With a notable literary prowess in the articulation of historical fiction, author Nicole Alexander has crafted her new book, The Limestone Road, by drawing on her ancestral interest in military history. This seasoned author knows the worthiness of face-to-face history, the conversational translation of memories and of characterised recollections.
In The Limestone Road, Nicole centres on a time and place in global and Australian history, weaving a textural backdrop of the domestic experience within the context of events abroad. The story focuses on the difficult relationship between a father and son, before, during and after their active service in the North African campaign of World War II, circa 1942. The trauma of war and the unfolding and far-reaching impact on lives, including the now recognised PTSD condition, is explored.
Nicole’s family history enticed her to create the story, with both paternal and maternal grandfathers having witnessed the Western Front during the Great War and the North African campaign during World War II respectively. However, the trigger point, that which sowed the seed and progressed her venture from a thought to a published work, was a chance meeting with an immigrant recruited to labour on the Snowy Mountains Hydro Scheme during the 1950’s.
There is an authenticity in Nicole’s depiction of life in Outback Australia at the time. “The representations of rural life have been based on my experiences as a grazier on a sheep and cattle station in northwest NSW, my family’s long rural tenure and our archival material which dates to 1894,” she said. An additional layer of authenticity comes from the harking back to the soldier settler era in the southeast of South Australia, the establishment of disparate agricultural activities and the over-regulated unproductivity of those early days.
Australians enjoy the relevance of a good Aussie read and The Limestone Road delivers handsomely. It quenches the thirst for the real stuff, the unabashed uniqueness of our culture and character. Nicole has emerged as a storyteller of the vernacular experience expressed in our tongue, with our passion and understanding, both literally and figuratively.
Join the queue to enjoy The Limestone Road at Glen Innes Library by reserving it – 6730 2600 puts you one step closer to the first page! The Library is also offering an opportunity to meet Nicole Alexander on Saturday 17 May at 10:30am. Call the Library on 6730 2600 to RSVP.
