Filled with larger-than-life, strong, willful and unconventional women, The Ballad of Siddy Church tells the story of Eadie Wilt and her family. Central to this family is Siddy Church.
" Lin Van Hek writes like an angel giving the devil her due- I love it!" Keri Hulme, Booker Prize winning author of 'The Bone People'
" In the seventy entries for this award, the quality and strength of a number of the first novels submitted alongside many major Australian writers made this a rich year for fiction. In particular, the judges wished to commend . . . The Ballad of Siddy Church, by Lin Van Hek. It was exciting to find such (an) immensely varied and accomplished voice . . ." Australian Premier's Literary Awards, Judges' Reports
" I quickly felt myself sink into the characters, the emotions, the events of a book set in the stifling hot shelves of Australia during World War II. I gave up the idea of sleep. By the time you've read the first three chapters, it's already too late. . .It's a startling read full of staggering highs and multiple lows . . . Praise be to writer Lin Van Hek who held the narrative with a strong hand and a lethal eye. The thread is never lost, the movements complete, the skill of a writer who packaged the events of life into poetry." Glenn Robbins, PANDORA