Overview

Beautifully capturing the emotional complexity of impending motherhood, Little Plum is a rich and vital story from a rising star in Australian fiction On the cusp of thirty, Coral learns that a thing is growing inside her body. It is not necessarily a complete disaster, she tells herself. I'm okay, she tells herself. Soon the thing inside her is the size of a plum. 'Little Plum,' she says, 'Little Plum, I love you.' And she wants to love it, the little plum. It's just that she can't yet think of it as what it is becoming- a baby, and not just a fruity morsel. Coral is tapping and shrugging more than usual. She is trying to stop the creature in her head from taking hold. Coral might not be okay-or she might be seeing more clearly than anyone. Bold, dark and sensuous, Little Plum is the stunning follow-up to the award-winning debut Cherry Beach. With skill and sensitivity, Laura McPhee-Browne takes us inside the mind of an expectant mother.

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9781922790064

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Reviews

‘I didn’t so much read Little Plum as breathe it. Laura McPhee-Browne has an extraordinary ability to summon the ordinary and fill it with such significance and beauty that one has no choice but to inhabit her novels. At once exquisite and unsettling, dark and tender, Little Plum is a triumph.’ * Hannah Kent * ‘Reading McPhee-Browne feels like listening to your own heartbeat.’ * Amanda Lohrey * ‘Little Plum draws us so lightly into the depths that we don’t know how far it’s taken us until we can’t go back. With dark insight and masterly grace, Laura McPhee-Browne reminds us that our bodies can know things we don’t, that experience can save or afflict us, and that possession can invest us with beautiful and terrible things.’ * Ronnie Scott * ‘An embodied and magical novel—so dark and earthy, colourful and frightening.’ * Ellena Savage * ‘A poetic and razor-sharp portrait of motherhood.’ * Harper’s Bazaar * ‘[Laura McPhee-Browne] does especially well [in portraying] the coexistence of…parental love with an ongoing, often frightening battle with mental illness. It is depicted not as something to fix but something to understand and live with.’ * Saturday Paper * ‘Laura McPhee-Browne’s exquisite, velvety writing creeps up on you unexpectedly…Little Plum is a deeply intimate insight into the mind of a woman who feels alone and scared.’ * Readings * ‘Little Plum is easily readable, quickly immersive, and offers a vibrant character in Coral. McPhee-Browne has deftly articulated the unique experience of becoming a parent and the vulnerability of motherhood—all without shying away from its devils.’ * Guardian Australia * ‘Crisp [and] clean…with both clear descriptions and surprising use of imagery…Vivid.’ * ABC Radio National Bookshelf * ‘A book on motherhood in all its guises…Beautiful.’ * 3RRR Literari Glitterati * ‘[Little Plum] has a rare physicality to it that one can’t help but inhabit…Earthy like stones and juicy as fruit, McPhee-Browne’s hypnotic prose is visceral, intimate and delicious…Little Plum is a tasty literary treat.’ * ArtsHub * ‘Intricate, detailed writing…[and] compassionate storytelling…A tender study of a woman whose heart and mind are desperately trying to be in the right place.’ -- Anna Spargo-Ryan * Big Issue * ‘[Laura McPhee-Browne] writes with considerable sensitivity…[Little Plum] is an empathetic, vividly realised novel.’ * West Australian * ‘Little Plum evokes with a jewel-like clarity and luminescence the process of nurturing a new life within your body and finding your consciousness transformed by it…Great skill…[McPhee-Browne] never lets us forget that pregnancy is an inside-out transformation.’ * Age * ‘McPhee-Browne, as ever, writes with distinction.’ * Australian * ‘Equal parts witty and poignant…unique…with fresh and unsettling insights.’ * Danielle Raffaele, RTRFM Bunch of Books * ‘McPhee-Browne brings a refreshing and sensitive approach to mental health…[She] keeps it real…Her use of language is impeccable; dreamy as it is precise. Likewise, the book is inventive with its structure…With exquisite detail, McPhee-Browne immerses us in Coral’s mind and behaviours…Little Plum adds itself to the pantheon of novels that explore the ambiguities of the mother–daughter relationship. Reflected in myriad cultural reckonings, from the pomegranate, to the apple, to this book’s little plum, the relentless cycle of birth–death–renewal, love–loss–growth is shown as inescapable.’ * Meanjin * ‘A deeply moving account of living with anxiety and motherhood.’ * Nicole Abadee, Age * ‘Richly sensuous…Demonstrates the power of fiction to slice open the quotidian.’ * Megan Cheong, Kill Your Darlings *

'I didn't so much read Little Plum as breathe it. Laura McPhee-Browne has an extraordinary ability to summon the ordinary and fill it with such significance and beauty that one has no choice but to inhabit her novels. At once exquisite and unsettling, dark and tender, Little Plum is a triumph.' * Hannah Kent * 'Reading McPhee-Browne feels like listening to your own heartbeat.' * Amanda Lohrey * 'Little Plum draws us so lightly into the depths that we don't know how far it's taken us until we can't go back. With dark insight and masterly grace, Laura McPhee-Browne reminds us that our bodies can know things we don't, that experience can save or afflict us, and that possession can invest us with beautiful and terrible things.' * Ronnie Scott * 'An embodied and magical novel-so dark and earthy, colourful and frightening.' * Ellena Savage * 'A poetic and razor-sharp portrait of motherhood.' * Harper's Bazaar * '[Laura McPhee-Browne] does especially well [in portraying] the coexistence of...parental love with an ongoing, often frightening battle with mental illness. It is depicted not as something to fix but something to understand and live with.' * Saturday Paper * 'Laura McPhee-Browne's exquisite, velvety writing creeps up on you unexpectedly...Little Plum is a deeply intimate insight into the mind of a woman who feels alone and scared.' * Readings * 'Little Plum is easily readable, quickly immersive, and offers a vibrant character in Coral. McPhee-Browne has deftly articulated the unique experience of becoming a parent and the vulnerability of motherhood-all without shying away from its devils.' * Guardian Australia * 'Crisp [and] clean...with both clear descriptions and surprising use of imagery...Vivid.' * ABC Radio National Bookshelf * 'A book on motherhood in all its guises...Beautiful.' * 3RRR Literari Glitterati *

