BOOK REVIEW: Finding Eliza by Heather Whitford Roche

Synopsis

Everything Knill thought he knew was false. Now he must search for where he belongs...

1921. Central Victoria.

Knill McMillan’s life is perfectly ordinary: a country upbringing, caring parents, cousins who are his best mates. He is a young man with the world before him.

But he’s always had the sense he doesn’t quite fit in, doesn’t quite belong. And then one night he is brutally beaten. As he lies bleeding on the ground his attacker calls him something that he is unable to get out of his
mind. And so begins a journey he never envisaged – to understand who he really is, and where he really belongs.

My Thoughts

Despite growing up within a loving family, Knill McMillan always felt like an outsider. His mother fusses over him to the point where he is glad to escape to Melbourne to visit his cousins. On his return home from one of these visits, he becomes involved in a fight and while recuperating he puzzles over the name he was called by his attacker.

When Knill discovers some items in a box, his world is turned upside down and he sets off to find his true identity. His quest will take him from the quiet country town of Castlemaine in the goldfields area of Central Victoria, to New South Wales and overseas to a country steeped in ancient traditions with a vastly different culture to the one he knows.

I loved this book. I loved the character of Knill McMillan. I know the synopsis doesn't give much away, likewise my description, but the minimalist outline (as well as the cover) was enough to pique my interest and I hope it does the same for you. It is easy, however, to guess what the story is about. How it is delivered will keep you turning the pages, hoping that Knill will find the answers he seeks.

I'm tempted to mention more, but to elaborate further on the plot would take away the pleasure of sharing the discoveries Knill makes about himself, family and society; how an offer made to him is instrumental in clarifying what he values most and where he truly belongs; and a scene at the end of the story where a bittersweet meeting takes place, the result of information Knill stumbled across during his search.

Heather Whitford Roche has written a wonderful novel around local history and cultural differences. Finding Eliza is definitely a five star read, which in my rating scale means it is heading for my keeper shelf; a book to be savoured again and again.