What do you think?
Rate this book
Hold
A haunting, hypnotic and enticing novel of grief and desire, by one of Australia's finest, most assured novelists.
Three years ago, Shelley's lover, Conrad, died in a surfing accident. Now, still in a state of subdued grief, Shelley has just moved into an old Victorian terrace in Paddington with David, her new partner, trying for a new beginning. At home one morning, Shelley discovers a door to a small intriguing room, which is not on the plans. There is a window, a fireplace and a beautiful chandelier. But nothing else.
When Shelley meets a man who seems to be Conrad's uncanny double, the mysterious room begins to dominate her world, becoming a focus for her secret fantasies and fears, offering an escape which also threatens to become a trap. A waking dream of a novel, HOLD is spellbinding, sensual and unsettling.
'A novelist with a commanding talent' The Monthly
'I loved every gorgeous, spooky word of it, and was blown away by its poetry. An intimate, complex and gripping portrait of grief, it's truly brilliant.' Ceridwen Dovey, author, Only the Animals
Three years ago, Shelley's lover, Conrad, died in a surfing accident. Now, still in a state of subdued grief, Shelley has just moved into an old Victorian terrace in Paddington with David, her new partner, trying for a new beginning. At home one morning, Shelley discovers a door to a small intriguing room, which is not on the plans. There is a window, a fireplace and a beautiful chandelier. But nothing else.
When Shelley meets a man who seems to be Conrad's uncanny double, the mysterious room begins to dominate her world, becoming a focus for her secret fantasies and fears, offering an escape which also threatens to become a trap. A waking dream of a novel, HOLD is spellbinding, sensual and unsettling.
'A novelist with a commanding talent' The Monthly
'I loved every gorgeous, spooky word of it, and was blown away by its poetry. An intimate, complex and gripping portrait of grief, it's truly brilliant.' Ceridwen Dovey, author, Only the Animals
- GenresContemporary
304 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2016
3 people are currently reading
99 people want to read
About the author
Kirsten Tranter
9 books14 followersKirsten grew up in Sydney and studied English and Fine Arts at the University of Sydney. She lived in New York between 1998 and 2006, where she completed a PhD in English on Renaissance poetry at Rutgers University. She now lives in Sydney with her husband and son.
Kirsten’s first novel, The Legacy, was published to international critical acclaim in 2010. The Legacy was shortlisted for the ABIA Literary Fiction award, the ALS Gold Medal, and longlisted for the Miles Franklin award. Her second novel, A Common Loss, will appear in 2012.
Kirsten has published poetry, fiction, literary criticism, and articles on contemporary fiction. The Legacy was completed with the assistance of an Emerging Writer’s Grant from the Literature Board of the Australia Council for the Arts. Kirsten has also been awarded support from the Cultural Fund of the Copyright Agency Limited. Kirsten is one of the founders of the new award for Australian women’s writing, The Stella Prize, and the discussion series and blog When Genres Attack!
You can read an interview in Readings Newsletter here, and Miram Cosic’s profile piece on Kirsten in The Australian here.
Follow Kirsten on Twitter @ktranter
Kirsten’s first novel, The Legacy, was published to international critical acclaim in 2010. The Legacy was shortlisted for the ABIA Literary Fiction award, the ALS Gold Medal, and longlisted for the Miles Franklin award. Her second novel, A Common Loss, will appear in 2012.
Kirsten has published poetry, fiction, literary criticism, and articles on contemporary fiction. The Legacy was completed with the assistance of an Emerging Writer’s Grant from the Literature Board of the Australia Council for the Arts. Kirsten has also been awarded support from the Cultural Fund of the Copyright Agency Limited. Kirsten is one of the founders of the new award for Australian women’s writing, The Stella Prize, and the discussion series and blog When Genres Attack!
You can read an interview in Readings Newsletter here, and Miram Cosic’s profile piece on Kirsten in The Australian here.
Follow Kirsten on Twitter @ktranter
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
August 29, 2016
Hold is so slight it seems to slip through my fingers when I try to describe it. There's a shimmering quality to this short novel – existential/relationship angst mixed with a deft touch of the supernatural – in which nothing ever quite feels solid.
The book opens in a deceptively pleasant fashion – 'Picture a Sydney beach...' – but the idyllic scene, as imagined by narrator Shelley, is soon ruptured by an accident. A man, Conrad, drowns. He was Shelley's partner. They had argued that morning. This prologue is short, but it underlines the significance of Conrad and the loss of him in Shelley's narrative.
Three years later, Shelley's life is very different. She's moving into a new home with her older, wealthier partner David, and the size and impressiveness of the house acts as a symbol of her increased status and maturity. It is, then, equally symbolic when she discovers a small, strange door, leading to a small, strange room, in the back of her wardrobe. The room is seemingly undiscovered (it's not on the house plans) and largely bare. And although the door is not invisible to others, it won't open for anyone but Shelley. The room has its own personality, seems to have moods; it's changeable, capable of rejecting her, alters in infinitesimal ways.
