Wild Chicory

From Ireland to Australia, an immigrant's tale of love, war, and the unbreakable bonds of family.

Praise for Wild Chicory:

'It is uplifting to know that there are people who can write like this, with clarity, a bit of devilment and a hint of a smile. The story is a simple one, but told in a way that keeps you reading as much for the elegance of the telling as for the action it describes. Here is prose with a light, sunny breeze blowing through it… Why can't more people write like this? A little gem.' – The Age

'colourful, evocative and energetic' – Sydney Morning Herald

'Kim Kelly's Wild Chicory is told with wit, warmth and courage. It's an ode to the splendour to be found in a simple life and the hope for something better, even if you must risk everything to achieve it.' – Newtown Review of Books

Wild Chicory is a novella that takes the reader on an immigrant journey from Ireland to Australia in the early 1900s, along threads of love, family, war and peace. It's a slice of ordinary life rich in history, folklore and fairy tale, and a portrait of the precious relationship between a granddaughter, Brigid, and her grandmother, Nell.

From the windswept, emerald coast of County Kerry, to the slums of Sydney's Surry Hills; and from the bitter sectarian violence of Ulster, to tranquillity of rural New South Wales, Brigid weaves her grandmother's tales into a small but beautiful epic of romance and tragedy, of laughter and the cold reality of loss. It's Nell's tales, tall and true, that spur Brigid to write her own, too.

Ultimately, it's a story of finding your feet in a new land – be that a new country, or a new emotional space – and the wonderful trove of narrative we carry with us wherever we might go.