Novelist and social commentator Jane Caro AM will discuss her latest thriller, Lyrebird, at North Lakes Library this month.
The free event offers readers a chance to hear Jane discuss the inspiration behind her novel, which opens with the protagonist hearing a scream that turns out to be a lyrebird mimicking a violent attack.
The Making of The Lyrebird
Jane said climate change and the damage humans cause to the natural world are major themes in the book.
“It wasn’t until I had finished the novel that it dawned on me that the vulnerable women who are bought, sold, trafficked, raped, abused and murdered in this book, like – as one character says – so much wool or iron ore – were analogous with our rape and exploitation of the natural environment,” she said. “The earth is our mother. She will put up with many wounds, much disrespect and brutality and damage, but eventually, she will fight back.”
Lyrebird is Jane’s second novel for adults, following her bestselling The Mother. She said the complexities of Lyrebird’s plot posed challenges, including discovering a hole in the plot late in the process.
“I spent a sleepless night wondering how to fix it, but once I had come up with the solution it enabled me to add a whole new dimension to a character and increase the emotional punch of the situation,” she said. “Sometimes it is your biggest problem that gives you the biggest payoff.”
A Walkley award-winning columnist and recipient of the 2023 B&T Women in Media Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023, Jane said she was interested in writing stories that address contemporary social issues.
“I am engaged with social and political justice and I always have been,” she said. “I am passionate about human rights and inequality. I can’t imagine writing a book, any kind of a book, where those ideas did not come into play.”
She said she was very proud of the ideas presented in Lyrebird.
“I am also proud of the characters in the book and the range of people and lives that I have managed to include in my story without making a big song and dance about it,” she said. “I am also proud that I managed to tussle with a complicated and (I hope) intriguing plot and keep it under control.
“I really hope people enjoy the book and understand what I was trying to do, on top of providing a ripping read.”
Bookings required. Get more information and your slot to the event here.
Meet the Author: Jane Caro In Conversation
- Wednesday, 16 April, 6.30pm-8pm (doors 6.15pm)
- North Lakes Library
- 10 The Corso, North Lakes
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