I finished reading A Language of Limbs in one sitting, barely moving between the couch and the kettle. It left an aftertaste of resilient joy and deep grief – which are some of my favourite feelings to linger in – but it was also utterly absorbing.

Initially set in 1970s suburban Australia, this latest novel by Dylin Hardcastle follows the parallel narratives of two unnamed young women. Each of them is faced with a life-altering choice; to embrace their queerness openly, and forge forward in that truth, or to take the silent route, locking away authentic love.

‘Limb One’ is kicked out of home, eventually landing in a small, close knit LGBTQIA+ community at Uranian House in Sydney, surrounded by a new family, with a new identity. ‘Limb Two’ hides early rejection from her first sapphic love and best friend deep within herself, while navigating a heterosexual marriage and trying to ignore the feelings that occasionally threaten to overwhelm what she has built.

Both people are haunted by their past choices and afraid to be known. How they carve out their lives amongst the backdrop of three decades of queer history results in a deeply moving and sometimes heartbreaking story enhanced by Hardcastle’s clear and poetic prose.

In between writing which is by turns downright sexy, or full of trembling vulnerability and wit, there are powerful themes of police corruption, societal discrimination and grief as both narratives crash fully into the impact that AIDS had on the wider LGBTQIA+ community. Despite many deeply tragic moments, the story is underlined by a persisting joy which is returned to over and over.

Each character within A Language of Limbs tangles and untangles, almost intersecting often throughout the book as they get closer to themselves. Hardcastle builds the tension of this connection so perfectly that such moments are impossible to miss. Whether in the experiences of the world around them, or in one degree of physical separation, their worlds repeatedly almost – almost – collide. I loved this novel and deeply enjoyed being broken open by it.