The Campers
An engrossing and provocative exploration of privilege, hypocrisy and justice by the bestselling author of The Cane.
Leah has a good life. She lives on The Drove, an inner-city cul-de-sac, with her husband Moses and their two children. She and her neighbours - the drovers - look out for each other. Theirs is a safe, community-oriented enclave and that's the way it's going to stay.
When itinerants set up camp in 'their' park, some of the drovers are unsettled, some are outraged, and all of them want the campers to move on. Not even Sholto, the campers' charismatic leader, can put their fears to rest.
Why is Sholto - handsome, charming and apparently with other options - living in a tent, and why has he chosen to pitch it beside The Drove? And why is Leah tempted to put her family and her comfortable life at risk when Sholto turns his wolf-like gaze towards her?
A compelling and revealing novel, The Campers shows what neighbours will do when anarchy and misrule threaten their cosy community.
… serious issues are contained within an engrossing and psychologically-sound narrative with characters who will immediately engage the reader
Queensland Reviewers Collective
The Campers is rich with atmosphere and social commentary, revealing the layers of hypocrisy and self-interest hidden beneath a picture-perfect community. The sharp, insightful writing and nuanced characters make this a compelling and thought-provoking read.
Andrea Molloy, NZ Booklovers
With a plot that builds as surely and inexorably as the familiar pre-monsoon in the Northern Territory, The Campers steadily intensifies unease in the reader, as relationships fray and ‘civilisation’ takes a beating. This is utterly seductive writing.
Barbie Robinson, Living Arts Canberra
This is both a compelling domestic drama and a sly examination of guilt and privilege. It gets the reading year off to a great start. Highly recommended.
Greg Fleming, New Zealand Listener
The world Cuskelly has created in The Campers is intense, yet familiar. The setting was still easily conjured days after I finished, the people and the feelings still buzzed through my mind and the ways it made me question my own behaviour felt unsettling and necessary.
Ruth Wykes, Sisters in Crime