Circle of Wonders: An extraordinary novel of awe and wonder perfect for readers of Charlotte Wood, Clare Keegan and Andrew O'Hagan

by Kathryn Heyman

From acclaimed writer Kathryn Heyman comes a luminously beautiful and personal novel, Circle of Wonders. It is the story of two deaths, but more importantly, it is the story of the legacy of life that flows from them - an uplifting celebratory song to life, and a homage to human resilience.


Roni is running out of time. As cancer claims her body, she begins a Book of Wonders, capturing the small, luminous moments she once overlooked. It's a final gift to the people she loves, and completing it means reckoning with both the flawed life she has lived and the fractured family she's about to leave behind.

Over one charged lunar month, the women closest to her Belle, her daughter fresh from rehab and trying to stay upright; Anna, her brilliant sister returning from London with all her old certainties cracking; and Sylvie, her estranged mother, approaching her own death across the mountain ridge. Meanwhile, Roni's ex - the Drone, as she's dubbed him - refuses to leave the house, casting shade on the light Roni is fighting to keep burning.

Each woman arrives wanting to protect Roni. But their clashing visions of what she needs threaten to tear them apart at the moment they should be closest. As tensions rise and secrets surface, Roni's Book of Wonders becomes the fragile thread that might hold them all together. Finishing it will demand she face not only her own life, but the complicated love binding these imperfect women to one another. For each of them, this month will change everything; it will teach them how to live.

Extraordinary, luminous and heart-expanding, Circle of Wonders is about facing death while rediscovering life, and about the messy grace that emerges when people who've hurt one another choose to love anyway.

'A precious jewellery box of language, bravely capturing the imperfection of being human and probing the mysteries of what matters most - this courageous novel glitters with wonder itself.' Suzie Miller, Prima Facie

'Wondrous. Kathryn Heyman has mined the depths of human frailty and hit a seam of gold. Beautifully written, full of life and love, acceptance and forgiveness. I couldn't put it down.' Pip Williams, The Bookbinder of Jericho

'Beautiful and devastating. Luminous with death - and life. Circle of Wonders observes the complicated bonds of friendship and family among women, with a wisdom and tenderness that is deeply observed. It is a novel of wild power that reminds me of Katherine Mansfield and Claire Keegan. I gulped it in a day, then ached that it was over.' Nikki Gemmell, Wing

'It is breathtaking, ruthless and healing. Beautiful and profoundly moving and riveting. I think this will be a very important book. And enormously meaningful to many people. What a gift.' Jaclyn Moriarty, Gravity is the Thing

'A beautifully observed, funny and tender novel about letting love in, and letting love go.' Anna Funder, Wifedom

'The most seriously human book I've read in ages, a novel of deep courage and beauty, a serious act of witness to friendship, complexity, and the everyday wonders that sustain us.' Chris Cleave, Little Bee

'A bright flare. Heyman's writing makes us look up and savour life.' Chloe Hooper, The Mushroom Tapes

Genres: Fiction, Audiobook, Literary Fiction

201 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 2026

About the author

Kathryn Heyman is the author of six novels including the forthcoming Storm and Grace (Allen and Unwin, Feb 2017), described by British writer Jill Dawson as "Dark, sexy, haunting...timely and important.." Her earlier works are The Breaking ( Orion, London, 1997), Keep Your Hands on the Wheel (Orion, 1999), The Accomplice (Hodder, London, 2003), Captain Starlight's Apprentice (Hodder, 2006) and Floodline (Allen and Unwin, 2013). She is also a playwright for theatre and radio and director of the Australian Writers Mentoring Program. Her short stories have appeared in a number of collections and also on radio. Heyman's writing has been compared with that of Joseph Conrad, Angela Carter, Peter Carey and Kate Grenville.

Kathryn's first novel, The Breaking was shortlisted for the Stakis Award for the Scottish Writer of the Year and longlisted for the Orange Prize. Other awards include an Arts Council of England Writers Award, the Wingate and the Southern Arts Awards, and nominations for the Edinburgh Fringe Critics’ Awards, the Kibble Prize, and the West Australian Premier’s Book Awards.

