The Woman Booker Prize Club is a local Hobart book club. Here they share their thoughts on books by Tasmanian authors, set in Tasmania, or about Tassie topics.

This month we shift into a slower pace of life, joining strong female characters, Lacey and Lucy, as they reassess their lives and connections to place and com­munity in rural Tasmania.

One novel is a more traditional and c omforting small-town romance, while the other explores themes of animal intelligence, conservation, and our embodied human selves.

Home to Echidna Lane by Eva Scott (HarperCollins, August 2023)

Review by Melanie Ross

Lacey Clark has just been spectacu­larly betrayed on live television by her seemingly perfect husband. Hurriedly evacuating her perfect Sydney life with her two young sons in tow, she makes a dash for her home town of Whitton, to stay with her parents while attempting to make sense of her marriage.

Unbeknownst to Lacey, her new neigh­bour Shane – a widower walnut farmer – was her biggest fan when they were in high school together. As the pair develop a fledgling friendship (alongside their sweet children), might they find more than just friendship with each other? Or will each of their past hurts prevent a happy ending?

Scott wrote this book while living full-time in Tasmania, and it certainly shows. While the little town of Whitton is a fictional backdrop for our characters’ romance, there are many specific details of life in Tasmania, including Czegs’ Cafe in Richmond, and the best spot for viewing an Aurora Australis!

This book won’t win any accolades for breaking new ground in the romance genre, but it’s a charming rural story of finding love even after life has dealt you a bad hand.

With a really lovely cast of supporting characters, a bucolic Tasmanian backdrop, and a heartfelt message about family and community, this book might be perfect reading if you’re not quite ready to let the lazy days of your summer holiday fade away.

The Octopus and I by Erin Hortle (Allen & Unwin, April 2020)

Review by Megan Tighe

Erin Hortle’s debut novel from 2020 is one of my favourite books set in Tasmania, ever. It’s also the perfect read for late summer and early autumn. As we settle into the year and the seasons change, it’s a good time to spend some reflective hours in or near the ocean.

The Octopus and I is based around Eaglehawk Neck, and I found it an accurate, honest and loving reflection of the landscape and the community.

Our main character is Lucy; living with her ‘hippy’ abalone diver boyfriend Jem, and recovering from major surgery.

Navigating her new body, Lucy develops a deep fascination with octopuses, and finds herself drawn to the friendship of a local woman and her son. Lucy has to realise what it means to be herself, and what she might be better off without.

We see the world not just through Lucy’s eyes, but also from an octopus’ point of view. I recently gifted the book to a friend in the Northern Territory who has never been to Tasmania, and she loved it almost as much as I do! She said it had “some of the best animal-perspective sections of writing I’ve ever read, particularly from a creature with such a different sensory system to our own.”

I’m confident you will enjoy it too.

Book Chatter: The Stella Day Out is a mini literary festival that celebrates and promotes the outstanding contributions of women and non-binary writers to Australian literature. Hobartians rejoice: we’re getting the second ever ‘Day Out’ at the Hedberg on the afternoon of 16 February. And the best thing? It’s free!

Keen to chat books with us? Find us on Instagram @thewomanbookerprizeclub or email thewbpc@gmail.com.