Charlotte and her Anglo-Indian husband, Henry, are living in a cold, damp cottage on the outskirts of Cambridge in 1963. Charlotte, once a promising painter, is now a full-time mother battling postnatal depression. When Charlotte discovers she’s pregnant with their second child, Henry proposes a move to Australia. Life in Perth transpires not to be the utopia Henry and Charlotte had hoped for. The heat is “momentous”, Henry is subject to casual racism, and Charlotte discovers that her new life exacerbates her feelings of despair.
As a portrayal of the claustrophobia of motherhood, and of cultural and geographical dislocation, The Other Side of the World is an insightful, exquisitely observed novel. Bishop is a talented and intelligent storyteller with a masterful command of language, and The Other Side of the World deserves to make many a book prize shortlist.
The Other Side of the World is published by Headline (£16.99). Click here to order it for £13.59
