Review: Too Much Lip

If you follow me on Instagram, you'll likely know that I've been to Australia twice and I absolutely love the country (and I don't shut up about it). I don't, however, read many Australian authors. I have a feeling that some of that has to do with rights and what is available to Canadian publishers for Canadian bloggers to read. All that to say, when I came across Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko, I was intrigued and immediately interested. It's a super dark comedy that was different than anything else I've read this year and I enjoyed it.

Here's the synopsis:

Wise-cracking Kerry Salter has spent a lifetime avoiding two things - her hometown and prison. But now her Pop is dying and she's an inch away from the lockup, so she heads south on a stolen Harley. Kerry plans to spend twenty-four hours, tops, over the border. She quickly discovers, though, that Bundjalung country has a funny way of grabbing on to people. Old family wounds open as the Salters fight to stop the development of their beloved river. And the unexpected arrival on the scene of a good-looking dugai fella intent on loving her up only adds more trouble - but then trouble is Kerry's middle name. Gritty and darkly hilarious, Too Much Lip offers redemption and forgiveness where none seems possible.

I do have to say I don't think I was quite in the mood for this book when I read it. I'm definitely a big mood reader and I hadn't realized quite how dark it was going to be. It's definitely more drama than comedy, I felt, but that's not a bad thing. Just took awhile for my brain and expectations to catch up.

Not only was this book set in Australia, but it takes place close-ish to where I've traveled. The town Kerry grew up in is fictional but a few real towns were mentioned so I could get a better idea of the location. It also caused massive wanderlust for me! I can't wait to go back. 

You may have noticed the synopsis mention "Bundjalung country." Bundjalung people are an Aboriginal nation in Australia, which, we should all know is a country with some problems with how they've treated the original custodians of the country (and I say this as a Canadian who knows her own country has many problems as well). Like a lot of readers, I've been trying to seek out more BIPOC authors for the last couple of years and show my support to those authors (and show publishers that we want and need stories by authors who aren't white and straight). I'm really happy to have stumbled across this book (seriously, I had to find it myself in the publisher's catalogue...no one was talking about it).

This novel is about more than a granddaughter returning home as her grandfather is dying. Lucashenko does not shy away from really tough subjects that need to be explored in literature and in life. There were disputes over land rights as well as a lot of trauma in the family. Some characters, like Kerry, have questions about their sexuality. Yes, there was a lot going on but it wasn't confusing in the least. It made my heart hurt and yet also made me laugh out loud a few times. And it taught me a few new words, too.

I think I would have liked Too Much Lip a little bit more if it were less literary (not my favourite) and more comedic. This is, completely, a personal reading preference and doesn't make the book any less good. Because it is that: a really good book. Melissa Lucashenko's novel was an engaging read though and I definitely recommend it, especially to those like me who are trying to expand their reading horizons. I'd also love to talk this book through with someone else who's read it!

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, HarperCollins Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*