Rite of Spring

Thank the literary gods for Kris Kneen! For the way they make desire dangerous again, the body luminous, and shame impossible. For giving us a sea full of monsters and the terrifying grace of finding one inside ourselves. — Beejay Silcox

And here you are. You, who might feel the itch of an uncomfortable identity hanging heavy on your shoulders like a hair shirt. It is you I sing to. You who are tempted by the possibility of something more.

In the hope of salvaging their relationship, Miranda and Richard become caretakers of a remote island lighthouse off the coast of Tasmania. Richard wants to shake up the malaise that had him falling into an affair, and Miranda wants to understand what has changed and to recover from a diving accident that almost took her life. Both are excited about the renewal and adventure that the mysterious lighthouse promises. But what begins as a reuniting quickly turns for Miranda into an untamed journey back to the ocean that swirls at the core of her being.

Few write so vividly about bodily intimacy and spirit as Kneen. Rite of Spring beautifully fuses place, psychological drama, the primordial nature of the ocean and the personal search for a centre. It is a mind-blowing novel about a woman on the cusp of menopause that transcends our expectations about who and what we can be.

A triumph — the ultimate celebration of transition and of more-than-human love. Elegantly wrought, stunningly defiant and pitch perfect — this is Kneen at the height of their powers. — Laura Jean McKay

A psychosexual page-turner dripping with tension, lust, bodies in flux. Kris Kneen's Rite of Spring is Australian gothic at its best. — Siang Lu

Glorious and sweeping. I was riveted by this uncanny, generous tale of Miranda's search for belonging, and its scenes of wildly great sex. — Mirandi Riwoe