Tussock

Elizabeth Pulford (author)

Walker Books, Australia: 2010; 185pp

ISBN: 9781921529450

Genres: realistic fiction

Issues: family, grief, relationships, trust

Kate, her younger sister, Madeline and their mother sit in their farmhouse, hearts leaping with hope every time the phone rings, expecting news of a missing man.

Every night Kate lights the lamp in the old tin hut on the hill high above the beach, surrounded by tussock grass and with a view to the horizon. The tin hut is her private place but it is there that she first meets the mysterious and secretive Troy. Kate might be looking for her father but Troy is hiding from his. Two very different teenagers from two very different families, both teenagers at a turning point in their lives. Is there room for friendship in the midst of so much pain?

Elizabeth Pulford is an experienced writer. Tussock is a deceptively simple narrative, capturing a few brief days in the lives of her characters. The intensity of those days, the agonizing, creeping slowness of every hour, the distortion of time that grief can cause is embedded in every paragraph, as is the terrible, unexpected swiftness with which life-changing events occur. While this is a novel about relationships, its underlying theme is change – and choices. Through her character's behavior, Pulford encourages her readers to consider the subtle difference between response and reaction – and to be aware that, as with the pebble in the pond, even small choices can have wide-ranging effects.