The Rose Leopard

by Richard Yaxley

Vince isn't perfect, but his love for Kaz reveals the best of him. Their coastal farm is an idyllic place to raise their two children, and Kaz ensures that life is easy and full of fun. Here, Vince can indulge both his passions - for words and for his wife.But when an unexpected event shatters their contentment, Vince isn't ready for the responsibilities he must face.In creating the fable of the Rose Leopard - the most beautiful creature in the world - he tries to explain to his children a universe that doesn't always make sense."The Rose Leopard" is a compelling debut novel, a poignant and often funny tale of love, grief and the transformative power of story-telling.

Genres: Fiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2003

About the author

I write powerful and engaging stories for all age groups. My novels are:

- Leonardo Forever (Scholastic 2023)
- Harmony (Scholastic 2021)
- A New Kind of Everything (Scholastic 2020)
- The Happiness Quest (Scholastic 2018; CBCA Notable Book for Older Readers 2019)
- This Is My Song (Scholastic 2017; ACU Book Of The Year 2019; Winner of the 2018 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Young Adult Literature; Finalist in the 2017 Queensland Literary Awards; also published in the Czech Republic by Albatros Media)
- Joyous and Moonbeam (Scholastic 2013; Finalist in the 2014 West Australian Premier’s Awards for Young Adult Literature)
- Spring Rain (Self-published 2011)
- Drink the Air (Strictly Literary: Winner of the 2010 Queensland Premier’s Award for Young Adult Fiction)
- Bloodlines (Strictly Literary 2009)
- The Rose Leopard (University of Queensland Press 2003)
For further information on me and my work, go to http://richardwyaxley.com

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Rose Leopard is a debut novel that's now two decades old. The author, secondary school teacher Richard Yaxley, has gone on to have a distinguished literary career, receiving an OAM (Order of Australia) in 2011 for services to education, literature and performing arts. He writes across genres, and has won or been nominated for many awards, mainly in YA and Children's Lit. 

Yaxley has an impressive list of credits, but I didn't know about any of them when I read The Snow Leopard. It looks as if it might be Yaxley's only adult novel though he has so many books listed at Goodreads I could well be wrong about that.  The Rose Leopard is definitely not YA, there's lots of lusty sex in it, though it isn't overdone. Plus, it deals with some weighty themes.  This is the blurb:

Vince isn't perfect, but his love for Kaz reveals the best of him. Their coastal farm is an idyllic place to raise their two children, and Kaz ensures that life is easy and full of fun. Here, Vince can indulge both his passions - for words and for his wife. But when an unexpected event shatters their contentment, Vince isn't ready for the responsibilities he must face. In creating the fable of the Rose Leopard - the most beautiful creature in the world - he tries to explain to his children a universe that doesn't always make sense. The Rose Leopard is a compelling debut novel, a poignant and often funny tale of love, grief and the transformative power of story-telling.

It's not really a spoiler to say that this is a novel about a father coming to terms with the grief that overwhelms him when his beloved wife suddenly dies.  Narrated by the grieving husband, the first chapters memorialise the wife in glowing terms.  Though the marriage is later revealed to have had its 'moments', for most of the novel Kat has no flaws, and Vince's self-abasement is overt. Their exchanges, however, bring them alive as a couple and, written in a wry style, are often amusing. But reading these first few chapters in the awareness that she is soon to die, adds to the tension.

Vince's betrayals are soon revealed, and though they are commonplace they stain his memories with guilt and remorse.  In the meantime his small children, Alex and Sara a.k.a. Milo and Otis, are dealing with the loss of their mother without the support of their father.  We often read that grief is a personal experience and that there are no timelines or 'approved' ways of coping with it.  But Vince's grief crosses over into self-indulgence when he causes a scene at the burial, refuses to visit her grave with the children, neglects their physical and emotional needs and doesn't even get them back to school for some kind of relief from his self-absorption and irrational outbursts of anger.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2023/01/20/t...

[Tricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

A man loses his wife suddenly when she contracts an infection. He is left alone with two children. From his grief, he tells the children the story of the rose leopard.

The story was interesting but I found the story of the father's grief, the rose leopard story and the infidelity tale all a bit disjointed.

[Chel · Rating 2 out of 5]

First time writer - beautiful descriptions and observations. Easy to read, not much depth.
'A Home is a Temple of Togetherness'.