This week for Tuesday Book Club, Andrew brought in the debut novel from Sydney author Andreas Heger, “Cooktown”. Protagonist Daniel arrives in Cooktown, Queensland after serving in Afghanistan, in search of his former rugby coach. The reader learns about his almost-successful rugby career and feelings of isolation when Daniel goes fishing and is left alone to his thoughts.

The novel highlights the dominance of masculine spaces in society, the struggles of many young servicemen to connect with others after their traumatic experiences, and issues of substance abuse. Through the character of Remy, Heger also puts a spotlight on the underdiagnosis of autism in females.

This book covers a lot of difficult topics, and it’s important to remember that if you or anyone you know needs help or crisis support, please call Lifeline on 131 114.

Book Club will be taking a short break for two weeks, but Andrew will be back with a bunch of new novels to talk about on the 26th!