Beneath the Wild Fig Tree

Between a wild fig tree and an island, life is a beautifully messy entangled thing

A family arrives in Tasmania, torn between making it a home or moving on, but it’s more than just charisma and charm that has them heading north east to an island raucous with birdlife, unexpected colour and intensity.

For Wheeler it’s all about freedom and the sea. Freya is engrossed with the past and Nicky takes solace in nature. Migrating birds are not the only arrivals. Some visitors are welcome but others add to the tension, because beneath everyday appearances there runs a fast, dark river full of secrets and promises, betrayals and lies and while the great unravelling begins with a leaf slowly falling in 1984, might a phone call in 2000 bring hope or finality?

Beneath the Wild Fig Tree interweaves these two years into a kaleidoscopic family drama that explores the complexities of relationships, coming of age, self-discovery, grief, happiness, and the luminosity of the natural world. It’s a novel that will appeal to readers who enjoy strong characters, a hint of intrigue, the tang of the ocean and a vibrant sense of place.

Are you ready to come on a journey to a part of the world far off the beaten track? The route is via New Zealand and the Australian mainland. There’s music and wonder and a story that is both ordinary and extraordinary, depending on the way you view the world, which just might be a little differently after you’ve put down this novel.

’In my 20+ years as an editor, I’ve rarely seen such talent from a new writer.’ Jessica Perini, Senior Editor.

’An engrossing and vivid novel brimming with compassion for nature.’ - Anna Iltnere, The Sea Library blog.