Siddon Rock.

"So the eye-witness stories were from the drinkers in the pub. Now stories are like people; they change shape as they get older. Some get thinner with less detail, others pad out like the most comfortable grandmother. It's only someone who saw what happened who could see the bones of it under the padding, and Granna wasn't saying anything to anyone."

Siddon Rock is the first novel by Australian author, Glenda Guest. Somewhere east of Perth on the railway line lies a fairly isolated town. Siddon Rock (officially New Wickton, but no one ever called it that) was founded by an English librarian in search of a butterfly. Many of Henry Abeline's thirteen children found reasons to stay: farming, serving the needs of the townspeople, mining salt. Others came, some stayed.

Decades later, a fourth-generation descendant returns from the war, alive but damaged, and to her family's dismay, things don't return to normal. In the aftermath of that brutal war, young Catalina Morgetstern and her little son, Josis take refuge in Siddon Rock. They are welcomed and accepted by many, but their presence seems to be the catalyst that tips the town's already-fragile equilibrium.

Guest expertly renders her setting: the dry, the dust and the heat are almost palpable. She also has a real talent for characters: some merit just a quick vignette; others demand more in-depth development. Seamlessly enclosed within the narrative are elements of the spiritual, hints of magical realism, perhaps some paranormal. And yet, an eminently believable story is the result.

Guest wraps her tale in some gorgeous prose: "People of the district soon became accustomed to the ornately twisted and curled chords of music that billowed behind George in red arabesques as he rode through the landscape in search of a house. Although he was no musician, George recognised snatches of Mendelssohn's Wedding March that sang out each time he approached a house that was, possibly, for sale. And each time he left unrequited, the chords lost colour and drooped down his back, wilting and straightening like the unravelling ringlets of pale honey-coloured hair tied in bunches each side of Eliza's round, strong face."

This is no page-turner. It's not a story to be rushed. It builds slowly and carefully, but patience is rewarded with a wonderful read, and fans will be pleased to learn that this gifted author again shares with us her literary talent in A Week in the Life of Cassandra Aberline. A brilliant debut novel.