I held off reading this one as I had heard of it's difficult subject matter and whilst it is difficult, I shouldn't have worried as much as I did.

Set in the luscious surrounds of the Grampians beginning in the 1950's with a horrendous act of grooming and spans approximately forty years before ending in heartbreak. Lawrence is a clever and talented young boy who loves his younger brother and pines for the father he hardly knew. When his uncle comes to stay with their family he begins to revere this sudden male presence he's craved for so long. As unspeakable events begin to unfold Lawrence is changed. He develops a stutter, he loses the boy he was and develops mechanisms to cope that only he is understanding of. There are still glimpses of the brilliance in Lawrence as he develops as an artist devoting his life to the one outlet that gives him respite.

Whilst this was a terribly tough book to read, more so it forced me to sit with the discomfort I found within myself as the story and Lawrence's life developed. Yes the events that Lawrence faced were abhorrent, what I found even more confronting was the behaviour of the people surrounding him. In my eyes these characters are a reflection of society and the sheer lack of understanding we have as a community for abused children. These children who as they develop into adults retain their childlike comprehension of the world, who are trying to grasp what happened to them and why, trying to process their shame and reclusion; because whilst their bodies may age, their minds clearly remain at an age they cannot surpass. Lawrence was a boy who needed help who never received any which is the most shameful part of all.