This party’s got to stop

I met one of my favourite novelists when I was a book publicist, and have always remembered how much I enjoyed Rupert Thompson’s company over a few days at the Melbourne Writers’ Festival. So of course I was eager to read his first memoir.

This Party’s Got To Stop is one of those rare books which make you stop and stare into the distance every few paragraphs or so, savouring its poignancy and perfection. It’s an extraordinary story about his father’s death, but conveys so well the seeming randomness of events, and our way of dealing with grief and the unexpected. I’m totally immersed in it.