The Sun Was Electric Light

Rachel Morton

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English

Queensland Univ. Press
01 April 2025

Fiction & Literature; Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945); Family & relationships; Living & working abroad; Travel writing

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A beautifully told story about a disillusioned woman searching for love and belonging from the winner of the 2024 VPLA Unpublished Manuscript Award. Perfect for fans of Deborah Levy and Rachel Cusk, The Sun Was Electric Light explores what it means to live a good life.

'I read this pure, pained, beautiful book in a single burst, and emerged from it with heart and nerves rinsed clean.' Helen Garner

Disillusioned with her life in New York, Ruth returns to a lake town in Guatemala where she had been happy a decade earlier. There, in Panajachel, she meets two very different women- the calm and practical Emilie, and the turbulent and intoxicating Carmen.

Deciding to stay and build a life at the lake, Ruth finds work first as a nanny to a wealthy local family, then as an English teacher at a village school. Meanwhile, she becomes increasingly infatuated by her friendship with Carmen, pushing away the stability of her connection with Emilie. As Carmen's fragile relationship with the world splinters, the difference between being a visitor and truly belonging becomes clear, and Ruth is forced to act.

The Sun Was Electric Light is a sublime novel about searching for belonging and a life that makes sense.

By: Rachel Morton
Imprint: Queensland Univ. Press
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 226mm, Width: 153mm, Spine: 16mm
Weight: 277g
ISBN: 9780702268892
ISBN 10: 0702268895
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 01 April 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Rachel Morton is a writer living on Eastern Maar Country in south-west Victoria. Her poetry has appeared in Meanjin Quarterly, The Moth Magazine and various other publications. Rachel was shortlisted for the 2019 Australian Catholic University Prize for Poetry. The Sun Was Electric Light is her first novel and won the 2024 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript.