“[E]legiac, storied…aligns itself with other novels in which children—out of rashness, anger or even ignorance—act out to terrible consequences. As with Briony in Ian McEwan’s Atonement or Leo in L.P. Hartley’s The Go-Between, these decisions are usually compounded by circumstance…Frew does not want to pass judgment though. She understands that the sadness of childhood is to grow up in circumstances over which you have little or no control.”
Sydney Morning Herald
“Hope Farm is a complex novel which tells the story of a mother and her child, yet ultimately looks at the choices we make, the reasons we make them and the consequences of our decisions. The result is a moving story, which is firmly placed in its historical and social context. The author is compassionate to her flawed characters and the reader is left with a sense of sadness but hope. In this carefully constructed novel Peggy Frew demonstrates her skill as a fine storyteller, crafting a captivating and suspenseful story which resonates long after the final page is turned.”
from the citation by the Australian State Library of Victoria for the International IMPAC Dublin Prize
“Frew’s deceptively slow-burn tale of a teenage girl—adrift, bewildered, seeking solidity—moves inexorably to its climax, laying bare a certain darkness at the heart of the alternative lifestyle. But it's the tale of a survivor, too.”
Luke Davies, author of Candy
“Absorbing…A beautifully-told story of courage and survival, Hope Farm is about growing up, belonging, and long-kept secrets.”
Carys Bray, author of A Song for Issy Bradley
“Peggy Frew is an amazing writer and Hope Farm is a great novel that captures the pleasures and difficulties of being both a parent and of being a child. The complex story of Silver and Ishtar and their fraught relationship is beautifully written, acutely observed and, best of all, completely absorbing. I could almost feel the crisp mornings, hear the birds warbling and smell the stale dope smoke. Hope Farm is elegant, tender and very wise.”
Chris Womersley, award-winning author of City of Crows
“Peggy Frew's novel, Hope Farm, tells an original tale, drawing into the body of Australian literary fiction, a world between the cracks. Peggy’s voice is contemporary, her observations sharp and sensitive. Hope Farm describes the cycle of loss and damage when there are no boundaries to protect us.”
Sofie Laguna, author of The Eye of the Sheep, 2015 Miles Franklin Literary Award winner
“At this point it could be too early to call it, but I’m thinking this could end up on my top 10 books of the year list…Beautifully written, difficult to put down, hard not to feel the ache.”
Geelong Advertiser
“In its exploration of maternal, sexual, unrequited and platonic relationships, Hope Farm is a finely calibrated study of love, loss and belonging.”
Thuy On, Sunday Age
“[An] assured exploration of that awkward moment between childhood and the teenage years [as well as a] devastating critique of the treatment of unwed mothers in the ’70s.”
Margot Lloyd, Adelaide Advertiser
“Frew is a gifted writer, evidenced here by finely balanced observations and atmospheric description…Silver is poised at the beginning of adult understanding and Frew handles the challenge with deftness. Silver’s insight and compassion are juxtaposed with naivety and the idealistic force of her first crushes.”
Ed Wright, Weekend Australian
“Reading [Hope Farm] made me feel as though I’d lived it. So darn clever.”
Clare Bowditch
“Frew’s second novel is an Australian cousin of T.C. Boyle’s Drop City, Lauren Groff’s Arcadia, and other novels about the failures of communal living, with additional connections to Esther Freud’s Hideous Kinky and Ian McEwan's Atonement.”
Kirkus Reviews
