Act of Grace

Set around the time of the 2003 Iraq War, Act of Grace contains seven linked short stories about family, violence, fear, and sacrifice.Toohey, an Australian soldier in Baghdad, returns home with shrapnel lodged in his neck, haunted by memories, looking for rocks to throw at his young son, Gerry. Robbie, a teenager in Melbourne, self-destructs after her father develops early onset dementia. Nasim, an Iraqi girl whose mother helps Saddam with his poetry, calls the dictator ‘Uncle’ and rides his horses, until her parents begin to resist the regime’s grip.Searing, complex and incredibly moving, Act of Grace is a powerful examination of relationships between parents and children, trauma and survival, and what people will do to outrun the shadows.      About the Author      Anna Krien is the author of Night Games: Sex, Power and Sport, Into the Woods: The Battle for Tasmania’s Forests and two Quarterly Essays: #45 Us and Them: On the Importance of Animals and #66 The Long Goodbye: Coal, Coral and Australia's Climate Deadlock. Her work has been published in the Monthly, the Age, the Big Issue, Best Australian Essays, Best Australian Stories, Griffith Review and frankie. In 2014 she won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award in the UK.