Smokehouse
by Melissa Manning

‘Bookended by a captivating love story, this collection is as raw and true as the rugged Tasmanian coast it traverses.’

‘These quietly powerful stories are rich with emotional intensity, taut scenes and an earthy, tangible sense of place. Manning writes about relationships with great insight and feeling, and her descriptions of southern Tasmania are some of the best I’ve ever read. Her talent hums on the page.’

‘Manning finds beauty in our frailties – Smokehouse is a jewel.’

‘Smokehouse is a stunning collection, meticulously observed; each story a deftly wrought character study. At once sparse and poetic, the writing is observant of the sensory voluptuousness of the world and its silences, like a kind of witnessing. The language is controlled, but hums with life. Manning charts the cataclysms and joys of the day-to-day with the precision of an astronomer mapping new constellations.’

‘Manning’s superb debut collection of intertwined short stories, takes a novel’s worth of emotional density, strips away all the fat and crushes what’s left into ten masterfully poignant tales.’

‘a stunning story – intriguing and quietly transgressive’

‘Amazingly gifted ... makes me cry more than any other writer.’

‘These are atmospheric, mesmerising stories by an incredibly skilled writer ... Manning has created an entire world in this small Tasmanian town; a place glistening with pathos, empathy and the essence of human connection. With an innovative structure, perfectly spare prose and great emotional weight, Smokehouse is a celebration of ordinary lives made extraordinary.’