“Asylum is a solid story that deals with one woman’s journey to adulthood while underscoring the social and political injustices faced by those who don’t hold Australian citizenship. Although some of the language will be strange to non-Australian speakers, the story is nevertheless compelling and utterly relatable. Well worth the read.” – Reviewed by Marta Tandori for Readers’ Favorite.
I wrote this novel in 2012-13 when the Labor party were in power and the exodus of asylum seekers from countries including Syria into Europe hadn’t happened. I wrote the story to express my personal dismay over the way asylum seekers were treated in Australia. It’s even worse now. I juxtaposed the situation my protagonist, the aptly named Yvette Grimm, found herself in as a British-born visa overstayer, with the plight of real asylum seekers. I also paralleled the punitive and cruel asylum seeker policies of current governments with the way Australia treated the forgotten child migrants who were sent to children’s homes.
You can read the full review at Readers’ Favorite.
Find out more about Asylum, and read an excerpt and other reviews here.
And you may buy a copy if you wish, from many places, including Amazon, Book Depository, Booktopia.
If you wish to read my opinion pieces on asylum seekers, you will find a list of links here.
