"On Christmas Eve 1967, Rosemarie McDonald walks out the door of her suburban Melbourne home, leaving her husband behind to raise their four children: Deborah, the eldest at almost 13 and default mother; Robert, the compulsive worrier; James the peacemaker even at eight; and Meredith, the perpetual baby. Decades later, the children have forged their own families, but remain trapped in their original roles and are still somehow waiting for word from Rosemarie. When James rediscovers her on a trip to London, they are all faced with confronting their betrayer, and themselves, and possible forgiveness. Published under the title Listen in Veitch's native Australia, the novel's omniscient narration eavesdrops on the inner lives of each family member and their different ways of coping with abandonment — not all of them healthy. What emerges is a heartfelt yet unsentimental portrait of a family undone by a mother's desire, and its struggle to find ways to keep going and keep together. (June)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Warm and always honest, Veitch manages to capture the ebb and flow of sibling dynamics and illuminate the mixed bag of emotions that comes with family life."

Vogue Australia

"Impossible to put down."

Australian Women's Weekly

A new voice in the tradition of Anne Tyler and Anita Shreve, Veitcha's familyportrait reveals the joys and sorrows, the complexity and ambiguity of familylife, and poignantly probes what it means to love and what it means to leave.384 pp.

Kate Veitch was born in Australia. She has written for the Sydney Morning Herald and Vogue Australia and she produced "Their Brilliant Careers," a series on women writers for Australia's Radio National. She splits her time between rural Australia and New York City. Without a Backward Glance is her first novel, and was a bestseller in Australia and Germany.