Books
Cassie Stroud
Iluka
The more things change, the more they stay the same. While the aphorism might be well known, the fact that it was penned by a critic is less recognised. It’s relevant, as I want to use the aphorism to make an observation about literary culture. While we have rejected the descriptor “universal” – as implying the marginalisation of diversity – we have nevertheless enthusiastically embraced the adjective “relatable.”
As praise, there’s no doubt it’s more modest, evocative less of grand truths than something vaguely egalitarian. It emerged with the shift from a masculine to a feminine literary culture, but it speaks just as clearly of an assumed audience, even if it’s book-clubbing women rather than bookish men.
Such musings are triggered by the endorsements that accompany Cassie Stroud’s debut novel, Iluka, though the word “relatable” accompanies countless books nowadays. Iluka deals with four generations of women, though it is a credit to Stroud’s light touch that the story is so economical. This book is by no means a saga in the manner of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden (1952) or Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967). Neither does Stroud’s novel show interest in a wider picture or in experiments with literary form. Indeed, the absence of these qualities contributes to its “relatable” nature.
The novel begins with three adult siblings reuniting at their family home – a beach house named Iluka – in the aftermath of the death of their grandparents, who raised the siblings after their mother’s addiction-related death. As the novel progresses, it gives voice to different perspectives and our understanding of the family grows.
The first part introduces us to the siblings: Helen, a mother struggling with her weight; Sylvie, an academic embroiled in a pointless affair; and Brendan, newly married to a divorced mother of two. We also meet Helen’s daughter Tig, who is studying film and who uses her iPhone to document the family’s re-engagement with their past. Tig also enjoys a holiday romance with an Aboriginal boy who lives next door. At one point, they run excitedly after a Mr Whippy van.
Stroud is more persuasive writing about older generations. The second part of the novel presents the perspective of the siblings’ mother, and the third that of the steely grandmother.
Whether we call it universal or relatable, there’s undoubtedly wisdom in this story about the need to think beyond our always-limited points of view – understanding the past helps us understand the present anew.
HQ Fiction, 336pp, $32.99
This article was first published in the print edition of The Saturday Paper on January 31, 2026 as "Iluka".
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