Book Club - Maylands - December: A Short History of Longans by Mirandi Riwoe

Book of the Month: A Short History of Longans by Mirandi Riwoe A Books in the Brewery book club is a free casual event combining great beer with good chat and an Aussie novel. Readers and drinkers are invited to take part in a guided conversation with our resident host.Maylands meetings will be held at 6pm on the second Monday of the month. Adult readers of all experience are invited to think and talk about books in a safe and encouraging space. Expect to be discussing books from both award-winning Australian authors and new voices from around the country. To stay updated on the latest book selection and event details, follow us on Instagram at @booksinthebrewery and join the conversation by subscribing to our Substack newsletter. This event is supported by the City of Bayswater. About the book: ‘They said you were a murdering bushranger.’ It’s the winter of 2049 and Daniel is elderly and long isolated. After yet another devastating storm, this time destroying his beloved longan tree, he finds his fragile peace threatened by a growing friendship with a widowed neighbour and the appearance of a young reporter digging into a shameful event buried deep in his past. Across the autumn of 2000, the summer of 1949 and the restless springs of the mid‑nineteenth century, the tangled roots of Daniel’s family tree unfurl – to the moment an Irish orphan finds her fate entwined with that of a Chinese bushranger. Intriguing and beautifully written, this dazzling novel spanning centuries and generations unravels the secrets and memories of one Irish-Chinese family to explore what it means to belong – to place, to ancestors, to ourselves.