''Revenge: Murder in Three Parts'' is a 2020 novel by S.L. Lim. The novel is about a Malaysian woman named Yannie who is forced by her parents to care for them and to work at the family store while her brother Shan is allowed to attend university. After her parents' death, Yannie moves to Australia and attempts to undermine her brother's life.
The book won the 2022
Barbara Jefferis Award
The Barbara Jefferis Award is an Australian literary award prize. The award was created in 2007 after being endowed by John Hinde upon his death to commemorate his late wife, author Barbara Jefferis. It is funded by his $1 million bequest. Origi ...
and was shortlisted for the 2021
Stella Prize
The Stella Prize is an Australian annual literary award established in 2013 for writing by Australian women in all genres, worth $50,000. It was originally proposed by Australian women writers and publishers in 2011, modelled on the UK's Bailey ...
.
Reception
''Revenge'' received generally positive reviews. Writing in the ''
Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...
'',
Kerryn Goldsworthy
Dr. Kerryn Lee Goldsworthy (born 14 May 1953) is an Australian freelance writer and former academic.
Life and career
Goldsworthy has edited four anthologies of Australian writing. She has also written many articles, essays and reviews.
She has ...
wrote that the book was a "complex novel about power, money, sexuality and systemic inequality, written with elegance and restraint". A review in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' praised the novel's opening, writing that Lim "establishes a tone so true to the emotional core of our heroine it felt like someone pressing on a sharp, sustained wound". In a review in ''
Australian Book Review
''Australian Book Review'' is an Australian arts and literary review. Created in 1961, ''ABR'' is an independent non-profit organisation that publishes articles, reviews, commentaries, essays, and new writing. The aims of the magazine are " ...
'', Mindy Gill gave a more mixed assessment, writing that the novel's dialogue was stilted in places. A review in the ''
Sydney Review of Books
The ''Sydney Review of Books'' (''SRB'') is an online literary magazine established in 2013.
According to the journal's inaugural editor James Ley it was created to address shortcomings in Australian book reviews.
Awards
In 2019 ''SRB'' co ...
'' wrote that the novel had some missteps in the characterisation of its protagonist, but praised its exploration of misogyny and colonialism.
Awards
References
{{reflist
2020 Australian novels