Shelley feels instantly protective of the room, and it comes to fulfil two functions: it's both an outlet for her anxieties and a place to realise her fantasies. She's still troubled by Conrad's death; she doesn't get on with David's teenage daughter; she's perturbed by the next-door neighbours, a pair of artists, with their weird statues and weirder relationship. But there's also her ill-advised attraction to the man who serves her in a dusty antiques shop that is, itself, straight out of some older, creepier tale. This man, Kieran, bears such a resemblance to Conrad that Shelley sees cheating with him as less of a betrayal of David, more a way to resurrect a vision of Conrad. 'It didn't feel like infidelity; it felt like stepping into a different life, stepping outside time, outside myself.'
It's as though Kieran's resemblance to Conrad means he doesn't quite inhabit the real world. Or maybe it's Shelley that doesn't – despite all that has changed in her life, she refers to this whole story as existing 'somewhere in the long, stretched-out shadow' of the day Conrad died. Her feeling that she's stepping outside time with Kieran also reflects how Shelley feels about the room. The things that happen inside it are, it seems, part of a separate timeline, branching off from Shelley's life but inaccessible to those around her, exactly like its physical state.
Hold is so very like Michelle de Kretser's Springtime: A Ghost Story that I couldn't help thinking of the two books as companions to one another. Women writer/artist protagonists, starting new lives with older, more outwardly accomplished partners with kids already in tow; ensconced in their homes, working alone, venturing into the streets for something to do, killing time. Suggestions of magic that glimmer beneath the surface, or drift in and out of view in a summer haze. Australian city settings with (to me) those upside-down seasons. A faint sense that everything is slightly out of place.
A maybe-ghost-story that's as calm and reassuring as a maybe-ghost-story possibly could be. Grief as a numbing fog that can be comforting as well as distressing.
Both Tranter and de Kretser are masters of subtlety, and the above jumble of sentences is the best I can do to describe the feeling both stories left me with. Vagueness might not be a great selling point in the eyes of many, but when it's done right it can be a great asset, especially for a novel that aims to impart a sense of unease. I loved Hold, and my faith in Tranter's work remains unshaken.
TinyLetter | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr
The book opens in a deceptively pleasant fashion – 'Picture a Sydney beach...' – but the idyllic scene, as imagined by narrator Shelley, is soon ruptured by an accident. A man, Conrad, drowns. He was Shelley's partner. They had argued that morning. This prologue is short, but it underlines the significance of Conrad and the loss of him in Shelley's narrative.
Three years later, Shelley's life is very different. She's moving into a new home with her older, wealthier partner David, and the size and impressiveness of the house acts as a symbol of her increased status and maturity. It is, then, equally symbolic when she discovers a small, strange door, leading to a small, strange room, in the back of her wardrobe. The room is seemingly undiscovered (it's not on the house plans) and largely bare. And although the door is not invisible to others, it won't open for anyone but Shelley. The room has its own personality, seems to have moods; it's changeable, capable of rejecting her, alters in infinitesimal ways.
Shelley feels instantly protective of the room, and it comes to fulfil two functions: it's both an outlet for her anxieties and a place to realise her fantasies. She's still troubled by Conrad's death; she doesn't get on with David's teenage daughter; she's perturbed by the next-door neighbours, a pair of artists, with their weird statues and weirder relationship. But there's also her ill-advised attraction to the man who serves her in a dusty antiques shop that is, itself, straight out of some older, creepier tale. This man, Kieran, bears such a resemblance to Conrad that Shelley sees cheating with him as less of a betrayal of David, more a way to resurrect a vision of Conrad. 'It didn't feel like infidelity; it felt like stepping into a different life, stepping outside time, outside myself.'
It's as though Kieran's resemblance to Conrad means he doesn't quite inhabit the real world. Or maybe it's Shelley that doesn't – despite all that has changed in her life, she refers to this whole story as existing 'somewhere in the long, stretched-out shadow' of the day Conrad died. Her feeling that she's stepping outside time with Kieran also reflects how Shelley feels about the room. The things that happen inside it are, it seems, part of a separate timeline, branching off from Shelley's life but inaccessible to those around her, exactly like its physical state.
Hold is so very like Michelle de Kretser's Springtime: A Ghost Story that I couldn't help thinking of the two books as companions to one another. Women writer/artist protagonists, starting new lives with older, more outwardly accomplished partners with kids already in tow; ensconced in their homes, working alone, venturing into the streets for something to do, killing time. Suggestions of magic that glimmer beneath the surface, or drift in and out of view in a summer haze. Australian city settings with (to me) those upside-down seasons. A faint sense that everything is slightly out of place.
A maybe-ghost-story that's as calm and reassuring as a maybe-ghost-story possibly could be. Grief as a numbing fog that can be comforting as well as distressing.
Both Tranter and de Kretser are masters of subtlety, and the above jumble of sentences is the best I can do to describe the feeling both stories left me with. Vagueness might not be a great selling point in the eyes of many, but when it's done right it can be a great asset, especially for a novel that aims to impart a sense of unease. I loved Hold, and my faith in Tranter's work remains unshaken.
TinyLetter | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr
March 15, 2017
'When you are introverted and the person with the head in the book you are the observer.'