Kathryn Heyman’s several plays for BBC radio include Far Country and Moonlite’s Boy , inspired by the life of bushranger Captain Moonlite. Two of her novels have been adapted for BBC radio: Keep Your Hands on the Wheel as a play and ,Captain Starlight’s Apprentice as a five part dramatic serial.

Reviews

[EmG ReadsDaily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Profound. Hopeful. Poignant. Wondrous.

I love reading this beautifully crafted story of legacy, resilience, connection and human frailty. It also cleverly highlighted the human capacity for wonder, lightness and humour despite complex situations and difficulties.

I resonated with the characters and found this such an impactful story, particularly after learning that the story is inspired by the author's experience of losing her mother and sister within weeks of each other.

'The way we are connected, the way we are hopeful, the way we are always hoping, always doubting, always trying; look at us, all of us, teetering on the threshold, always ready to change direction and pick up our tools. What wonders we are, all of us, the way we are always emerging.
the way we are always moving, always shifting,
the way we are always -'

The cover of this book is stunning and I will definitely re-read this story. I am looking forward to more stories from Australian author Kathryn Heyman.

[soph collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I should start a tally of how many books end with me sobbing hysterically…

this was incredibly human and existential. it is the ultimate reminder that we complicate life so much - the way we love, the grudges we hold, the trauma we carry - and yet in the end none of it matters. we yearn only for connection and the simplicities of life in our final moments, and so much of this book was reckoning with how little we embrace and relish in those simplicities when they are happening to us. as heartbreaking as it was, this story forces you to stop and take life in. a good read for your twenties when you (hopefully) have a full and fulfilling life ahead and a good reminder not to waste or miss it.

favourite quote:

“make peace with it now. make peace with the way you are grass and possibility. make peace with the way you shine and the way you fail. make peace with the night falling from your fingertips. my god, the stars bursting from you” 🌙

[Jessica (bibliobliss.au) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kathryn Heyman has captured some magic inside this book.

If Catherine Newman’s WE ALL WANT IMPOSSIBLE THINGS left a lasting impression and had you wanting more, then make CIRCLE OF WONDERS your next read. Like IMPOSSIBLE THINGS, this new book from Kathryn Heyman is about death and dying, with two characters at the end of life and a circle of loved ones around them, reckoning with grief, caring, and trying to honour and embrace the time that is left.

The characters are all raw and messy, wounded and hurting in their own ways. There’s strained relations, estrangement and immense pain and loss from past hurts. The devastation, the courage and the beauty of being with someone as they approach the end of life weighs heavy with all the characters and is depicted beautifully throughout.

CIRCLE OF WONDERS is powerful and deeply moving with moments of beauty and levity that provide the warmth and delight a story like this needs. Heyman has skillfully woven a tale of pain, sadness and conflict with one of hope, sacrifice, love and wonder.

I’m so very glad I read this book and hope more readers discover this Aussie fiction gem.

Thanks to the publisher for a gifted copy of this book.

[pages_amour]

A massive thanks to Harper Collins for this beautiful gifted copy in exchange for an honest review!

A prosaic elegiac read, intertwining memory with the present, to explore the cost of death and living.

Circle of Wonders follows Roni and the lives of those around her, as they gather to spend her last moments with them as terminal illness looms. Regret is the central theme of this book, regret for the mistakes of the past, the opportunities never taken, and the relationships that were fractured. There is a tender understanding of the frailty of life, and the beautiful mess that is humanity present in the story. The characters are all flawed and wounded in different ways, but in the end find that death comes for us all and we are called to love not judge.

A short, female-centric, contemplative read exploring resilience and the strength to be found in family in the hardest of times.

[Anna Loder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a poignant, beautiful wonder of a novel about love, loss, living and dying…

[Myrophora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the paperback edition but that isn't available here.

The Circle of Wonders weaves together the messiness of life and human relationships. Coming to grips with mortality is difficult and tricky when balancing messy emotions, mistakes and family estrangement. Fundamentally everyone is doing their best at any given time. Sometimes the closest relationships are the ones we chose rather than the ones chosen for us.

