Into the Fire, by Sonia Orchard

Heavily pregnant with her first child, Lara visits her friend Crow and his three kids in the country. His wife and her best friend since Uni, Alice, died in a house fire a year ago. Lara goes back over their friendship in her mind, recalling how they met at University, and how their friendship changed when Alice met Crow. It is somewhat dismaying that all relationships in this book – familial, romantic and platonic – are dysfunctional and damaging. For someone who studied psychology and frequently references it, Lara seems totally unable to apply any of that knowledge to gain understanding of herself, or her family and friends. Similarly she calls herself a feminist and judges her friend for seemingly abandoning feminist principles, while demonstrating little awareness of how her own behaviour falls short. Firmly set in Melbourne, with frequent geographical references, it’s jarring to get a sudden mention of a racecourse in Sydney and the occasional clearly made up town, in what appears to be an editing fail. None of the characters are sympathetic in what is ultimately a bleak read. The big reveal at the end only reinforces the depths of Lara’s self-delusion, with no indication of how she is likely to proceed with the information and the possible insight she has gained. The only certainty is the likelihood of the damage and dysfunction continuing to another damaged generation.