The Piper’s Son pipes you in | Ipswich News | Local News in Ipswich

THE London bombings, the Vietnam War, alcoholism, shattered relationships, grief and death.

The Piper’s Son, the latest offering from Australian author, Melina Marchetta, tackles some pretty dark issues, but strangely you’re left feeling buoyant afterwards.

Written as the sequel to Saving Francesca, Ms Marchetta’s second novel, but this time it’s Tom Mackee who needs saving.

At 21, Tom is angry at the world. His family has abandoned him and his favourite uncle has just been killed. Combine this with a group of friends he wants to forget and the face of a girl he left that he can’t get out of his head and Tom’s about ready to combust and he seeks oblivion in drugs, alcohol and a string of one night stands.

But when his flatmates throw him out, Tom is forced to move in with his aunt, Georgie, who at 42 is single, pregnant and facing her very own crisis.

Always the good cop to Tom’s father’s bad cop, Georgie now spends her days interviewing survivors of the Bosnian War and recording what their missing relatives were wearing the day they disappeared. She is also struggling with a first time pregnancy to a man who betrayed her.

As Tom and Georgie are left to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives and attempt to re-build them, it becomes clear that putting the pieces back together isn’t going to be easy.

Despite the dark issues The Piper’s Son tackles, it is incredibly easy and enjoyable to sink into Georgie and Tom’s world.

Their lives might be chaotic and fractured, but it is still possible to identify with what they are going through, and the many questions raised during the story propel you through to the very end: why did Tom leave Tara Finke, who he still loves? Why has he pushed his friends away?

Why did his father leave? Why has Georgie pushed Sam, the love of her life, away and why is she keeping silent about her pregnancy?

Tragedy, pain and love combine in this novel which leaves you feeling strangely uplifted about life’s possibilities and human resilience.

Just don’t forget the tissues.

The Piper’s Son

Viking

RRP $24.95