In an increasingly divided and intolerant world, What the Light Reveals is
a beacon: a novel that brilliantly captures the sometimes devastating
consequences of individual belief.
Conrad is falsely accused of passing
military secrets to the Russians. His life and that of his family is turned
upside down by discrimination and fear. Unemployed, misrepresented by the
media, betrayed by relatives, and threatened by strangers, Conrad sees no choice
but to uproot his family from their homeland to start a new life in Moscow.
It is also the story of Ruby, and of her and Conrad's adopted
son Alex, and biological son Peter, and of the tension and intrigue that
confronts them and shapes their lives in two countries. Russia lives and
breathes in McCoy's superb evocation of it, but Australia is never far away. As
Peter says, 'Tell me again why we're still here?' Told with suspense and rich
in characterisation and surprising plot twists, this is a novel of
both heart and intellect, a book about the need to belong, about what a family
is, and why we all need one.
'A story about an Australian family facing the ruin of both bonds and belief. Atmospheric, intensely original and utterly unforgettable.' - M. J. Hyland, author of Carry Me Down and This is How
'McCoy has given us that special thing: a powerful, singular vision of the complexities faced by individuals existing alongside each other as a family. This novel is beyond good storytelling: it is taut, evocative, and sensationally unique.' - Sarah Schmidt, author of See What I Have Done
'An Australian family living in Moscow
during the Cold War. A novel about secrets and lies, guilt, loyalty and
betrayal, and the urge for survival. Haunting, compelling and memorable, Mick
McCoy's novel has all of the moral complexity and the psychological intensity
of an Ian McEwan novel.'
- Antoni Jach, author of The Layers of the
City and Napoleon's Double
