The Emporium of the Imagination, by Tabitha Bird

The emporium is a shop that magically appears in the place it needs to be for as long as it is needed by the community. It has a custodian, Earlatidge Hubert Umbray, who is nearing the end of his 10-year term and must find a replacement. The shop has fetched up in regional Queensland and he must also identify a local shopkeeper, who will help the townsfolk find what they need. The novel seems to have the admirable goal of assisting people feel their grief and move on from death, disaster and tragedy. The means used involve a brand of self-conscious magical realism, with an interesting, if derivative, idea, poorly executed. There are many plot holes that are not adequately filled by magic, among a confused melange of ghosts and disasters. Characters are not well realised and the whole is vaguely unsatisfying.