in her throat that I thought was out somewhere on the very edge of human, until my daughter was born, and I heard it again.
Parallels
  • Wish I Was Here by Jackie Kay
  • Walking the Dog by Bernard MacLaverty