'I didn't so much read Little Plum as breathe it. Laura McPhee-Browne has an extraordinary ability to summon the ordinary and fill it with such significance and beauty that one has no choice but to inhabit her novels. At once exquisite and unsettling, dark and tender, Little Plum is a triumph.' * Hannah Kent * 'Reading McPhee-Browne feels like listening to your own heartbeat.' * Amanda Lohrey * 'Little Plum draws us so lightly into the depths that we don't know how far it's taken us until we can't go back. With dark insight and masterly grace, Laura McPhee-Browne reminds us that our bodies can know things we don't, that experience can save or afflict us, and that possession can invest us with beautiful and terrible things.' * Ronnie Scott * 'An embodied and magical novel-so dark and earthy, colourful and frightening.' * Ellena Savage * 'Ness's voice is melancholy and distinct, and her experiences of sexual explorations are delicately and honestly portrayed. McPhee-Browne immerses the reader in the experience of awkward emotional growth with great tenderness and insight. At its core, Cherry Beach is a compelling examination of love and loss in all their guises.' -- Australian Book Review on Cherry Beach 'The debut of Melbourne-based Laura McPhee-Browne is a poetic, languid, melancholic and sensitive meditation on trying to carve your own path in that liminal period between the freedom of childhood and the responsibilities of adulthood.' -- Age on Cherry Beach 'Cherry Beach is a tender and bruising coming-of-age novel. McPhee-Browne's writing is both poetic and economical, finely attuned to the exhilaration and doom of youth, unfamiliar cities and new relationships.' -- Jennifer Down on Cherry Beach 'Cherry Beach, an impressive debut from Melbourne author Laura McPhee-Browne, is not afraid to present unadulterated queer womanhood in a manner Australian audiences may not often encounter in their local fiction...Lusciously evocative prose...Another queer woman hero to add to the slim but beloved catalogue scrounged from Australian literature's meagre offerings.' -- Meanjin on Cherry Beach 'For Rooney-lovers who are looking for something tender and heartfelt, Cherry Beach is the book for you.' -- Readings on Cherry Beach 'This quiet, precise novel reaches deep into the recesses of female friendship and finds it wanting...Tying everything together is McPhee-Browne's exacting language, which is clear and clean but also evocatively decadent.' -- Saturday Paper on Cherry Beach

'I didn't so much read Little Plum as breathe it. Laura McPhee-Browne has an extraordinary ability to summon the ordinary and fill it with such significance and beauty that one has no choice but to inhabit her novels. At once exquisite and unsettling, dark and tender, Little Plum is a triumph.' * Hannah Kent * 'Reading McPhee-Browne feels like listening to your own heartbeat.' * Amanda Lohrey * 'Little Plum draws us so lightly into the depths that we don't know how far it's taken us until we can't go back. With dark insight and masterly grace, Laura McPhee-Browne reminds us that our bodies can know things we don't, that experience can save or afflict us, and that possession can invest us with beautiful and terrible things.' * Ronnie Scott * 'An embodied and magical novel-so dark and earthy, colourful and frightening.' * Ellena Savage * 'A poetic and razor-sharp portrait of motherhood.' * Harper's Bazaar * '[Laura McPhee-Browne] does especially well [in portraying] the coexistence of...parental love with an ongoing, often frightening battle with mental illness. It is depicted not as something to fix but something to understand and live with.' * Saturday Paper * 'Laura McPhee-Browne's exquisite, velvety writing creeps up on you unexpectedly...Little Plum is a deeply intimate insight into the mind of a woman who feels alone and scared.' * Readings * 'Little Plum is easily readable, quickly immersive, and offers a vibrant character in Coral. McPhee-Browne has deftly articulated the unique experience of becoming a parent and the vulnerability of motherhood-all without shying away from its devils.' * Guardian Australia * 'Crisp [and] clean...with both clear descriptions and surprising use of imagery...Vivid.' * ABC Radio National Bookshelf * 'A book on motherhood in all its guises...Beautiful.' * 3RRR Literari Glitterati * '[Little Plum] has a rare physicality to it that one can't help but inhabit...Earthy like stones and juicy as fruit, McPhee-Browne's hypnotic prose is visceral, intimate and delicious...Little Plum is a tasty literary treat.' * ArtsHub * 'Intricate, detailed writing...[and] compassionate storytelling...A tender study of a woman whose heart and mind are desperately trying to be in the right place.' -- Anna Spargo-Ryan * Big Issue * '[Laura McPhee-Browne] writes with considerable sensitivity...[Little Plum] is an empathetic, vividly realised novel.' * West Australian * 'Little Plum evokes with a jewel-like clarity and luminescence the process of nurturing a new life within your body and finding your consciousness transformed by it...Great skill...[McPhee-Browne] never lets us forget that pregnancy is an inside-out transformation.' * Age * 'McPhee-Browne, as ever, writes with distinction.' * Australian *

Author Information

Laura McPhee-Browne is a writer and social worker living in Melbourne, on Wurundjeri land. Her short stories have been published widely in Australia. Cherry Beach (2020), her first novel, won a NSW Premier's Literary Award.

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