Reviewed by Wendy Lipke
Maya Linnell is among a small group of Australian women writers who make the reader feel, when reading their books, as if they are visiting relatives in a small country town. These communities contain amazing and inspiring everyday people within them. Yet at the same time there are jealousies and the problem of everyone in a small town knowing your family history. Any mistakes or bad decisions are there for all to see and be remembered.
A webpage owned and operated by Allen & Unwin publishers, called Fiction with Heart recognises the authors who provide heartwarming tales from the countryside.
In the latest book by Maya Linnell, set in South Australia, love blooms for middle aged Maggie, named for the magnolia flowering tree. Married young with two children, one still at school, Maggie runs her own cattle property while ex-husband runs a crayfish enterprise nearby. While their son is now more independent, seventeen-year-old Isabelle is still at school and Maggie is trying her hardest to keep her there.
Arriving at this part of the country is Scottish winemaker, Fergus Abernathy. When their paths cross, over a pink refrigerator, interest is aroused. However, their path to happiness together is fraught with hurdles.
Like all novels written by these female writers the environment is important. It is obvious that Maya Linnell knows a lot about and loves rural Australia. The titles of all her books attest to this. These include Wallaby Lane, Bottlebrush Creek, Magpie Bend and Kookaburra Cottage which gets a mention in this latest book, Cockatoo Cove. It was in the Kookaburra Cottage story that readers first meet the red-headed Scotsman, Fergus Abernathy.
Several topics are addressed throughout this read. Maggie’s unmarried sister is relying on IVF for her family; false websites and scams cause stress; and the relationship between parents and their children is problematic. Maggie and Isobelle are often clashing at this stage of their lives. Fergus has been thrown in the deep end, not having come to parenthood gradually. It is interesting to watch them work through their problems.
Fergus is also having issues with his father in Scotland when revealing that he has a fourteen-year-old son who now needs his help. His foray into fatherhood is refreshing to read especially when he feels pitted against a familiar seemingly wealthy uncle. Although strong willed determined personalities are often successful people, they are not easy to live with. Things aren’t always as they seem, and assumptions can be different from reality.
All of these situations are quite plausible, and the reader cannot but help like the main characters in this story as they overcome their challenges through their own common sense. Of course, no novel would be complete without those who like to bad-mouth others or talk big to boost their own image, but they are easily seen for what they are although the younger people must learn this themselves.
I thoroughly enjoy reading these books for their beautiful descriptions of the landscape and their inspiring characters. I could almost imagine myself being invited into their circle of friends.
Cockatoo Cove
(2025)
by Maya Linnell
Allen & Unwin
ISBN:978-1-76106-962-8
$32.99;400pp