Inga Simpson

Australian author Inga Simpson is a writer enthralled with nature, that much is obvious from the first to the very last page of her novel, NEST. In fact the innumerable descriptions of the varied flora and fauna of her native Australia form a natural frame for a central mystery story of children gone missing.

The central character, Jen, is a fifty-ish artist and a lover of all things natural and alive - that flora and fauna I mentioned. She lives alone in a small house in the town where she show more grew up, on Australia's northern coast, after having spent years away in college, art school and teaching. Recently returned to her old home area, she is in a kind of hiding, grieving the end of a relationship and the recent death of her mother. And there is also the unsolved mystery of her dear childhood friend, Michael, who disappeared when they were only eleven years old. Jen's father deserted them at the same time, leaving a cloud of suspicion over his abrupt departure. Jen is now eking out a living with small commissions and by tutoring a promising young artist, twelve year-old Henry, when their small community is suddenly rocked by another child gone missing, bringing back old unhappy memories, as well as suspicion amongst the townspeople.

The story is broken up into short chapters of just a few pages each, often filled with lush descriptions of trees, plants, flowers and animals which fill the rainforest around Jen's cottage. And birds. Because Jen is especially enamored of birds, and her drawings, sketches and paintings are filled primarily with birds, to the extent that she has become known locally as the "bird woman."

Besides the mystery of the missing children, there is also the mystery of her father's abrupt disappearance, something Jen's mother never quite recovered from. Jen, who was very close to her father, has never stopped searching for and wondering what became of this father, a lumberman, who taught her so much about trees and the forest, as well as animals and birds.

"Her father had once taken her to see a koel's eggs in a figbird's nest."

It wasn't until years later that Jen understood -

"The koels were a parasitic cuckoo, knocking the host birds' eggs out of the nest and laying their own in their place."

This revelation later plays a part in Jen's understanding of her father's disappearance. But she never forgot how important the trees, too, were.

"The trees spoke to her ... They spoke to her still. They gentled her, had allowed her to put down roots, and extend them - albeit tentatively - into the ground."

Throughout her adult life, Jen studied birds, loved their shapes and their grace, wishing -

"... to see like a bird, be like a bird, in the end she was only a lumpy human ... She was barely coping on the ground, let alone going to fly, and there was nothing as sad as a bird without wings."

Jen's story culminates with the rains coming, floodwaters which will uncover the earth's secrets. And I found it ironic that I was reading this book during the time that Hurricane Harvey ravaged Texas and the Gulf Coast here in the U.S. Here is Simpson's description of the Australian floods, eerily similar to what I've been hearing on TV and radio here for the past week -

"The coast had been declared a disaster area, whole towns cut off, roads caved in and washed away. Every river, stream and seasonal creek had broken its banks, and still the rain came down and water rushed off the land; there were flood warnings across most of the state. The worst in a hundred years, they said."

In NEST, Inga Simpson has written a mystery, but one that is folded into the lush beauty of an Australian rain forest, filled with the wonder of the natural world. This is not a book to hurry through. It's one to luxuriate in, to crawl into, to build your own nest in - to savor. Very highly recommended. (Four and a half stars)

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER show less

The Libraries of Friendship that have been keeping me going during the pandemic take several forms. 'Where the Trees Were' came from a friend who ordered me a lucky dip of books from the Oxfam online shop, each a surprise. This is the first of them I've read and it proved truly serendipitous. Read at another point in my life, I would have moderately enjoyed this novel. Right now, it was exactly what I needed to read. The narrative follows a woman called Jayne, who grew up on a farm in rural show more Australia with a tight-knit group of friends. Flashbacks to her childhood and teenage years alternate with adulthood. The plot centres upon a group of ancient trees with Aboriginal carvings. While sad events do occur, the story felt to me overwhelmingly one of resilience, restoration, and growth. Crucially, it is both inspiring and escapist to follow a protagonist like Jayne. She camps and cycles in vividly-described Australian landscapes. She leaves her job after achieving what she wanted there, despite not having a firm plan for what to do next. She single-handedly builds a deck for her home and decorates it beautifully. Jayne also has a strong social conscience, intellectual curiosity, and a lovely girlfriend. Given that I am trapped in a job I hate, trapped indoors by fear of coronavirus, and terrible at DIY, it was glorious to escape into her head for a while. 'Where the Trees Were' is well-written, emotionally compelling, and full of memorable details. It addresses Australia's colonial legacy sensitively from a white woman's perspective while telling a coming-of-age story beautifully. For me, though, the great appeal was to briefly inhabit a happier, brighter, and wider world without any of 2020's oppressive fears. I reached the end too quickly. show less

