Infinite Splendours

By: Sofie Laguna

Narrated by: Matthew Backer

From the winner of the Miles Franklin Award for The Eye of the Sheep.

Lawrence is a bright, caring, curious boy with a gift for painting. He lives at home with his mother and younger brother, and the future is laid out before him, full of promise. But when he is 10, an experience of betrayal takes it all away, and Lawrence is left to deal with the aftermath.

As he grows into a man, how will he make sense of what he has suffered? He cannot rewrite history, but must he be condemned to repeat it? Lawrence finds meaning in the best way he knows. By surrendering himself to art and nature, he creates beauty - beauty made all the more astonishing and soulful for the deprivation that gives rise to it.

Infinite Splendours is an extraordinary novel, incandescent with love and compassion, rich in colour and character. The power and virtuosity of Laguna’s writing make it impossible for us to look away; by being seen, Lawrence is redeemed.

And we, as listeners, have had our minds and hearts opened in ways we can’t forget.

©2020 Sofia Laguna (P)2020 W. F. Howes

Critic reviews

"It is quite a feat to write characters with such nuance...in harnessing her storytelling facility to expose the flaws in the system with what is becoming trademark empathy, Laguna is an author proving the novel is a crucial document of the times." (Louise Swinn, The Australian)

An awful and unnecessary story

What makes an author write such a sorrowful story?
So superbly written and narrated that I am still angry at the author for putting these characters through this life.
I found myself so deeply invested that I still mourn for these people.

I ADORE Sofie ...... BUT...

This was a tough read for me.
An extremely hard subject matter to write about, however Sofie tackled it head on.
Not one of my favourites from this author, LOVED ‘eye of the sheep’