Review from www.nzbooklovers.co.nz by Andrea Molloy
"Alfie’s character leaps off the page with his honesty, innocence and unfiltered observations. At its heart, this is a story about family, whether it's the ones we’re born into or the ones we find. Sarah cleverly explores the messiness of love, pain of betrayal and the possibility of forgiveness, while maintaining a light touch."
Karen (Tawa retired Bookseller), The Remarkable Truths of Alfie Bains, is a treasure, I loved it.
Central to this unique story is Alfie Bains, a nine year old quirky kid living in Ireland with his mother Emilla. Their sudden return to Emillas home town of Beggars Rock in Tasmania connects Alfie to a family he had no knowledge of.
With a clever plot, plenty of complex characters with deep secrets, the family dynamics are explosive. Meanwhile Alfie has embarked on a mission to discover the true identity of his dad.
This is an exciting, sensitive and often humorous read.
For readers who love The Midnight Library and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, here comes your next favourite life-affirming, delightful and funny novel, The Remarkable Truths of Alfie Bains.
Alfie's mum, Emilia, has been lying to him forever.
It's only been the two of them in Ireland, but when Emilia's appendix explodes, she drops a bombshell: they have a family back in Australia, and she and Alfie are going to meet them.
When Penny Bains opens the door of her Tasmanian farmhouse to a boy with an Irish accent claiming to be the son of her missing daughter, Emilia, her life is turned upside down.
Alfie needs to know who his father is, but the residents of the tiny town of Beggars Rock and his newly found grandmother and great-aunts are all staying silent. As Alfie starts to uncover secrets that his family would prefer to keep buried, the one thing he does discover is that no one is willing to tell him the truth.
Unforgettable, funny, life affirming and deeply moving, The Remarkable Truths of Alfie Bains is an absolute joy.
Author Biography: Sarah Clutton lives in a storybook village in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales on Gundungurra and Tharawal country. She has tried her hand at various jobs: research assistant, judge's associate, insurance claims guru, litigation lawyer, philanthropic foundation manager and ghost-writer. In between freelance writing gigs she is events manager for her local chapter of Rural Australians for Refugees. In 2018 she was the national recipient of the Dymocks/McIntosh Commercial Fiction Scholarship. The Remarkable Truths of Alfie Bains pays homage to her early years on a farm in North West Tasmania, and to the charms and challenges of small-town living.
Paperback
Sarah Clutton
416 pages
H: 234mm W: 153mm
Weight: 474 grams