Like a House on Fire

WINNER OF THE 2013 STEELE RUDD AWARD, QUEENSLAND LITERARY AWARDS

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2013 STELLA PRIZE

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2013 KIBBLE AWARD

From prize-winning short-story writer Cate Kennedy comes a new collection to rival her highly acclaimed Dark Roots. In Like a House on Fire, Kennedy once again takes ordinary lives and dissects their ironies, injustices and pleasures with her humane eye and wry sense of humour. In ‘Laminex and Mirrors’, a young woman working as a cleaner in a hospital helps an elderly patient defy doctor’s orders. In ‘Cross-Country’, a jilted lover manages to misinterpret her ex’s new life. And in ‘Ashes’, a son accompanies his mother on a journey to scatter his father’s remains, while lifelong resentments simmer in the background. Cate Kennedy’s poignant short stories find the beauty and tragedy in illness and mortality, life and love.

PRAISE FOR CATE KENNEDY

‘This is a heartfelt and moving collection of short stories that cuts right to the emotional centre of everyday life.’ Bookseller and Publisher

‘Cate Kennedy is a singular artist who looks to the ordinary in a small rural community and is particularly astute on exploring the fallout left by the aftermath of the personal disasters that change everything.’ The Irish Times