Invented Lives - Softcover

‘Australian novelist Goldsmith offers an intricate and provocative examination of grief and identity wrapped up in a riveting family saga ... Goldsmith's writing is enveloping and thought provoking ... A beautiful novel that challenges readers with questions that have no simple answers.’ STARRED REVIEW

‘It is a fabulous book ... It lives on ... What I really loved was the changing seasons of all the characters, their inner beings, their outer beings, their strengths.’

‘One of the best books I’ve read in ages. A dizzy pleasure to read a book with such a compelling story ... Exquisitely told.’

‘In her latest novel, [Andrea Goldsmith] tackles the idea and experience of exile from a surprising perspective.’

‘Goldsmith writes powerfully about art, love, exile and being true to oneself.’

‘Absorbing interior monologues, the convincing details of place and texture, the feel of the weather, all inserted into a larger, meticulously researched historical or ideological background ... The freshest, most impressive quality of Invented Lives is the ease with which Goldsmith quietly rescues narratives of immigration and boy-meets-girl from cliche and convention.’

‘Her fiction shows characters living deeply, and in Invented Lives, her eighth novel, she does this with the level of skill we have come to expect ... Invented Lives is a novel bursting with references to books, writers and real letters with stamps, and features the famous noticeboard at Readings in Carlton. Goldsmith has always been excellent at conjuring place, and this Melbourne sparkles ... Goldsmith understands that a great deal of personal history is laced with tragedy, and accordingly she has managed, once again, to write a unique story that feels universal.’

‘This is a multi-layered story of a young Russian immigrant who introduces us to a host of Australian characters on her journey from the Soviet Union to Melbourne in the 1980s. True to expectations, the book offers a social and cultural travel guide through the era and its enormous changes. However, it is the Melbourne setting that will resonate with most readers ... A fascinating eye-opener for many readers.’

‘[A] complex and nuanced book ... Goldsmith’s novel shows careful research in its evocations of time and place ... a thoughtful novel.’

‘This is a compassionate and thoughtful depiction of one aspect of multicultural Australia ... Invented Lives will appeal to fans of Australian literary fiction for its depiction of rich inner lives, and the conflict between desire and reality.’

Andrea Goldsmith originally trained as a speech pathologist and was a pioneer in the development of communication aids for people unable to speak. 

Her first novel, Gracious Living, was published in 1989. This was followed by Modern Interiors, Facing the Music, Under the Knife, and The Prosperous Thief, which was shortlisted for the 2003 Miles Franklin Literary Award. Reunion was published in 2009, and The Memory Trap was awarded the 2015 Melbourne Prize. Her literary essays have appeared in Meanjin, Australian Book Review, Best Australian Essays, and numerous anthologies. She has mentored many emerging writers.