Inner-suburban Melbourne in the 1970s- a world of communal living, drugs, music and love. In this acclaimed first novel, Helen Garner captures the fluid relationships of a community of friends who are living and loving in new ways. Nora falls in love with Javo the junkie, and together they try to make sense of their lives and the choices they have made. But caught in an increasingly ambiguous relationship, they are unable to let go - and the harder they pull away from each other, the tighter the monkey grip. 'A lyrical, rough-edged novel full of warmth and uncompromising feeling' The Sunday Age

Author Biography

Helen Garner was born in Geelong, Victoria, and was educated there and at Melbourne University. She has worked as a high-school teacher and freelance journalist, and has won numerous literary awards. She has published a large number of books, both fiction and non-fiction, including Postcards from Surfers, The Children's Bach, The Feel of Steel, The First Stone and, most recently, Joe Cinque's Consolation and The Spare Room.