'Love, when chosen in spite of everything, is its own kind of wonder.' (Kathryn Heyman)

[Tracy Bryant · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you like characters' naval gazing and dealing with complex family relationships, then you might be mildly entertained
I found the plot flat and boring

[Laurel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Less about awe and wonder, and more about familial conflict.

[Teresa Walsh · Rating 2 out of 5]

An ok story. It was annoying and confusing at the start of the book to work out who the various characters were, and what the relationships were. The characters are 2 dimensional and archetypal, with the possible exception of Belle. Some thought-provoking moments but far too much sadness throughout the telling when there was an obvious intention by the main protagonist of a desire to spread some joy. Perhaps I was deceived by the book's sparkling reviews that it would be a nourishing and uplifting experience. Alas no. Death definitely comes to us all - I suppose it's helpful to contemplate it now and again. 2 1/2 stars.

[Annette Chennell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This incredible novel explores the last dense and concentrated weeks of Roni and her mother Sylvie as they lie dying on either side of the Blue Mountains. As their estranged family gathers alongside Roni’s friends, each is forced to face not only this final stage but decades of family life and friendship and all that means and meant.

Heyman displays incredible skill painting complex characters and relationships through deceptively simple, relatable scenes and dialogue. Internal monologue carries us further into the characters as their thoughts run wildly across the page in a way that is familiar and easy to understand: sometimes coherent and clear, sometimes rambling, in the moment, backwards, lamenting, full of questions. This, and fragments of memory that arise say so much about the character, family, the trauma and the ache of it all.

Roni’s impending death is a crucible in which each character struggles and develops, in the end choosing love and compassion. This is shown so poignantly on page 175 as, close to the end, Belle talks to her mother about events that have always haunted her. “This was the moment to ask, Did you ever think of me? Of either of us, of what we needed as children rather than what you wanted? Instead she said ‘Do you think you could manage some of that broth Pip made?’”

Circle of Wonders is a profound story showing how we can hold conflict, disappointment and trauma in the same hand as love. A story of sadness and hope. Pain and resilience. Love and friendship. Rebellion and acceptance.

“In the end there is only this: how you arrive in the world, and how you leave it. Everything else is just the middle. It’s just that the middle seems so important when you’re in it.’ (Kathryn Heyman).

[Cass Moriarty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, this CIRCLE OF WONDERS, is truly an awe-inspiring novel about death and grief, forgiveness and friendship and family. I cried. I too have lost a dear friend too soon, as in this story. I’ve lost a daughter much too young. Both to cancer. A trauma only understood by those who’ve experienced it. Author Kathryn Heyman writes about this loss with so much compassion and empathy and vulnerability.

CIRCLE OF WONDERS (Harper Collins) is a miraculous, profoundly sad tale of complicated love, estranged family, the unbreakable sisterhood of friendship, the complex relationships between mothers and their children, and the heart wrenching end-of-life decisions that must be made by people with a life-limiting illness. People who know they are soon leaving but do not want to go. People with regrets, dreams, wishes. People who mourn the past and yearn for it to be different. Those afraid of the future. And those around them, getting through the present, day by day, every little moment, every breath, every last … last bite, last sip, last word, last touch …

This novel celebrates those who leave us too early and all they leave behind for us. It commends those of us who stay, and continue to live, while our hearts are broken and the fabric of life itself frays and comes undone. This book is indeed a circle: of women, of friends, of love, of gratitude, of service. And it’s a book of wonders: birth, motherhood, friendship, music, art, song, dance, creativity, sharing, making peace, forgiveness, endings not going to plan yet anyway accepted, tolerance, feistiness, strength, courage and the capacity to survive life’s worst acts, thrown at us with the terrible force of warning and pre-knowledge, understanding that we cannot change what is to come, we can only get through it, moment by moment, and try to stay sane.

Roni is dying, her body shutting down. She creates a Book of Wonders in which she attempts to capture or notate all the many luminous moments of her life she has experienced, or wished to experience. She is leaving this life unprepared – her family fractured and fractious, her to-do list incomplete, her awful ex (‘the Drone’) hovering in the background like an opportunistic vulture. She doesn’t want to leave this precious life but her body gives her no choice. Time is running out, and with it, the chances she has to make things right, to forgive, to forget, to make peace.