In my head I have a rough bucket list for the years I have remaining – mainly consisting of places I'd like to see, or experience, before I die. I know most of that list will never be realised and I can't say I'm losing a great deal of sleep over that fact. If they happen, great. If not, well, so be it. But I can guarantee one sojourn that would never be even remotely figuring on my wish list and that would be to visit Las Vegas. Imagine – Crown Casino a hundred times over. That would be my notion of hell. From what I can discern it is, more or less, a plastic, artificial, hyperactive 24/7 abomination in a desert wasteland. Reading Kirsten Tranter's 'A Common Loss' only reinforced that view.
I read this bi-continental author's first tome, 'Legacy', long after it was first published, more than a decade ago – and I was mightily impressed. It centred on the death of a young Aussie lass in the US; presumably a victim of the September 11 attacks. For some back home that explanation wasn't quite enough, resulting in a Sydneyite devoting herself to a bit of sleuthing around NYC to find what really happened.
Tranter's world had also been affected by death before the scribing of that novel, losing two souls she was close to. And death also features prominently in the two follow-ups to her novice product, 'A Common Loss' and her latest, 'Hold'.
For this Sydney raised writer, now a resident of California due to her marriage to an academic tenured there, the death of a mate again forms the fulcrum to her sophomore publication. Unlike 'Legacy', which moved back and forth across the Pacific, this one is set entirely in Trumpland; for the most part in the gambling capital of the planet. Four friends, tied to each other from way, way back, are continuing on with their tradition of having an annual blow-out in Sin City. This year, though, it is a little different – they used to be five. The gel that held them together, Dylan, is missing – recently killed in a traffic accident. This also bought back memories of another near death experience for them involving an automobile bingle avoiding a deer – one that also was not quite as it seems. As it turns out, it's just one of the issues the group have had that needed Dylan's ability as a fixer to sort out. All these secrets do come back to bite the foursome on the bum as mysterious envelopes start to arrive during the Vegas stay. Seems Dylan had a few secrets of his own too. For Elliott, our narrator, matters are complicated by his developing feelings for the only female to be invited along on any of their reunions. She diverts him from his mates and from sorting out the major conundrum that arises.
It's a sign of a competent writer that Tranter can maintain a connection with the reader despite the latter being unable to form any affection for a single one of the participants involved. In this there is a whiff of 'The Slap' about it, but despite her formidable wordsmithery, she doesn't quite pull if off as well as Tsiolkas managed. The novel also dips it's lid to Tennyson's 'In Memorium'. It would be an overstatement to say that 'A Common Loss' is as arid as the desert surrounding the city it is set in – Tranter is too good a writer for that, but of her three offerings, this would reside at the bottom of the pile – a pile that I hope will much heighten, given time.
To my mind 'Hold' made for a better product with a more accessible selection of protagonists. Here she returns to Oz to tell the tale of former artist Shelley who, three years previously, had lost her soul mate, Conrad. He went surfing one day and didn't return. Now she and her new partner have just taken possession of a Paddington pad, semi-detached, as our heroine tries to put her past behind her. She soon realises that, despite a new man, she is still grieving for the loss of her former lover. Then two mysteries enter her life. Firstly she becomes drawn to a guy who so resembles Conrad it is uncanny. Then, on opening a closet, she notices a door which, after some difficulty, she manages to open. She is soon stepping into a secret room. It is just the place to provide her with a refuge – and a comfortable location to have her way with Conrad's doppelganger. It's all very intriguing. And where do her neighbours fit into the picture as far as the room is concerned and just how real, in fact, is her mystery man? And then there's her new partner's daughter, a stroppy teen, to worry about developing a relationship with.
The author is the offspring of esteemed poet John Tranter and a literary agent mother. Kirsten grew up surrounded by her parent's friendship group of artistic types. She was shy and as time went on, she became increasingly anxious in dealing with social contact. As an adult she has had sessions of therapy, but as the opening quote suggests, she has also developed acute powers of observation which she puts to excellent use with her writing. Tranter is now a fine practitioner of weaving the written word into engaging narratives. 'Legacy' quickly established her credentials. That her more recent oeuvre has not quite matched her first up effort does not matter a jot. I will stick with her.
In my head I have a rough bucket list for the years I have remaining – mainly consisting of places I'd like to see, or experience, before I die. I know most of that list will never be realised and I can't say I'm losing a great deal of sleep over that fact. If they happen, great. If not, well, so be it. But I can guarantee one sojourn that would never be even remotely figuring on my wish list and that would be to visit Las Vegas. Imagine – Crown Casino a hundred times over. That would be my notion of hell. From what I can discern it is, more or less, a plastic, artificial, hyperactive 24/7 abomination in a desert wasteland. Reading Kirsten Tranter's 'A Common Loss' only reinforced that view.
I read this bi-continental author's first tome, 'Legacy', long after it was first published, more than a decade ago – and I was mightily impressed. It centred on the death of a young Aussie lass in the US; presumably a victim of the September 11 attacks. For some back home that explanation wasn't quite enough, resulting in a Sydneyite devoting herself to a bit of sleuthing around NYC to find what really happened.
Tranter's world had also been affected by death before the scribing of that novel, losing two souls she was close to. And death also features prominently in the two follow-ups to her novice product, 'A Common Loss' and her latest, 'Hold'.
