Too Much Lip, by Melissa Lucashenko

Riding into the piss-poor northern New South Wales town of Durrongo on a hot Harley, Kerry Salter plans to pay her respects to her dying pop and get out of Dodge asap. Grieving the break-up from her girlfriend, who is in gaol in Brisbane, Kerry has to navigate her tricky family while dealing with the town’s shonky mayor/real estate developer. Her religious mother Pretty Mary, alcoholic brother Ken and anorexic nephew Donny don’t make it easy, while an encounter with her high school crush Steve makes her question her sexuality. Melissa Lucashenko brings to life a family on the fringe of society and the law, making them real and comprehensible, funny and tragic. Culture and history informs the narrative but never bogs it down, rather illuminating the very real impact of generational trauma on the practical reality of modern life. The writing is very visual and it would be easy to see it made into a three or four-part TV series. Equally entertaining and informative, with a flawed heroine who is totally relatable, it is no wonder this novel has reaped awards.