“Looking out at the river, glittering in the harsh sunlight, Soksan could see tall, graceful, steel cranes, looming over unfinished buildings with their structures exposed. What was it about this place? She imagined how Indigenous Australians had lived off this river for centuries, fished from it, and now the effects of constant construction were bleeding into the water.”
The River
When Soksan reluctantly returns to Australia to help her parents recover from losing their family home, she finds herself in Parramatta, a city in the midst of urban development that will enrich some and exploit vulnerable others. The body of her new boss washes up in Parramatta river and Soksan becomes entangled in the investigation. As Soksan is drawn further into the underbelly of a city undergoing rapid development, she acquires a target on her back. Can she protect herself as well as her parents?
May is a Teochew Chinese Cambodian Australian who currently lives in Prague. She is a former academic in anthropology, and is currently a freelance writer and editor as well as founder of the Prague Writers Workshop.