For this Sydney raised writer, now a resident of California due to her marriage to an academic tenured there, the death of a mate again forms the fulcrum to her sophomore publication. Unlike 'Legacy', which moved back and forth across the Pacific, this one is set entirely in Trumpland; for the most part in the gambling capital of the planet. Four friends, tied to each other from way, way back, are continuing on with their tradition of having an annual blow-out in Sin City. This year, though, it is a little different – they used to be five. The gel that held them together, Dylan, is missing – recently killed in a traffic accident. This also bought back memories of another near death experience for them involving an automobile bingle avoiding a deer – one that also was not quite as it seems. As it turns out, it's just one of the issues the group have had that needed Dylan's ability as a fixer to sort out. All these secrets do come back to bite the foursome on the bum as mysterious envelopes start to arrive during the Vegas stay. Seems Dylan had a few secrets of his own too. For Elliott, our narrator, matters are complicated by his developing feelings for the only female to be invited along on any of their reunions. She diverts him from his mates and from sorting out the major conundrum that arises.
It's a sign of a competent writer that Tranter can maintain a connection with the reader despite the latter being unable to form any affection for a single one of the participants involved. In this there is a whiff of 'The Slap' about it, but despite her formidable wordsmithery, she doesn't quite pull if off as well as Tsiolkas managed. The novel also dips it's lid to Tennyson's 'In Memorium'. It would be an overstatement to say that 'A Common Loss' is as arid as the desert surrounding the city it is set in – Tranter is too good a writer for that, but of her three offerings, this would reside at the bottom of the pile – a pile that I hope will much heighten, given time.
To my mind 'Hold' made for a better product with a more accessible selection of protagonists. Here she returns to Oz to tell the tale of former artist Shelley who, three years previously, had lost her soul mate, Conrad. He went surfing one day and didn't return. Now she and her new partner have just taken possession of a Paddington pad, semi-detached, as our heroine tries to put her past behind her. She soon realises that, despite a new man, she is still grieving for the loss of her former lover. Then two mysteries enter her life. Firstly she becomes drawn to a guy who so resembles Conrad it is uncanny. Then, on opening a closet, she notices a door which, after some difficulty, she manages to open. She is soon stepping into a secret room. It is just the place to provide her with a refuge – and a comfortable location to have her way with Conrad's doppelganger. It's all very intriguing. And where do her neighbours fit into the picture as far as the room is concerned and just how real, in fact, is her mystery man? And then there's her new partner's daughter, a stroppy teen, to worry about developing a relationship with.
The author is the offspring of esteemed poet John Tranter and a literary agent mother. Kirsten grew up surrounded by her parent's friendship group of artistic types. She was shy and as time went on, she became increasingly anxious in dealing with social contact. As an adult she has had sessions of therapy, but as the opening quote suggests, she has also developed acute powers of observation which she puts to excellent use with her writing. Tranter is now a fine practitioner of weaving the written word into engaging narratives. 'Legacy' quickly established her credentials. That her more recent oeuvre has not quite matched her first up effort does not matter a jot. I will stick with her.
June 3, 2017
Hold (Fourth Estate HarperCollins 2016) by Kirsten Tranter was recently longlisted for the 2017 Miles Franklin Literary Award. From the opening phrases this book did indeed hold me, as if in some kind of spell. Entranced, I immersed myself in the life of Shelley, still grieving the death of her lover, Conrad, in a surfing accident three years earlier. Shelley has just moved into a house with her new partner, David, one they have bought together. In it, through the closet, Shelley discovers a secret room with a ghostly, unreal architectural presence. Through her chance encounter with a man who closely resembles her dead lover, with the conundrum of Janie (David’s 15-year-old daughter who lives with them half the time), with her strange neighbours – artists – who harbour a garden full of looming and ominous sculptures, and with the unsettling spectre of the room that nobody else seems to know exists, this story is spooky and enchanting, with a deliciously creeping sense of menace. The handful of characters are exquisitely drawn and balanced, the setting is quintessential Sydney, familiar and recognisable, and the plot is dark, unnerving and dangerous. The themes of guilt and betrayal and loss are writ large on the landscape of this narrative as Shelley grapples with her enormous grief and tries to make sense of her conflicting actions and oddly dissembling behaviour. This story hooked me from the very beginning and then proceeded to reel me in, slowly but inexorably, towards its conclusion. The authentic and highly believable characters and the minutiae of the plot render the subtle hints at the supernatural entirely plausible, and make it almost impossible to put down.
March 21, 2016
Whatever else it might be, Hold is definitely a love letter to this city - the beaches, the terrace houses, the huge figs trees - even the fruits bats and cockroaches! Set during a hot, humid summery spell in Sydney, we feel the heat, smell the dusty, smoky city and long for the cool sea breeze just like Shelley, our protagonist.
I loved the day to day details that made this book so real even as Tranter threw us off course with secrets, dreams and fantasies.
http://bronasbooks.blogspot.com.au/20...
I loved the day to day details that made this book so real even as Tranter threw us off course with secrets, dreams and fantasies.
http://bronasbooks.blogspot.com.au/20...
March 25, 2017
Read this in one sitting which is something I rarely do. I enjoyed this book on two very different levels - for its exploration of the psychological impact of grief but also for the descriptions of Sydney in full summer.
