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Adrian Caesar
Casualties of Love
Josie Young wants a life of her own. It is 2012. She is almost
forty, restless, searching, dissatisfied. She has no partner and
no passion for her job. Her spare time is dominated by caring
for her beloved father and grandmother who are both struggling.
While cleaning out her grandmother’s house, Josie makes a
discovery about her long-dead grandfather, Will Young, that
mystifies her and prompts her to investigate…
In 1943, Will has survived fighting in the Middle East and on the
Kokoda Track. In Sydney on leave, he meets an attractive older
woman, Gwen, whose husband is a prisoner of the Japanese. Will
and Gwen engage in an ardent affair, though the couple face an
uncertain future and agonising decisions.
As Josie’s research into Will’s life leads her into a tangled story of
secrets and deception, she must confront moral dilemmas and
navigate difficult paths of her own. Th rough her experiences
of love, loss, and the inter-generational legacies of war, Josie is
propelled in new directions.
Casualties of Love is a passionate and moving story of memory,
war and impossible choices. Together with A Winter Sowing and The Blessing
it forms a loose trilogy featuring several generations of the Young family.
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A Winter Sowing
'It's not like that, Josie. I can't tell you anything. I've got nothing to say.'
'Well, neither have I then,' she shouts at him as she heads for the door.
'Don't go. Don't leave like this.'
But it's too late. She's through the door and slams it behind her...
David Young is a divorced Vietnam veteran, an artist and a gardener. He is trying to come to terms with the trauma of war through his painting. With every brush - stroke he seeks to transform the moments of brutality, the memories of violence that plague his nights and haunt his days. At the same time he is trying to manage a fractious relationship with his feisty sixteen-year-old daughter, Josie. When a single mum and her son move in next door, further complications enter David's life. As he tries to find a way forward, Josie enters a downward spiral. David believes his trauma is becoming hers. When his daughter's life threatens to spiral out of control, he must do everything he can to save her . . .
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A Winter Sowing is a moving exploration of a father's quest for redemption through art and love.
The Blessing was long-listed for the Voss Literary Award, 2016.
The Blessing
Whose side are you on? Where does your loyalty lie? Belfast, 1912. Jack Young joins the mass rally to sign the Covenant pledging Ulster Protestants to oppose Home Rule by any means possible. But he has a guilty secret. He is in love with a Catholic girl, Kathleen McCafferty, who is carrying his child. Public and private loyalties collide, dividing Jack and Kathleen, but their feelings for each other remain strong. After years of separation in which both become entangled in the political struggle and Jack survives the First World War, they find each other again. But troubles are brewing in Belfast and their love is once again threatened by sectarian violence...
In a love affair divided by battlegrounds at home and abroad, can a priest's words make a difference or will guns do the talking?
Praise For The Blessing:
‘
All the characters – and this is a major achievement – are brilliantly observed and remain clear and strong and individual in the mind; the voice is utterly authentic throughout; the pacing and tension are extraordinary; there was never a moment when I felt the quality or pace was misplaced or slackened off…The Blessing is the most satisfying and enthralling novel I’ve read in a long time’
– Alex Miller
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‘The prose has simplicity, at times a limpidity, which give it a transparency through which its complex meanings can shine out. There’s no sense of striving for effect, it is simply a pleasure to read. The Blessing is a book that has us compulsively turning its pages at the same time as it makes us want not to finish it too soon’
– Marion Halligan AM
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‘. . . there is more in these 300 pages than you will find in many books of twice the length. The author has managed an entirely believable story in prose that is polished and engrossing.’
-- Frank O’Shea in the Irish Echo
‘. . . his story telling gifts often shine . . .’
-- Owen Richardson in Sydney Morning Herald
