The Strays

‘Remarkable first novel... vividly written, almost painterly’ The New York Times Book ReviewOn her first day at a new school, Lily befriends one of the daughters of infamous painter Evan Trentham. He and his wife are trying to escape the conservatism of 1930s Australia by inviting other like-minded artists to live at their home. Lily becomes infatuated with this wild, bohemian lifestyle and longs to truly be a part of the family. But as the years pass, Lily observes the way the lives of these artists come to reflect their art. Yet it’s not Evan, but his own daughters, who pay the price for his radicalism. Almost 30 years later, Lily contemplates the ordinary path her own life took, how she has played it safe, but does freedom come at a cost? Shortlisted for the HWA Debut Crown 2017 Winner of the Stella Prize 2015 Winner of the Tina Kane Emergent Writers Award University of Canberra ‘Book of the Year’ 2016 Longlisted for the Dublin IMPAC Literary Award Shortlisted for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript Shortlised for the Dobbie Literary Award Shortlisted for the Indie Book Award for Debut Fiction Shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Prize for New Writing Shortlisted for an Amazon Rising Star Award Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction ‘Academy Recommends’ Read ‘Full of lush, mesmerizing detail’ The New Yorker ‘Emily Bitto writes so well about art, childhood, infatuation, loneliness--you name it. The Strays is a knowing novel, and beautifully done.’ Meg Wolitzer, author of The Interestings ‘An immensely pleasurable read.’ Bookseller + Publisher ‘Emily Bitto has written a very stylish and enjoyable debut novel.’ The Sunday Mail ‘A marvellously accomplished and assured debut... Rich in atmosphere and beautifully observed.’ Caroline Baum, Booktopia

About the Author :
Emily co-owns a wine bar in Carlton, Melbourne, called Heartattack and Vine, which she opened with her partner and two other friends in October 2014. She was previously employed for several years as a sessional lecturer and supervisor in the Creative Writing Programs at both the University of Melbourne and Victoria University. The Strays is her debut novel. Follow Emily on Twitter @emilybitto

Review :
'This is a beautifully written novel: intelligent, lyrical and wondrous. Bitto is an elegant writer who knows how to sustain suspense.' 'Poetic, richly visual and faultlessly judged in terms of pace, character and atmosphere, this is writing that has the rich patina of an enduring classic. A stylish and mature addition to the rites of passage, coming-of-age genre.' 'The writing is exquisite, rich in imagery and atmosphere, yet never losing the narrative drive. One to keep.' 'Treating this novel as a historical fiction risks missing some of its breadth of insight. The Strays is an eloquent portrayal of the damage caused by self-absorption as well as a moving study of isolation.' 'You could lift out any sentence in The Strays and admire the sheer artistry of its melody and composition. What's especially wonderful about Bitto's literary novel is the story never feels weighed down by style. It's an immensely pleasurable read.' 'Bitto writes beautifully, her prose supple and satisfying, her insights and extended metaphors worth lingering over. Of particular note are her characters' perceptive comments on art and her visceral understanding of the only child's ever-unrequited hunger for inclusion - an inclusion that always falls short of the familial, however vexed or careless that familial connection may appear.' 'Emily Bitto has written a very stylish and enjoyable debut novel.' 'With a skilful use of perspective and memory, and a dual adult-child point of view, Bitto reaches far beyond the well-documented narratives and myths of the Heide players to widen and enrich the notion of the artist as mad or bad or eccentric.' 'The Strays is an enticing story of deep, girlhood friendship gone wrong, and of the probability that all will not end well when a set of strong minds is thrown together under one roof and jealousy abounds. This is also a clever tale with more than one surprising twist at its heart.' 'The Strays deftly weaves together the past and the present in a compelling exploration of belonging, loyalty and ambition.' 'The Strays is a perfectly crafted novel… an immediately engaging and tender story taking hold of the reader from the first pages. Emily Bitto is without doubt a writer to remember and follow in the future.' 'Bitto has a deep interest in the transformative power of memory, in how life's chaos is shaped into story, its each retelling laying down a fresh stratum of personal and cultural meaning. The Strays has the earthy feel of what David Malouf calls the most exotic place - the one we grew up in.' 'Emily Bitto's debut novel, The Strays, is a compulsively readable story of… parental narcissism and female friendship.' 'One of the most highly anticipated debuts of 2014… it certainly lives up to the hype.' '…told with impressive intensity… the strong bonds, bleak outcomes and moral struggles of its central female characters give The Strays its substance.' 'The Strays is, basically, a terrific novel and I was certainly captured by it from the very beginning. Vladimir Nabokov famously noted that good novels needed to entertain the reader, to educate the reader and to enchant the reader - but of all these qualities, enchantment is the most crucial of them all and The Strays was as enchanting for me as the Trentham Family is for Lily.' 'Another favourite this year was The Strays… Emily Bitto's hugely impressive first novel. The long central section, a meditation on family and friendship set in the 1930s Melbourne art scene, is magical. Bitto creates a world so densely imagined that it seems not just real but part of the reader's own past - and she does it in lovely prose.' 'Emily Bitto writes so well about art, childhood, infatuation, loneliness--you name it. The Strays is a knowing novel, and beautifully done.' 'Remarkable first novel... vividly written, almost painterly' '…full of lush, mesmerizing detail'