March 22, 2016
It's not often I read a book in 48 hours, but "Hold" is compelling and hypnotising. The prose is languid and measured, and yet at no time did I feel the urge to say, Get on with it! And I was never bored. Rather, I didn't want it to end. This is in part due to Tranter's ability to build suspense, to keep one in that land of suspicion, distrust and intrigue. It's an admirable trait, and one that not enough contemporary writers make use of. She is also very good at evoking Sydney, the smells, the heat, the enormousness and anonymity of the city. I don't know Sydney very well, but I feel as if I know it a whole lot better now.
"Hold" is spooky and eerie, a story that messes with your mind, and I absolutely loved it. Readers who like neat explanatory (or obvious) endings won't be satisfied by "Hold". They will be inclined to throw the book across the room (wordplay unintended). Whereas readers who like to fathom endings out for themselves, who like to be left pondering, will go back to the story to see where it started unraveling, to attempt to find the meaning behind the faceless rigid sculptures clustered at the window, for instance, of the room. This book should've, of course, been called "Room" but in light of Emma Donaghue's novel it is understandable why it wasn't. I can also see that because of my interest in architecture and the Gothic this book appeals to me on a number of levels, which is why I've given it five stars. Other readers may not be drawn to the same things.
If I have a criticism it is that I would've liked some sex scenes. That sounds sordid, but I think there was a missed opportunity there.
The cover - I always review covers - is okay. It could've been better. Heaps better, in fact. I do think a house, or a painting of the room as it is described in the narrative, would have been far more apt.
"Hold" is spooky and eerie, a story that messes with your mind, and I absolutely loved it. Readers who like neat explanatory (or obvious) endings won't be satisfied by "Hold". They will be inclined to throw the book across the room (wordplay unintended). Whereas readers who like to fathom endings out for themselves, who like to be left pondering, will go back to the story to see where it started unraveling, to attempt to find the meaning behind the faceless rigid sculptures clustered at the window, for instance, of the room. This book should've, of course, been called "Room" but in light of Emma Donaghue's novel it is understandable why it wasn't. I can also see that because of my interest in architecture and the Gothic this book appeals to me on a number of levels, which is why I've given it five stars. Other readers may not be drawn to the same things.
If I have a criticism it is that I would've liked some sex scenes. That sounds sordid, but I think there was a missed opportunity there.
The cover - I always review covers - is okay. It could've been better. Heaps better, in fact. I do think a house, or a painting of the room as it is described in the narrative, would have been far more apt.
April 29, 2016
Book blurb...
A haunting, hypnotic and enticing novel of grief and desire, by one of Australia's finest, most assured novelists.
Three years ago, Shelley's lover, Conrad, died in a surfing accident. Now, still in a state of subdued grief, Shelley has just moved into an old Victorian terrace in Paddington with David, her new partner, trying for a new beginning. At home one morning, Shelley discovers a door to a small intriguing room, which is not on the plans. There is a window, a fireplace and a beautiful chandelier. But nothing else.
When Shelley meets a man who seems to be Conrad's uncanny double, the mysterious room begins to dominate her world, becoming a focus for her secret fantasies and fears, offering an escape which also threatens to become a trap. A waking dream of a novel, HOLD is spellbinding, sensual and unsettling.
My thoughts…
I have a great deal of admiration for Kirsten Tranter for her writing of Hold. She took me on a journey with Shelley that had me captivated whilst asking myself where was the story going.
The room Shelly discovered in her house was a character all of it’s own in the book and had me quite intrigued as to what role it was to play in Shelly’s life.
If you are a reader that likes your stories wrapped up to a neat conclusion at the end be warned that this story is not designed to give you all the answers. Your mind will play tricks on you throughout and so will the ending.
A captivating story of living through grief and finding new beginnings. Well done to another great Australian author.
A haunting, hypnotic and enticing novel of grief and desire, by one of Australia's finest, most assured novelists.
Three years ago, Shelley's lover, Conrad, died in a surfing accident. Now, still in a state of subdued grief, Shelley has just moved into an old Victorian terrace in Paddington with David, her new partner, trying for a new beginning. At home one morning, Shelley discovers a door to a small intriguing room, which is not on the plans. There is a window, a fireplace and a beautiful chandelier. But nothing else.
When Shelley meets a man who seems to be Conrad's uncanny double, the mysterious room begins to dominate her world, becoming a focus for her secret fantasies and fears, offering an escape which also threatens to become a trap. A waking dream of a novel, HOLD is spellbinding, sensual and unsettling.
My thoughts…
I have a great deal of admiration for Kirsten Tranter for her writing of Hold. She took me on a journey with Shelley that had me captivated whilst asking myself where was the story going.
The room Shelly discovered in her house was a character all of it’s own in the book and had me quite intrigued as to what role it was to play in Shelly’s life.
If you are a reader that likes your stories wrapped up to a neat conclusion at the end be warned that this story is not designed to give you all the answers. Your mind will play tricks on you throughout and so will the ending.
A captivating story of living through grief and finding new beginnings. Well done to another great Australian author.
July 5, 2016
I agree with other reviewers of this book. The writing is superb. I think it is the only time I have thought that a book could be described as languid. It is a beautiful story about a woman processing grief. The book also lavishes affection on parts of Sydney. I could not put this one down and experienced sadness when I had finished.
