The bush gothic of Barbara Baynton shapes the world of this promising first novel from Penelope Sell. The Secret Burial deals with the brutal coming of age of fifteen-year-old Elise. The setting is a harsh, drought-stricken rural environment where people, fauna and the environment are barely surviving. Elise is catapulted into adulthood by the accidental death of her alcoholic mother, Lizzie, who electrocutes herself when drunkenly trying to repair the washing machine. Afraid that she and her younger brother, Jeremy, will be separated, Elise asks her old neigh-bour, Isaac, to help her bury her mother and tell no one.
The Secret Burial by Penelope Sell
Flamingo, $21.95 pb, 251 pp
The Alphabet of Light and Dark by Danielle Wood
Allen & Unwin, $21.95 pb, 359 pp
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