Shortlisted for the Penguin Literary Prize Like fireflies to the light, Mona, Benny and Jimmy are drawn into the elegantly wasted orbit of the Crystal Ballroom and the post-punk scene of 80s Melbourne, a world that includes Nick Cave and Dodge, a photographer pushing his art to the edge.
With precision and richness Kirsten Krauth hauntingly evokes the power of music to infuse our lives, while diving deep into loss, beauty, innocence and agency. Filled with unforgettable characters, the novel is above all about the shapes that love can take and the many ways we express tenderness throughout a lifetime. As it moves between the Blue Mountains and Melbourne, Sydney and Castlemaine, Almost a Mirror reflects on the healing power of creativity and the everyday sacredness of family and friendship in the face of unexpected tragedy.
Immerse yourself in this wonderful mixed tape of a novel, set in and around the post-punk music scene of Melbourne in the 1980s and beyond.
Each chapter title is a song lyric, and the story of Mona’s life emerges in non-linear vignettes of youth, love, grief, music and memory.
While this is definitely a literary novel, there is no shame at all in revelling in the accompanying YouTube playlist. If you’re gen-x like me, you’ll feel 14 and angst ridden again in no time.
