Books Read: Ash Mountain by Helen Fitzgerald

Fran hates her hometown, and she thought she’d escaped. But her father is ill, and needs care. Her relationship is over, and she hates her dead-end job in the city, anyway.

She returns home to nurse her dying father, her distant teenage daughter in tow for the weekends. There, in the sleepy town of Ash Mountain, childhood memories prick at her fragile self-esteem, she falls in love for the first time, and her demanding dad tests her patience, all in the unbearable heat of an Australian summer. As past friendships and rivalries are renewed, and new ones forged, Fran’s tumultuous home life is the least of her worries, when old crimes rear their heads and a devastating bushfire ravages the town and all of its inhabitants…

Amazon Links: Kindle or Paperback

I'd like to thank Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to be a part of this blog tour and Orenda Books for my ecopy of Ash Mountain to review.

It's been quite some time since I've read a novel by Helen Fitzgerald so when I was offered the chance to read her latest book Ash Mountain I said yes without even reading the blurb. As soon as I had done so I was instantly intrigued as to what the secrets of the past could be that threatened to bubble to the surface.

From the outset this was a dark and claustrophobic read, and it's clear that Fran was reluctantly returning to the place that she has rarely revisited since she left. If it wasn't for the fact that her dying father and son Dante lived there then she probably wouldn't have returned at all with her teenage daughter Vonny. Now that she's back Fran has decided to make the most of things and, despite him being bed-bound, she is bringing the outside world to her dad via an old tablet attached to a baby buggy which led to some comedic moments which certainly lightened the mood.

Ash Mountain is a story told via two main time-periods, opening on the day of a devastating bush fire that threatens the town and everyone who lives there, but then flicking back in time alternating between the preceding 10 days leading up to that fateful day as well as further back in time to events from 30 years ago when Fran was a teenager. Over time we are drip-fed details as what exactly had happened in the past and why Ash Mountain held such painful memories for Fran. I will admit that initially I found the flicking back and forward between the current date and the past disorientating but after a while I soon settled into the flow waiting for the clues that the author so cleverly drip feeds us to fall into place. 

There was a real sense of impending doom regarding how the town and its residents will be affected by the devastating bushfire and like Fran I was ever hopeful that the town would be spared but realistically knowing that there would be casualties - one particular scene involving a family pet really brought a lump to my throat. The descriptive writing of the author really brought the desolate landscape, oppresive buildings and the blistering heat of the bushfire to life almost as if I was an onlooker watching everything from The Monument like Fran did. 

Fran was such a resilient character who has made the best of what life has thrown at her, I'm sure that many others would have crumbled with half of what she has experienced in her life. She was a relateable character but also at times she really frustrated me with her actions especially in relation to the renewal of her relationship with her childhood friend 'The Captain'.

Ash Mountain was a thought provoking read with its diverse cast of characters, sensitive topics, as well as a real sense of place and carefully constructed plot.