I'm very grateful that the inclusion of NEST in the 2015 Ned Kelly Submissions meant that this wonderful book by Inga Simpson came to my attention. I'm not sure that I'd call this a crime novel, but it's beautiful, engaging and extremely readable.

Reflective and languidly paced, NEST sees Jen Vogel return to the bush town of her childhood. Her mother has recently died, her long-term relationship ended and Jen has returned to her "nest", to the place where she feels safe. A wildlife artist, show more the garden that surrounds her new home is full of the birds that she loves, and the book takes considerable time to describe the birds, their movements and her interaction with them. It's beautifully done, as is the friendship and mentoring that she builds with a young, teenage artist she is tutoring.

Lurking under the surface of this idyllic, but obviously withdrawn life, there's some past mysteries including the disappearance of a young boy Jen had been friends with as a teenager, and the current disappearance of a young girl in the community. This is obviously the "crime" aspect that triggered the inclusion of NEST in the Ned Kelly submissions, but it's not the point of the book. NEST is much more about change, loss and coming to terms with the past so that the future can be lived.

The storytelling style suits this aim perfectly. It's beautifully paced, rythmic, and full of vivid descriptions, but it's the emotion that is the most elegantly done. Whilst Jen is particularly introspective, and obviously thoughtful and reflective, there's nothing overwhelmingly melancholic about her life. She's obviously sad about a number of things, and seeking to understand much from her past, but she's connected so strongly to her garden, and the surrounding landscape that there's a wonderful feeling of hope and contentment as well. Wonderfully evocative and beautifully delivered, NEST was utterly mesmerising.

http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/review-nest-inga-simpson show less

I won a copy of Mr Wigg in a Twitter competition and I’m really glad that I did. Otherwise I don’t think I would have read this wonderfully gentle book about getting old and gardening. After reading that sentence, you’re probably thinking that you wouldn’t care for it, but the book is so lyrical and mesmerising that you’ll fall under its spell. Simpson has done brilliantly with her novel.

Unsurprisingly, this book is about Mr Wigg, a widower living alone on a property in rural show more Australia. Times are changing in the 1970s – not only is the cricket playing short ‘one day’ games but Mr Wigg’s son gives up the land to move away, replaced by people who want to grow grapes for wine! Mr Wigg’s beloved fruit trees are the one constant in his life and he cares for them deeply. He also does a number of wonderful things with the produce – pies, jams and syrups. Her grandchildren are also a delight in his life and he often cooks with them while telling them fairy tales about the peaches in the orchard. Mr Wigg then has an idea for a sculpture after hearing about a competition running in town – but can an old man beat the young artists?

This book has a gentle pace as it trundles through the seasons. There is not a great deal of excitement, but it just works as Mr Wigg is such a lovable character. He could easily be your grandfather, plus he has incredible cooking and baking knowledge for a man of that era! Simpson tantalisingly describes the goodies Mr Wigg produces from the orchard, which in turn inspired me to produce more in the kitchen and remember my childhood surrounded by fruit trees.

The day to day life of Mr Wigg and his orchard are contrasted with the story Mr Wigg tells his grandchildren about the Peach King. This is a beautiful fairy tale and I found myself looking forward to the next instalment. The rivalries between the trees in the orchard were also a nice fantastical diversion from the inevitability of getting older and frailer. It is interesting that we don’t find out that Mr Wigg has Parkinson’s Disease ‘til later on – I suspect this is only as he comes to terms with it and realises his limitations as it worsens.

As I was reading this, I felt I knew what was going to happen at the end – it was somewhat inevitable, but I really didn’t want it to happen! The ending brought a tear to my eye – it was very fitting and handled well by Simpson.

I loved this book as it was kind of like slow food – time to sit and savour the prose and story rather than dashing through the pages madly. Warm and beautiful, it celebrates the life of older Australians.

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