The Great Undoing

WINNER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND FICTION BOOK AWARD
SHORTLISTED FOR THE COURIER-MAIL PEOPLE'S CHOICE QUEENSLAND BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD

Sharlene Allsopp’s The Great Undoing is groundbreaking storytelling – truth telling – that pierces the reader’s heart as it asks: how do you interpret silence? The breathtaking scope of this beautifully-written debut novel, and its unique, ambitious, and powerful navigation of the contested borders between history and fiction, truth and lie, archive and heresy, will stay with me. It's the kind of book that, after reading, makes you want to write to the author to say: THANK YOU.’ - Holly Ringland, author of The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart and The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding

‘Sharlene Allsopp's debut novel is a remarkable achievement. Through the art of great storytelling she challenges us to respond to a threat to our very existence; our understanding of who we are, where we come from and the knowledge systems that will bind us into the future. The Great Undoing is a book for all time – our past, present, and an increasingly precarious future.’ - Tony Birch, author of The White Girl and Women & Children

How long can you run from a lie, if that lie is what your life is founded on?

In a near future all identity information is encoded in digital language. Nations know where everyone is, all the time. Not everyone agrees with this constant surveillance, and when the system is hijacked and shut down, all global borders are closed. The world is no longer connected, and there is no back-up plan to establish belonging, ownership or trade.

Scarlet Friday, whose job is to correct historical record, is stranded on the wrong side of the globe. Befriended by a stranger, she grabs an old, faded history book and writes her own version over the top—a record of the Great Undoing on the run.

But in deciding what truth to tell, Scarlet must face her own history. How do we navigate identity when it is all a lie? She must reckon with her past before she can imagine her future.

PRAISE FOR THE GREAT UNDOING:

‘It's risky and ambitious. And, for me, that ambition pays off.’ – ABC Arts

‘Her ambitious storytelling is not something that undermines or detracts from the vitality of Allsop's novel. This is a work of fiction that takes a risk, that gives us too much - that gives us, in other words, the illusion of containing everything in Scarlet's world.’ – Sydney Morning Herald

‘For First Nations people, Australia is a nation founded on a lie. But this is not one single amorphous lie, but rather a web of lies that seeks to erase and make invisible First Nations peoples, her/histories and experiences. In her debut novel, The Great Undoing, Bundjalung author Sharlene Allsopp deftly juxtaposes the national and the personal mythscapes that still haunt Australia today. Through the larger-than-life character of Scarlet Friday, Sharlene explores the consequences of living a lie in a nation that refuses to acknowledge its past.’ - Jeanine Leane, author of Purple Threads and Walk Back Over

‘Now more than ever, we need truth-teller Scarlet Friday and her story of identity, disruption, and love. The Great Undoing is a complex thriller, and a stunning debut novel by Sharlene Allsopp.’ - Anita Heiss, author of Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray and Barbed Wire and Cherry Blossoms

‘The Great Undoing is a gripping novel that blurs the lines between historical and contemporary fiction; between reality and fantasy, and will make you question everything you think you know about Australia.’ - Melanie Saward, author of Burn

‘Sharlene Allsopp has created a work of fearless generosity that charts the progress of a future undoing, tugging at the seams of both personal and societal remembering. The Great Undoing is a story to be lingered inside of, dog-eared, gifted and cherished.’ - The Wheeler Centre

‘A bold, imaginative and elegantly crafted novel that weaves a page-turning plot with a poignant exploration of how our histories are told – and by whom. The Great Undoing is a triumph – Allsopp has such a strong voice, and her writing is rich with insight and empathy.’ - Carody Culver, editor of Griffith Review

‘Powerful and beautiful, The Great Undoing is an intelligent, heartfelt exploration of the complexities of belonging and recorded history. You won’t be able to put this book down.’ - Mirandi Riwoe, award-winning author of Stone Sky Gold Mountain and Sunbirds

The Great Undoing is a remarkable book’ - Books + Publishing