The Labyrinth (Lohrey novel)
{{Short description|Novel by Australian writer Amanda Lohrey}}
{{Use Australian English|date=June 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox book|
| name = The Labyrinth
| title_orig =
| translator =
| image = File:The_Labyrinth_(Lohrey_novel).jpg
| caption =
| author = Amanda Lohrey
| cover_artist =
| country = Australia
| language = English
| series =
| genre = Fiction
| publisher = Text Publishing
| release_date = 2020
| media_type = Print
| pages = 256 pp
| isbn =
| preceded_by = A Short History of Richard Kline
| followed_by =
}}
The Labyrinth (2020) is a novel by Australian writer Amanda Lohrey.{{cite web|title= The Labyrinth |publisher= Austlit|url= https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/19549506|accessdate= 20 June 2023}}{{Citation | author1=Lamond, Julieanne | title=A Mad Resistance [Review of The Labyrinth] | publication-date=2023-05-23 | publisher=Writing and Society Research Centre | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/253866022 | access-date=20 June 2023}}{{Citation | author1=Scerri, Jane (S34391) | title=Amanda Lohrey - The Labyrinth, Melbourne: The Text Publishing Company, 2020, (pp. 256), ISB: 9781922330109 | publication-date=2021 | publisher=Penrith, N.S.W., Western Sydney University | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/248623743 | access-date=20 June 2023}}
It won the 2021 Miles Franklin Award,{{cite web|title= Miles Franklin Literary Award won by Tasmanian author Amanda Lohrey for The Labyrinth |publisher= ABCNews|url= https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-15/miles-franklin-literary-award-tasmania-author-amanda-lohrey/100293360|accessdate= 20 June 2023}}{{Citation | title=Amanda Lohrey wins the Miles Franklin Literary Award | publication-date=1000 | publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/247962897 | access-date=20 June 2023}} the 2021 Voss Literary Prize,{{Cite web|last=|date=2021-12-15|title=Lohrey wins 2021 Voss Literary Prize|url=https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2021/12/15/207826/lohrey-wins-2021-voss-literary-prize/|url-status=live|access-date=20 June 2023|website=Books+Publishing|language=en-AU|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211215025443/https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2021/12/15/207826/lohrey-wins-2021-voss-literary-prize/ |archive-date=15 December 2021 }} and the 2021 Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction.{{Cite web|last=|date=2021-12-15|title=PMLA 2021 winners announced|url=https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2021/12/15/207378/pmla-2021-winners-announced/|url-status=live|access-date=20 June 2023|website=Books+Publishing|language=en-AU|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214225032/https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2021/12/15/207378/pmla-2021-winners-announced/ |archive-date=14 December 2021 }}
Abstract
"Erica Marsden’s son, an artist, has been imprisoned for homicidal negligence. In a state of grief, Erica cuts off all ties to family and friends, and retreats to a quiet hamlet on the south-east coast near the prison where he is serving his sentence.
"There, in a rundown shack, she obsesses over creating a labyrinth by the ocean. To build it—to find a way out of her quandary—Erica will need the help of strangers. And that will require her to trust, and to reckon with her past.
"The Labyrinth is a hypnotic story of guilt and denial, of the fraught relationship between parents and children, that is also a meditation on how art can both be ruthlessly destructive and restore sanity. It shows Amanda Lohrey to be at the peak of her powers." (Publication summary)
Critical reception
Linda Godfrey, in The Newtown Review of Books, noted: "The subtitle of the book is ‘a pastoral’, indicating that Erica is moving to the country to seek a simpler life. Though we don't know what her recent life in the city was like, she carries with her a history that she hopes to assuage by living in a small town, close to nature, and building her labyrinth."{{cite web|title= AMANDA LOHREY The Labyrinth: A pastoral. Reviewed by Linda Godfrey |publisher= Newtown Review of Books|url= https://newtownreviewofbooks.com.au/amanda-lohrey-the-labyrinth-a-pastoral-reviewed-by-linda-godfrey/|accessdate= 20 June 2023}}
In The Guardian, Jen Webb wrote: "A labyrinth is a powerful trope, and here it drives not only the narrative and Erica herself, but also a range of possibilities of meaning for the various characters with whom her life becomes intertwined. Though she had intended to isolate herself, the forces of kindness capture her and, gradually, she connects with those around her."{{cite web|title= The saddest of stories, beautifully told: a guide to the Miles Franklin 2021 shortlist |publisher= The Guardian|url= https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jul/15/the-saddest-of-stories-beautifully-told-a-guide-to-the-miles-franklin-2021-shortlist|accessdate= 20 June 2023}}
Morag Fraser, reviewing the novel for the Australian Book Review, noted that Liberty introduced fundamental patterns both in nature and in family life. Whereas the novel clearly has a story — Erica builds a labyrinth and recruits a stonemason, Yurok, to help her — Lohrey does not pass judgements, presenting Erica as an observer and learner, and most characters as open. {{cite news |last1=Fraser |first1=Morag |authorlink=Morag Fraser |title=The Labyrinth by Amanda Lohrey |url=https://www.australianbookreview.com.au/abr-online/archive/2020/september-2020-no-424/852-september-2020-no-424/6744-morag-fraser-reviews-the-labyrinth-by-amanda-lohrey |work=Australian Book Review |issue=424 |date=September 2020}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Miles Franklin Award}}
{{Prime Minister's Literary Award – Fiction}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Labyrinth, The}}
Category:2020 Australian novels