In October, the OzLit Book Club picks up Anna McGahan’s Immaculate, winner of the 2023 The Australian/Vogel Literary Award.
All Frances wants is a cure for her daughter, but that would take a miracle, and miracles aren't something Frances believes in anymore.
Newly divorced from her pastor ex-husband and excommunicated from the church community she once worked within, she wrestles alone with the prognosis of her terminally ill child. Any suggestion of 'divine intervention' is salt in the wound of her grief. So when Frances is forced to take in a homeless and pregnant teenage girl who claims to have had an immaculate conception, she's deeply challenged.
But sixteen-year-old Mary is not who she seems, and soon opens the door to perspectives that profoundly shift Frances's sense of reality, triggering a chain of astonishing events. It seems that where there is the greatest suffering lies an unexpected magic. Frances begins to hold hope for her family's future, but the miracle prayed for is not always the one received.
Immaculate is a provocative and tender exploration of loss, identity and healing, and the secret worlds we hide within in order to survive.
Come and join the conversation! New members are most welcome but spaces are limited. The event link below will be activated from 9am on Thursday 28 September and spaces will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. Feel free to send us an email if you have any questions.