Rashida Murphy’s debut collection of short fiction was awarded runner-up in the 2021 Carmel Bird Digital Literary Award. This set of 20 short stories and flash fiction examines the experiences of girls and women travelling across the globe between Australia and India and beyond. Beginning with the titular story, Murphy sets the tone for a lyrical and powerful collection that is brimming with lines – like ‘a girl’s worth is not in the symmetry of her bones’ – to send shivers down the reader’s spine.
Often probing the migrant experience from the inside, Murphy exposes the range of interactions these characters face – from the absurd to the downright xenophobic – with precision and heart. As a writer, she shows great skill in her ability to bring characters to life in a few sharply crafted sentences.
Though this is a slim collection, it is one that carries immeasurable weight.