Undertow

by Nicole Lobry De Bruyn

Cat (short for Catrina) narrates this intensely pleasurable novel of strength, humour and warmth. She has one mother, one father, one sister and one dog. Moving seamlessly in time between the late seventies and the nineties, Cat tells of her family, their griefs and secrets and their amazing, wonderful times. And particularly of one family holiday that changed everything. Undertow is about infidelity, dependence, sorrow, and finding the parts of ourselves that make us whole.

Paperback

First published March 1, 2001

Reviews

[Sarah Thornton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Goodreads description of this book is incorrect.
It's very Perth, with some excellent lines. Ended abruptly, sometimes difficult to tell if it's the 70's or 90's, and the protagonist calling their parents by their first names threw me for the first 20 or so pages.
It's gritty and real, and I was disappointed we didn't meet Sophie.

[Jillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took me down memory lane, to my childhood in the hot claustrophobia that was Perth in the 1970s. Cat’s observations of a marriage in trouble and a straitjacketed mother caught in a web of expectations are vivid and perceptive. It ended a bit abruptly and I was disappointed that we didn’t meet Sophie, but it was a beautiful read.