January 13, 2018
Somewhere in this book is a really interesting idea but I felt like it wasn't realised or not until too late in the piece. The novel starts well, it hooked me in quickly but then seemed to get stuck in its own circular storyline without being able to move forward which I found frustrating. Again I saw the promise this book held in the ending but wish more had have been made of it.
April 27, 2016
I think I need someone to explain the room to me!
February 18, 2017
It kept my attention but I found it ultimately un-satisfying; maybe that was the intent. Everything just felt very inconclusive.
May 18, 2017
Hold is a spooky little book.
Shelley Muir is putting her life back together after the tragic drowning of her partner Conrad. Shelley has moved away from the coast and is now living with David, an older academic, and his 15 year old daughter. Shelley has a contract to write textbooks, giving her freedom to work from home, popping out to cafes and antique shops as she pleases.
But despite appearances, Shelley is not happy. David’s minimalist furnishing has obliterated Shelley completely, she is never going to feel maternal towards Julia and her only friend Tess is a restaurant reviewer providing Shelley with access to free food and dull company.
So when Shelley discovers a secret room through a door in the back of her bedroom closet, she is able to create her own personal space, her own refuge from David and his minimalism. But the room is not on the plans, and the space it occupies seems to encroach on the house next door… The more time Shelley spends in the room, the more often she visits it, the stranger her life gets.
Hold is essentially a study of grief and not letting things go. It is about the dilemma of being loyal to what you have loved, and being hopeful enough to reach out for new things. It is about the pain when the new things are not that great and you know the ending might not be happy.
This is a difficult read, despite its brevity. This is a novel heavy in metaphor, but it remains lucid. One or two of the ideas possibly don't bear very close scrutiny, and one or two bear more than a passing resemblance to Michelle de Kretser’s Springtime, but taken together they create an eerie atmosphere that becomes more and more disturbing as the book progresses. The writing, in fact, is beautiful and creates a tiny, claustrophobic world very well. There are repeated images that build in intensity with each telling; each time the images becomes sharper, more detailed.
The biggest puzzle, though, is the chicklit cover. This is very much not chicklit and anyone expecting a romcom or sensual steaminess is going to feel mightily short-changed.
Hold is about the hold of the past on Shelley. I think too that some of the spookiness may have quite a hold on the reader.
Shelley Muir is putting her life back together after the tragic drowning of her partner Conrad. Shelley has moved away from the coast and is now living with David, an older academic, and his 15 year old daughter. Shelley has a contract to write textbooks, giving her freedom to work from home, popping out to cafes and antique shops as she pleases.
But despite appearances, Shelley is not happy. David’s minimalist furnishing has obliterated Shelley completely, she is never going to feel maternal towards Julia and her only friend Tess is a restaurant reviewer providing Shelley with access to free food and dull company.
So when Shelley discovers a secret room through a door in the back of her bedroom closet, she is able to create her own personal space, her own refuge from David and his minimalism. But the room is not on the plans, and the space it occupies seems to encroach on the house next door… The more time Shelley spends in the room, the more often she visits it, the stranger her life gets.
Hold is essentially a study of grief and not letting things go. It is about the dilemma of being loyal to what you have loved, and being hopeful enough to reach out for new things. It is about the pain when the new things are not that great and you know the ending might not be happy.
This is a difficult read, despite its brevity. This is a novel heavy in metaphor, but it remains lucid. One or two of the ideas possibly don't bear very close scrutiny, and one or two bear more than a passing resemblance to Michelle de Kretser’s Springtime, but taken together they create an eerie atmosphere that becomes more and more disturbing as the book progresses. The writing, in fact, is beautiful and creates a tiny, claustrophobic world very well. There are repeated images that build in intensity with each telling; each time the images becomes sharper, more detailed.
The biggest puzzle, though, is the chicklit cover. This is very much not chicklit and anyone expecting a romcom or sensual steaminess is going to feel mightily short-changed.
Hold is about the hold of the past on Shelley. I think too that some of the spookiness may have quite a hold on the reader.
May 8, 2017
Waste of a good premise that fizzled to nothing. I could not feel any sympathy towards the main character frozen in grief, achieving nothing throughout the course of the book, other than a lot of hallucination. So many things left undone, such as confrontation with her slimey partner and "best friend" or truly dealing with her grief in the first place. The main character seems to be treated like garbage by everyone in her life and her decision to run away in the end and not deal with anything makes me feel very in satisfied as a reader. Overly descriptive passages slow the pace of the book with not much plot going on.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 18, 2017
Kirsten Tranter's most recent novel published in 2016. The book has been nominated for the Miles Franklin award.
Tranter's relaxed, open writing style gives the reader space to contemplate uncertainties and complications of modern life; the effects of grief, desire, conflict, jealousies and future growth against the background of Sydney summer neighbourhoods and their houses.
The Fourth Estate paperback edition is my idea of the perfect book: small enough to carry around, or easily rest in bed (or even in the bath),but with plenty of white space on the page for easy reading.
A lovely novel and a lovely book.
Tranter's relaxed, open writing style gives the reader space to contemplate uncertainties and complications of modern life; the effects of grief, desire, conflict, jealousies and future growth against the background of Sydney summer neighbourhoods and their houses.