Her own mother Sylvie, across the mountains and estranged, is already dying her own death. The two so close together seems too much for one family to bear. Her sister Anna, returned from London, full of petty grievances, a changed woman once she must face the death of her mother and her sister in the same month. Roni’s daughters, Belle and Shanti, one a reformed addict and one an absent sprite, each in their own way having to deal with their mother’s death, this woman who broke the rules of motherhood in so many ways, who let them down and abandoned them. And yet. As the hour of death, of leaving, draws closer, each must decide how to best accept this loss, for their own sakes and for their mother.

Heyman writes luminous, glowing, iridescent prose that sparkles with joy and humour amidst the pragmatic facts of dying (the body’s gradual dissemblance, the mind’s slowing, the emotional rollercoaster of knowing it is the end). Her characters are authentic, raw and flawed. The dialogue is real. The practicalities of death are true.

The terrible beauty of a cardboard coffin waiting to be inscribed with messages of love with crayons and paint. The meaning of flowers and food and incense and last gifts. A living wake, planned meticulously then almost abandoned, then reignited as something new.

If you have ever loved, read this book. If you are a mother, or a daughter, read this book. If you are a loyal friend, read this book. If you realise you are an awful partner or a bad friend or an unforgiving soul, read this book. If you know there is a line in the sand in relation to your past, and you refuse to cross it, no matter the pressure of society and friends to ‘let things go’, read this book. If you are human, read this book, because within it you will discover yourself and those you love. You will find connection and belonging. You will find awe and wonder. It might make you cry. Tears of recognition or tears of comprehension or tears of what might have been.

This novel will stay with me. Unforgettable. Teaching me the unteachable. Resonating on so many levels. Touching my heart.

[Lizzies.Little.Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

🌑Circle of Wonders by Kathryn Heyman🌑

As soon as I saw the cover reveal of this book (I think last year?), I knew in my soul it was one I needed to read. I mean, how absolutely stunning is she?! 😍 So when I was lucky enough to attend the Harper Collins literary bites event earlier in the year and found out this was one of the books being showcased, I was SO excited! 😱 I was able to meet Kathryn (she is so lovely!) and hear her speak about her book, and this left me absolutely convinced this was a book for me.

There is something undeniably beautiful about this book. Kathryn crafts a story that feels intimate and expansive all at once, following one family through a deeply emotional and transformative month. What I appreciated the most was how imperfect everyone is. These characters hurt each other, misunderstand each other, and carry years of emotional baggage, but there is still this thread of connection running through it all.

The writing itself is soft and luminous, matching the themes of memory and reflection beautifully. Roni’s journey, especially her creation of the Book of Wonders, is incredibly moving. It is less about the big, dramatic moments and more about the quiet, fleeting ones we often miss in the chaos of life. The layered perspectives of the women around Roni added so much richness, really feeling into how grief manages to ripple through relationships in different ways.

Ultimately, this is a story about finding meaning at the end of life, and recognising it was there all along. Bittersweet, heartfelt, and quietly powerful 🥹

Thank you so much to @harpercollinsaustralia and @kathrynheymanwriter for my copy, I am forever grateful 🙏🏼

QOTD: What is a book you read purely because of the cover?

#circleofwonders #kathrynheyman #bookreview

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the approach Heyman takes - the cycles of the moon as estranged mother and daughter Sylvie and Roni both lie dying. I liked the way she shows the flaws in people's characters and how their actions never quite match their intentions. I liked the sense of wonder that she somehow captures, despite the sadness of the women's approaching deaths. This isn't an easy 'best of all possible worlds' scenario. Rather it is how moments of joy, hard won as they are, can bring consolation and strength to the dying and the people who care for them.

However, I did not finish this novel because at about the two thirds mark I found further reading unnecessary. That's a strange thing to say but I felt that I had experienced these things myself already, even though I hadn't Heyman's skill in describing them. I'm not saying I had conflict with a mother or sister or daughter - I have not. But I have experienced the fallout from failed relationships and I have been a carer for people in my family who have died.

