My obsession with Australian fiction

From Moriarty to Harper to Hepworth, I've always found these books go down smoothly

I started reading Australian fiction on accident over a decade ago. I had just moved back to Huntington after law school, and was looking for friends with similar interests, as I’d been gone three years. A lot can happen in three years in a college town. I soon found a book club that was in the process of assembling. I don’t really recall how I was invited, but I was invited into a small group of women, and the first book we read was What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty. This wasn’t something I would have likely chosen on my own. I think I would have considered it a bit too book-club coded for me at that point. (Oh, how my tastes have changed.)

But what I found was an author that just had an ease about her writing. Something that was a bit of mystery without the actual mystery tropes. I think perhaps this subgenre is now considered domestic fiction? Because it centers around home life and the relationships in our micro-communities? I’m not sure that I agree with that title — it sounds a bit like “chick lit” rebranded for the 2020s.

But regardless, I quite enjoyed this book. It didn’t light me on fire, but I liked it. And I came across another of her books, and another, and I found them quite enthralling. I particularly loved Big Little Lies, and I felt like the HBO miniseries took it to another level, with the emotions and fantastic acting. I enjoyed dissecting why they worked as much as I enjoyed reading them, I found. There didn’t seem to be any major literary tricks up her sleeve. But with the best of anyone at their art, an actor acting, etc., the ease and skill with which that person can deploy her craft seems effortless.

While not domestic fiction, I also greatly enjoy Jane Harper, an author whose books are all set in Australia, several of them police procedurals in the vein of Irish writer Tana French (iykyk). I loved the sense of place that all of those books have, especially The Dry, which is set in the Australian Outback. They are not full of tropes. They are smart, they are literary. I just felt scared, sweaty, and dusty reading them, like I really was in the Outback. One of the most effective techniques someone can use in writing is when the setting becomes its own character.

Finally, more recently I’ve discovered Sally Hepworth. I’m still working my way through her catalog, but in the vein of Moriarty, she explores the domestic fiction realm in a completely masterful way. (If you have read any of her books, please tell me which ones were your favorites!)

So in thinking this through, I realized a year or two ago, maybe I have a … type? Of course, on balance, I read more American or UK authors than authors from anywhere else, but given the number of authors from America or UK I’m exposed to compared to Australian, I feel like the Australians are punching well above their weight when it comes to quality. Or maybe what I’m just drawn to in my book tastes right now. And that got me to thinking…. is anyone in the US or UK doing this kind of domestic fiction, or literary thriller-type fiction on that level? I’m sure there are some folks out there who are, but I think so many of the novels that get pushed to the top of the bestselling list are just…. not that great. Especially the thrillers. I have read many of the hot books over the past several years, only to be disappointed — ones that have been optioned into Netflix specials, into Apple movies, into vehicles with actual movie stars in them. Of those, the only good one I’ve seen so far has been Big Little Lies.

My question then has been have the US-based publishers and editors been pushing for the dumbed-down versions of these thriller stories, or in the case of the domestic fiction books, saying the domestic fiction moment has passed?

I don’t know the answer, but I would like some better options. I think my vote for the most interesting US-based thriller writer right now is Jessica Knoll — I can’t wait to read what she does next.

Please feel free to put your book suggestions in the comments if you have any!