The Falling Woman [Paperback]

One woman's journey into the heart's landscape is mirrored by a haunting desert odyssey in this novel told in three voices—Stella, Estella, and Estelle. The narration follows Stella from birth to age 29 as she confronts epilepsy, death, and lesbianism; Estella as she confronts the Australian desert and the metaphoric edge of her consciousness with her lover Olga; and Estelle, the timeless, mythical voice of women in different cultures and times sharing their stories that range from the mundane to the frightening. The final chapter draws all three voices together through an analogy of comets, snakes, and stars, in which Stella becomes Estella and Estelle and they move into a literal cosmic realm as one.

A remarkable lyrical first novel. —Robin Morgan,Ms Magazine

There can be no question about the imaginative reach and power of this novel. —John Hanrahan,The Age

Susan Hawthorneis the cofounder of Spinifex Press, the author ofWild Politics,coauthor ofAustralia for Women,and the coeditor ofAfter Shock: September 11, 2001: Feminist Perspectives; Car Maintenance, Explosives, and Love; andCyberFeminism.She is a research associate at Victoria University and a former chair of the International Feminist Book Fair.

Read a novel that explores the experience of epilepsy personally and mythically.