A dizzyingly intelligent and compulsive work of fiction from an outstanding new Australian writer.
Redmond Campbell’s luck has just taken a turn for the worse. His dog’s dead. His wife, Bea, has landed in prison, and he has to look after Bea’s sister, Lori, a wildly disinhibited woman with Huntington’s disease, who hates him. And Redmond’s nephew, Mada, a PhD student searching for a cure for the disease that’s killing his mother, doesn’t give Red the respect he deserves. But Red is about to change all that. He’s got plans to become Sydney’s leading property agent and he’s about to make a connection that will line him up a killing. It’s legal too. Well, almost. What matters is that Red has a whiff of success, and he’s damn sure everything’s about to come up roses.
Funny and moving, profound and profane, both an intimate family drama and an incisive parable of capitalism and collapse, this is an anarchic, joy-filled and ribald read from one of Australia’s most exciting authors. A novel about the dance of the body through life, it is a story brimming with sting, hope, and gratitude for a world that is equal parts cruel and kind.
Berndt Sellheim is a novelist, poet and photographer, who is also married to author Tara Moss. The Fatal Dance is Sellheim’s second novel. It is a compelling piece of literary fiction that firmly establishes his name as a talented writer.
The Fatal Dance follows the lives of multiple members of one complex family. Each brings their own personal struggles, with many fractured relationships at the core of this novel. While not always likeable, they are gripping protagonists. Red makes questionable business decisions on his quest to become Sydney’s top real estate agent; he also makes questionable choices whilst awaiting his wife Bea’s return from prison. We are taken inside the prison, in all of its gritty detail. Lori’s battle with Huntington’s disease is another fascinating aspect of The Fatal Dance, delving deeply into the challenges of living with this rare genetic condition, which there is still no cure for. Ultimately, The Fatal Dance gets to the heart of this particular family, in all the mundane moments, the bitter fights and the warmest embraces.
Set in and amongst familiar Sydney locations, as well as Byron Bay, Sellheim captures the setting vividly; from notorious Sydney traffic to wading through the waves at Bondi Beach, I could easily imagine being right there as I read.
With witty dialogue and compelling prose, this book reads effortlessly. The Fatal Dance will appeal to readers of literary fiction and compelling family-based dramas, making Sellheim an author to watch out for.
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