A Light in the Dark

Iris loves musical theatre. She loves dissecting the words of plays, listening to a chorus belt out a number, and investigating the depths of even the most minor characters. There’s just one person standing in her way to great success: Nina. Pretty, talented and their drama teacher’s favourite student. However, as Iris’s jealousy, obsession and bitterness grow, so too does something far more sinister between Nina and their teacher.

Iris is not a perfect person – she seethes at the successes of others. Rage often consumes her. She isn’t a great friend or girlfriend – but she is real. There’s a naivety and hope in her character that makes me care about what happens to her. She feels so real that while I was reading, I couldn’t help but wonder if the author was writing about personal experiences – a mark of truly detailed and passionate writing.

Though the author’s first-person prose reads as passive and distant at times, this ties in nicely to the novel’s themes of memory and trauma (mimicking the confusing fogginess of repression, and the shame and grief that follow). While a bit of a slow burn at the start, Richards effectively details the preciousness of a young person’s passion for the arts. Melbournian readers will instantly recognise descriptions of many streets and landmarks, such as Sydney Road and La Mama Theatre, making the setting oh so real and tangible. Like a play, the book is divided into acts and follows Iris into early adulthood as she grapples with her past.

Ambition. Innocence. Power. These three terms encompass a novel that slowly and carefully unpacks how passion, creativity and abuse can be entwined, and how they can impact a person over the years. I loved it.