A Novel.
'When I first moved in, I had no past and no future. Day and night had little meaning. I slept or didn't sleep, and the two states were almost the same, except for the nightmares that faded into haze. My scents gave me the fragrant, inescapable present. Only the changing colour and texture of the bay marked the time . . . I shut away so much but now it is coming back, like someone slowly wiping dust off my brain . . . I could have grown up to be anything in the world.'
Samantha Lane has hidden herself away in a housing commission flat in St Kilda. Estranged from her family and friends, the only human contact she makes is with Mrs Early, the odd lady in the next door flat and her son Johnny, a damaged Korean War veteran. Samantha appears to have no history and she faces no future. Slowly Samantha realises she must give in to the shards of memory that are starting to push into her consciousness.
An intricately woven narrative cleverly binds past and present together. Piece by piece Samanatha's life is revealed. Young and beautiful with her whole future in front of her she escapes from a violent home life to begin her own life. She falls in love with Mark, an ambitious business man and dreams of security and love, of being somebody.
As the relationship progresses it becomes clear that Mark values Samantha for her gorgeous looks and shy demeanour. Taking on a Pygmalion role he sets about creating her new life. Mark's ruthlessness and Sam's vulnerability twist together to give an uneasy sense of foreboding and increasing fear for Samantha's personal safety.
'Above The Water' is dangerously compelling. Evocative and insightful, the combination of sharp observations of society and human nature are reminiscent of Helen Garner's 'Children's Bach' and 'Monkey Grip'.
