Matryoshka

The award-winning author of The Better Son is back with Matryoshka - a beautifully written and haunting tale of family, secrets, violence and refuge, set against the breathtaking backdrop of Tasmania.<br> <br> When Sara Rose returns to live in her recently deceased grandmother&amp;rsquo;s Tasmanian cottage, her past and that of her mother and grandmother is ever-present. Sara&amp;rsquo;s grandmother, Nina Barsova, a Russian post-war immigrant, lovingly raised Sara in the cottage at the foot of Mt Wellington but without ever explaining why Sara&amp;rsquo;s own mother, Helena, abandoned her as a baby.<br> <br> Sara, a geneticist, also longs to know the identity of her father, and Helena won&amp;rsquo;t tell her. Now, estranged not only from her mother, but also from her husband, Sara raises her daughter, Ellie, with a central wish to spare her the same feeling of abandonment that she experienced as a child.<br> <br> When Sara meets an Afghani refugee separated from his beloved wife and family, she decides to try to repair relations with Helena - but when a lie told by her grandmother years before begins to unravel, a darker truth than she could ever imagine is revealed.<br> <br> Matryoshka is a haunting and beautifully written story about the power of maternal love, and the danger of secrets passed down through generations.<br> <br>