Sofie Laguna is one of my favourite Australian authors. Her prose is so startling in its poetry and originality. Just through their language, her novels give me intense pleasure. I also really admire Laguna’s ability to tackle big subjects through the perspective of children as she has done so well in Infinite Splendours as well as her two previous novels, The Eye of the Sheep and The Choke.
In Sofie Laguna’s most recent novel, infinite Splendours, the main character is Lawrence Loman, an intelligent and artistic boy of primary school age who lives with his mother and brother in the shadow of a mountain in regional Victoria, Australia. When a relative comes to stay, Lawrence’s early promise initially flourishes then comes to a halt.
Infinite Splendours shows us the painful impact on Lawrence of his uncle’s betrayal of trust. The story follows the boy as he grows into a teenager, an adult and into the final days of his life. I found the novel heartbreaking in its rendition of Lawrence’s isolation and loneliness. It was also terrifying to watch him veer towards a repetition of his own history with a child be befriends who is very like himself as a boy.
The saving grace for the increasingly reclusive Lawrence is his painting. His artistic pursuits become his purpose and his solace. I was interested to hear Sofie Laguna talk about the novel at the recent Sydney Writers Festival. She spoke of the redemptive qualities of art, arguing that, despite all he had lost, Lawrence had led an ultimately fulfilling life through his painting.
This is a more hopeful interpretation of the story than I took from Infinite Splendours. While I can’t deny that Lawrence’s sensitive appreciation of nature and his endeavour to represent it through his art brought him great joy, I was left nevertheless with an aching heart for the boy with a life interrupted. For the power of its writing and its story, this is a novel well worth reading.
Breaking News: This novel has won the 2021 Colin Roderick Literary Award
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| Title: Infinite Splendours Author: Sofie Laguna Publisher: Allen & Unwin Year: 2020 ISBN: 9781760876272 Pages: 448 |