The Fourth Estate paperback edition is my idea of the perfect book: small enough to carry around, or easily rest in bed (or even in the bath),but with plenty of white space on the page for easy reading.
A lovely novel and a lovely book.
May 4, 2017
This is great writing. It's cool and measured and seems quite simple (although writing like this never is), drawing you into the life of the narrator until, halfway through, you wonder if she's reliable. There's menace and redemption always present and you have to keep reading, fearful that the gloss of a hot Sydney summer just isn't going to turn out well. It's a book that loves Sydney. Even if you don't know it, you can feel its atmosphere seep through. It's a short, quick read but a brilliant one.
June 12, 2017
A relatively short piece of work (under 200 pages), the author has managed to pack in a great story with a paranormal twist that works well with the story line. Shelley is in a new and stable relationship three years after losing her boyfriend, Conrad, to a surfing accident. When she discovers a "room" in their new home behind the closet (yes it does sound a bit Narnia) she finds that it is the perfect escape for dealing with her loss. How much can she rely on this room to heal her though?
October 21, 2025
Kirsten Tranter’s ‘Hold’ is an indulgent and sensual read. Exploring themes of haunting grief and attempts to relocate oneself following the death of a partner, Tranter’s rich language, terrific characterisation, and commentary on shifting environments and cityscapes drags you in, and holds you like a secret.
July 1, 2017
I have had so many dreams about finding rooms in a house that I am living in that this book was instantly relatable. It's a short book and a quick read and probably worth reading again to discover the layers of meaning.
September 5, 2017
I really enjoyed this book until the end which I found rather confusing and obscure and didn't leave me with a sense of finality.
September 3, 2020
Loss and Grief. Sydney. Hidden room.
September 26, 2016
A gorgeous, spooky novel about desire, grief and above all a secret room. Had me intrigued from the beginning.
March 21, 2016
This newest novel by Kirsten Tranter is chilling, intriguing and haunting.
Shelley lost her lover, Conrad, in a surfing accident three years prior to the start of Hold, and even now, she’s still stricken by grief. She lives with her new partner, David, in an old Victorian terrace house, and at the start of the novel she finds a door in the house that leads to a small room next to their bedroom. In the room is a fireplace and a stunning chandelier, and nothing else.
Kirsten Tranter has crafted a book that makes the reader doubt every event and plot point. Shelley becomes so obsessed with this room that she’s discovered, that it begins to dominate her world. She thinks of nothing else. She spends five minutes in the room and then she walks back out to discover that she’s actually been gone a lot longer. Her partner starts to stray, and her daughter won’t communicate with her. She’s an unreliable narrator, and soon the reader is questioning what is real and what isn’t.
Hold is set in Sydney, and Kirsten paints such a beautiful picture of Shelley’s life, both past and present. She describes Shelley’s life with Conrad and the pain she went through (and is still going through), but she also perfectly describes the deep contrast between Shelley’s outside world and her world within this room. In this mysterious room that Shelley has discovered, Kirsten crafts an eerie atmosphere full of uncertainty and questions, most unlike the clearly defined physical features of Shelley’s house, neighbourhood, and location.
This is the third novel by Kirsten Tranter and it explores grief and death and how mourning can affect a sufferer. Shelley becomes scattered in her interactions and almost seems to become vacant in her family life. She focuses on the room and Conrad and the reader starts to doubt her sanity. They start to wonder if what she’s telling them is the truth. And even when I finished this novel, there were still some parts of the novel that I was convinced were fake, but my friends were convinced were real.
This is quite a short novel and has such a fast pace, it’s a read-in-one-sitting book. Kirsten pulls together all the elements of a grief-stricken main character, and weaves them together seamlessly to haunt the reader.
http://jessjustreads.com
Shelley lost her lover, Conrad, in a surfing accident three years prior to the start of Hold, and even now, she’s still stricken by grief. She lives with her new partner, David, in an old Victorian terrace house, and at the start of the novel she finds a door in the house that leads to a small room next to their bedroom. In the room is a fireplace and a stunning chandelier, and nothing else.
Kirsten Tranter has crafted a book that makes the reader doubt every event and plot point. Shelley becomes so obsessed with this room that she’s discovered, that it begins to dominate her world. She thinks of nothing else. She spends five minutes in the room and then she walks back out to discover that she’s actually been gone a lot longer. Her partner starts to stray, and her daughter won’t communicate with her. She’s an unreliable narrator, and soon the reader is questioning what is real and what isn’t.
Hold is set in Sydney, and Kirsten paints such a beautiful picture of Shelley’s life, both past and present. She describes Shelley’s life with Conrad and the pain she went through (and is still going through), but she also perfectly describes the deep contrast between Shelley’s outside world and her world within this room. In this mysterious room that Shelley has discovered, Kirsten crafts an eerie atmosphere full of uncertainty and questions, most unlike the clearly defined physical features of Shelley’s house, neighbourhood, and location.
This is the third novel by Kirsten Tranter and it explores grief and death and how mourning can affect a sufferer. Shelley becomes scattered in her interactions and almost seems to become vacant in her family life. She focuses on the room and Conrad and the reader starts to doubt her sanity. They start to wonder if what she’s telling them is the truth. And even when I finished this novel, there were still some parts of the novel that I was convinced were fake, but my friends were convinced were real.
