Catching the Light
Water, sand, hills, sky: the painter was out at sea, looking towards the shore. Impossible to say whether he was coming in or going out.
When Sylvie, a single mother yearning for a creative spark, meets Michael, a renowned painter, she feels something she hasn’t felt in years. Impulsively she decides to uproot her life and move to Isaiah, an artists’ colony, with her teenage daughter Alice.
To Sylvie, Isaiah seems to offer a second chance at the things she’s sacrificed—freedom, love and art—but her relationship with Michael begins to affect the closeness she once had with her daughter. Without her mother’s knowledge, Alice engages in an act of teenage defiance that will shape both their lives.
Years later, Alice, a PhD student, is sought out by Caroline, an art historian researching Michael for a retrospective of his work. As their conversations tease out long-buried memories, Alice grapples with her past and Caroline’s hidden agenda.
Sometimes it's all a matter of perspective.
About the Author
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Joanna Horton was born in the US, grew up in New Zealand, and now lives in Brisbane. She has an MA from the University of Chicago and a PhD from the University of Queensland. Catching the Light is her second novel - her first, Between You and Me, was published in 2023. She lives with her partner, son, and cat. |
Praise for Catching The Light
‘Immediately gripping and thrillingly nuanced, this is a novel you'll devour in a rush and then savour for a long, long time.’ –Diana Reid, bestselling author of Love & Virtue and Signs of Damage
‘Powerful and mesmerising, Catching The Light is a brilliant portrait of the ways we are consumed by motherhood, art and the yearning for self.’ –Shankari Chandran, Miles Franklin award-winning author of Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens and Safe Haven
‘Catching The Light is a stunning work of fiction, at once bold and intricately woven. An enthralling read.’ —Eliza Henry-Jones, author of Salt and Skin
‘Catching the Light is a beautiful, adventurous novel about complicated and enduring love. A smart, stunning portrait of parenthood and mother-daughter bonds. Horton's writing is captivating, lush, and incredibly moving.' –Laura Elvery, author of Trick of the Light and Ordinary Matter
'A nuanced dissection of art, morality and motherhood. Joanna Horton holds these principles to the light and shakes loose their unspeakable truths' –Adriane Howell, author of Hydra
‘This is a beautiful novel. It is at once subtle and expansive, shifting across place and time without simplifying or overstating complications of memory and perspective. It is evocative and moving, gently weaving many threads together.’ –Anna Kate Blair, author of The Modern
Praise for Between You and Me
‘It’s the language of this nuanced novel that did it … Between You and Me lingers in my mind’ – Canberra Times
‘Joanna Horton's debut is strong on female friendship, and she creates a crisp, effortlessly authentic narrative voice’ – Sydney Morning Herald
'A novel that deftly explores the uncomfortable grey areas of power, privilege and control. Between You and Me is a compulsive read about how the choices we make (and those made for us) ripple into the future. At once unsettling and totally captivating.’ – Natasha Sholl, author of Found, Wanting
ISBN
9781761153983
Format
Paperback
Cost
$34.99
Pub Date
April 2025
Extent
368pp
Rights
ANZ
Category
Fiction
Themes
Yearning. Motherhood. Art.