I understand the four stars other reviewers have given the book, but because of my personal response, only three from me.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so beautiful and yet so devastating. My heart hurt but I absolutely loved it.

A novel about life and death. It couldn’t be written more perfectly. A circle of friends come together to be there for their dear friend in the last stages of her life. To protect her, to love her and to give her the goodbye she wished for. It couldn’t be written more perfectly.

It’s about the choices made that caused disasters, difficult relationships, difficult pasts, flawed characters, friendship, family, forgiveness and grief plus so much more.

This book is a true gem filled with wonder. Yes, it’s devastating but it’s also uplifting and so moving. It even has a touch of humor.

I’ll never forget this one.

Thank you @harpercollinsaustralia for the early copy.

[Dave Leys · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any book about dying that is meaningful is a book about living. This is a meaningful book, a tender, funny and sad book. It tells the story of the last month of Roni’s life and about the way her friends and family orbit her - and how in their care for her and struggles to come to terms with the past, their own lives are illuminated. A measure of the quality of this book is how infuriating they are one moment and then loveable the next, with their flaws and pettiness and brief flashes of wisdom and relentless capacity to care for the dying Roni. Kathryn Heyman is an accomplished writer, and in this book she has written something clearly very personal to her and yet universal in its wrestling with how we make meaning in death, love and life.

[Emily (the_bookdragons_den) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Circles of Wonders is a beautiful exploration of love, loss, acceptance, forgiveness and all the messiness of life in between. It’s about facing death while rediscovering life. It’s moving, complex and tenderly written.

I really enjoyed how the author uses the lunar month to follow these women as Roni approaches the end of her life. Facing mortality is deeply confronting and has those left behind questioning their own lives. Have they lived the life they’d hope for? Faced their regrets? Or said the things they’ve been meaning to say but haven’t? This books gets you reflecting on all of these questions and more.

Circle of Wonders is emotional, powerful and unlike anything I’ve recently read. It’s beautifully written and will take the reader in quite the personal journey.

Thank you to HarperCollins Aus for a copy to honestly review.

[Nola B · Rating 4 out of 5]

What makes for a good life and what makes for a good death ? These are some of the questions that reverberate within Kathryn Heyman's book "Circle of Wonders". There are , of course, many other questions such as "What makes a good Mother"s? and "What makes a good daughter"? The various themes throughout this book are many, varied and show a range of view points. I'm making it sound like a boring thesis on dying but it is anything but. A wonderful book that makes you ponder your own existence.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Circle of Wonders is a short book that packs a punch. Beautifully written, it explores, life, death and family relationships. Based on the author’s own experiences of losing both her mother and sister within a few weeks of each other. The characters were complex, messy and multilayered. I enjoyed getting to know each of the three women, their stories and their relationship breakdowns. A powerful, reflective and bittersweet read about finding meaning as life draws close to an end. My first novel by Kathryn and I’m keen to read more.

[Harriet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lovely book written by someone I took a writing workshop with at Byron Writers Festival. Beautifully written about a woman dying in the way she chooses, gathering a list of wonders, things that brought her joy, to share with her daughters, her estranged sister, and her large circle of women. Her mother also dies so it is really about two women dying, overcoming regrets, and learning to appreciate the small things.

[Jeanine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt the blurb was misleading, as the actual mention of the wonders only popped up now and again, and didn’t seem to be the actual focus of the book. The relationships were human and gritty, but focused on largely unhappy emotions. An interesting novel, very well written.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for a book club. Showcases some of the more profound and conflicting feelings that may arise when processing familial and family-adjacent relationships, but it also felt oddly stretched out / verbose for a book of this size.

[Indigo Devlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

So so good!

[Cheryl Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Circle of Wonders. I cried, cared, empathised, but mostly felt uplifted as I read. A beautifully told story.

[Pip Snort · Rating 3 out of 5]

An exploration of the idea of dying well. Of how to undo a life not lived well, or well enough, the mending and tearing of life's final breaths.

[Flip]

Maybe too soon after losing my mum. I couldn’t get into it. Should revisit this one later.