Kokomo

(Paperback)

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Description

'It does not disappoint.' - The Guardian

When Mina receives an urgent call from her best friend back in Melbourne, her world is turned upside down. Her reclusive mother, Elaine, has left the house for the first time in twelve years.

Mina drops everything to fly home, only to discover that Elaine will not talk about her sudden return to the world, nor why she's spent so much time hiding from it. Their reunion leaves Mina raking through pieces of their painful past in a bid to uncover the truth.

Both tender and fierce, heartbreaking and funny, Kokomo is a story about how secrets and love have the power to bring us together and tear us apart.

'A timely song of secrets, sex and the meaning of love' - Sydney Morning Herald

'A coming-of-age novel for the Peter Pan generation, Kokomo juggles the dissatisfactions of sex, marriage, and corporate ambition with deceptive lightness and radiant empathy. Reading this book felt like drinking with friends in a cozy pub until last call; I emerged from it shiny-faced, unbothered by the cold, wanting more.' - Laura Elizabeth Woollett, author of THE LOVE OF A BAD MAN and BEAUTIFUL REVOLUTIONARY

'This is a book that gets right into your body. It makes you laugh, makes you think, but it doesn't stop there - it plays with your heart and leaves it different. This is smart, raw, tender fiction that feels as real as life.' - Ronnie Scott, author of THE ADVERSARY

'Graceful and raw, this is a remarkable study of the forces of desire and regret. Hannan is both acute witness and masterful reporter of love in all its faulty and essential shapes. Kokomo dazzles, pierces, and stays.' - Robert Lukins, author of THE EVERLASTING SUNDAY

'I can't remember being so excited by a debut novel. Kokomo is a delight, a book I wanted to finish in a greedy rush but one I also wanted to savour. It's so full of life, on each page there are tiny moments of delight, irreverence, tenderness. Kokomo is the Australian response to Normal People, this is Monkey Grip for the new generation of readers. This book will be read and cherished by many, and Victoria Hannan is a name we will see a great deal more in the future.' - J.P. Pomare, author of CALL ME EVIE and IN THE CLEARING

Reviews

Kokomo is a beautiful, muscular work - in which Hannan refuses to flinch, to look away, to soften things. Scenes from Kokomo are so uncomfortably familiar - crackling with longing, boredom, love, hurt and hope. - Alice Bishop, author of A CONSTANT HUM

An intricate, glittering gem. One of the best debuts in years. - Mark Brandi, author of WIMMERA and THE RIP

Kokomo is unexpected and incredible storytelling. Crystalline, genuine, heartbreaking and powerful. - Sarah Schmidt, author of SEE WHAT I HAVE DONE

With its many shifts in time and focus, Kokomo is difficult to summarise but Hannan pieces together the story of these two families with clarity, grace and a handle on structure that is rare in a debut novel. This superbly written book will appeal to readers of Zadie Smith and Jennifer Down. - Books + Publishing

A remarkably accomplished debut novel - Herald Sun

Her originality took my breath away... - Newtown Review of Books

Author Bio

Victoria Hannan is a writer and photographer living on Wurundjeri land. Her first novel, Kokomo, won the 2019 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript.