Wild Chicory

From Ireland to Australia an immigrants tale of love war and the unbreakable bonds of family. Praise for Wild Chicory: It is uplifting to know that there are people who can write like this with clarity a bit of devilment and a hint of a smile. The story is a simple one but told in a way that keeps you reading as much for the elegance of the telling as for the action it describes. Here is prose with a light sunny breeze blowing through it... Why cant more people write like this? A little gem. - The Age colourful evocative and energetic - Sydney Morning Herald Kim Kellys Wild Chicory is told with wit warmth and courage. Its an ode to the splendour to be found in a simple life and the hope for something better even if you must risk everything to achieve it. - Newtown Review of Books Wild Chicory is a novella that takes the reader on an immigrant journey from Ireland to Australia in the early 1900s along threads of love family war and peace. Its a slice of ordinary life rich in history folklore and fairy tale and a portrait of the precious relationship between a granddaughter Brigid and her grandmother Nell. From the windswept emerald coast of County Kerry to the slums of Sydneys Surry Hills; and from the bitter sectarian violence of Ulster to tranquillity of rural New South Wales Brigid weaves her grandmothers tales into a small but beautiful epic of romance and tragedy of laughter and the cold reality of loss. Its Nells tales tall and true that spur Brigid to write her own too. Ultimately its a story of finding your feet in a new land - be that a new country or a new emotional space - and the wonderful trove of narrative we carry with us wherever we might go.