The Beloved

Roberta 'Bertie' Lightfoot is six when polio leaves her with a crippled leg and a clumsy built-up boot. Her mother, a photographer whose own dreams were thwarted, has no patience for self-pity and wants Bertie to succeed in a profession; Bertie wants to paint, and perceives the auras around people. Her father is happy to indulge her, but her mother bans art from the house. In 1955 the Lightfoots settle in Port Moresby, a sometimes violent post-colonial frontier town bursting with colour, and Bertie rebels, secretly learning to draw and paint from a woman her mother regards as her greatest rival. Others in the family have secrets too, and as they come out, jealousy and passion strain Bertie's bond with her mother.

AI-generated summary

About the book

Form

Novel

Genres

Coming of age, Family (assigned by AI)

Set in

Papua New Guinea, 1950s–1960s

First published

2012

Author's age

63 when first published

ISBN

9781742611556 (Picador, Australia)

More

Wikidata