This is quite a short novel and has such a fast pace, it’s a read-in-one-sitting book. Kirsten pulls together all the elements of a grief-stricken main character, and weaves them together seamlessly to haunt the reader.
http://jessjustreads.com
July 2, 2017
Shelley has just moved into a freshly renovated Victorian terrace with her lover, David, and discovers a secret room that quickly becomes her obsession as it’s the one place in the house she can think of as her own. At the same time, she stumbles over Kieran, an antiques salesman who strongly resembles Conrad, Shelley’s lover who died three years ago.
Hold is a suburban gothic tale, close to realism but haunting with a touch of the macabre. The setting is vividly depicted, both comforting and frightening, Shelley herself is intriguing and the novel itself is almost about her finding her own strength and self as it is about her confronting her grief and loss.
My criticisms tend to all follow along the lines of “almost, but not quite”. For me, Kirsten Tranter’s prose is lyrical and strong, but occasionally overwritten. The suggestion that room might not be “real” but an embodiment of loss is intriguing, but I would’ve liked a bit more certainty. The ending is unsettling and verges on satisfying but not quite far enough – I wanted to know more, to know what would become of Shelley.
Regardless, Hold has become a haunting read, one that I think about weeks on from finishing it and one I wish I could pick up again for the first time. 4.5 stars.
Hold is a suburban gothic tale, close to realism but haunting with a touch of the macabre. The setting is vividly depicted, both comforting and frightening, Shelley herself is intriguing and the novel itself is almost about her finding her own strength and self as it is about her confronting her grief and loss.
My criticisms tend to all follow along the lines of “almost, but not quite”. For me, Kirsten Tranter’s prose is lyrical and strong, but occasionally overwritten. The suggestion that room might not be “real” but an embodiment of loss is intriguing, but I would’ve liked a bit more certainty. The ending is unsettling and verges on satisfying but not quite far enough – I wanted to know more, to know what would become of Shelley.
Regardless, Hold has become a haunting read, one that I think about weeks on from finishing it and one I wish I could pick up again for the first time. 4.5 stars.
April 2, 2016
In the past, when Australia was just newly invaded, the outback was the place of disquiet, a savage landscape where evil lurked and people could go missing to never return. Think Picnic at Hanging Rock. But with several generations settled in Australia, many non-Indigenous Australians have little reason left to fear the outback, and for some it is a place to relax and escape the tyranny of cities, such as the ecotourism camp that Shelley, the main character in Kirsten Tranter’s new novel, Hold, goes to mark the anniversary of her lover’s death.
Conrad dies in a surfing accident at Bronte three years before the story starts. In a prologue which is light-infused and redolent of sunscreen and Paddlepops, Tranter describes the liminal landscape of the beach: the sharp drop-off where paddling can turn dangerous in an instant. The sea’s currents are “stealthy hidden things that can tow you out in a matter of quick minutes, like magic, and leave you to swim as hard as you can while you remain in place.” As the Australian Gothic panel at NatCon identified, the beach can be an Australian Gothic landscape with its metaphors of liminality and dangerous depths. Tranter’s third novel covering the familiar ground of grief and loss, not only makes literary nods at the genre, such as The Yellow Wallpaper, but can be seen as part of the evolution of Australian Gothic.
To see more of my review: https://kalinapier.wordpress.com/2016...
Conrad dies in a surfing accident at Bronte three years before the story starts. In a prologue which is light-infused and redolent of sunscreen and Paddlepops, Tranter describes the liminal landscape of the beach: the sharp drop-off where paddling can turn dangerous in an instant. The sea’s currents are “stealthy hidden things that can tow you out in a matter of quick minutes, like magic, and leave you to swim as hard as you can while you remain in place.” As the Australian Gothic panel at NatCon identified, the beach can be an Australian Gothic landscape with its metaphors of liminality and dangerous depths. Tranter’s third novel covering the familiar ground of grief and loss, not only makes literary nods at the genre, such as The Yellow Wallpaper, but can be seen as part of the evolution of Australian Gothic.
To see more of my review: https://kalinapier.wordpress.com/2016...
March 17, 2017
"Three years ago, Shelley's lover, Conrad, died in a surfing accident. Now, still in a state of subdued grief, Shelley has just moved into an old Victorian terrace in Paddington with David, her new partner, trying for a new beginning."
Tranter perfectly depicts the ongoing grief following the loss of a loved one, years after the fact. This short story is gripping, with the intertwining illustration of languid emotions and a mysterious, often uninviting, hidden room. Both are depicted in a poetic and graceful writing style, which compelled me to read more. However, while I enjoyed the writing, by the end of the book I was longing more - a more concrete story line, I think.
All in all a great read.
Tranter perfectly depicts the ongoing grief following the loss of a loved one, years after the fact. This short story is gripping, with the intertwining illustration of languid emotions and a mysterious, often uninviting, hidden room. Both are depicted in a poetic and graceful writing style, which compelled me to read more. However, while I enjoyed the writing, by the end of the book I was longing more - a more concrete story line, I think.
All in all a great read.
April 28, 2016
This book didn't grip me like it did others, I skimmed sections waiting for something to happen. Appreciate the skill of the author though and will read The Legacy.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews