THE SEVEN SKINS OF ESTHER WILDING by Holly Ringland
It is difficult to know where to start with a book that I anticipated for so long.
It is difficult to know where to start with a book that I anticipated for so long. I have to say from the outset that The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, which is Holly Ringland’s debut novel, is one of my favourite novels ever and resparked my love of fiction after many years away from it. When The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding was announced, I was wild with excitement. There was enormous risk here - would I love this work after such a stellar debut?
Seven Skins follows the story of Esther Wilding, whose sister had, a year prior, disappeared into the water near their home in Lutruwita (Tasmania). In the meantime, Esther has essentially run away - from her grief, her family and (well, she tried) herself. Of course, we can never leave ourselves behind, and over the course of this story, as Esther seeks to understand why her sister Aura died, she must come to grips with the parts of herself she is not comfortable with. Combined with grief and mystery around her sister’s life prior to her death, Esther learns about seven cryptic storied that Aura had tattooed to her body. This path of discovery takes Esther to Copenhagen and the Faroe Islands.
Ringland’s writing has always been sublime - descriptive, engaging and rich in imagination. In Seven Skins, her narrative and story telling ascends a new level - this novel is literally a page-turner, and when you put it down (as I did often to stop myself reaching the end too quickly, so much did I love this book), you think about it. You imagine the imagery evoked, illustrative and colourful, with tones of grey creating shadows where the grief threads through the story.
I don’t mean to gush but this truly is a beautiful book. At times I laughed, I cried, I became angry and I forgave. This was truly the full spectrum of emotions.
At the beginning of each section, a quote is found. My favourite was:
So evocative was this for me, after a difficult 2022, I decided to have this tattooed on my own body. One of the great threads of this story was Ringland’s description of women who get tattooed and what they often mean - a means of control over themselves when so many of us continue to feel disempowered by the society we live in and the institutions which too often fail us. When Ringland said words to that effect at her opening night on her book tour (in Meanjin (Brisbane)), I shed tears. I love my tattoos but I had never considered that I have them as a form of control, and as a way to feel beautiful (to myself).
Suffice to say, The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding is a complete triumph. It is, in my own view, even more beautiful to read than The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, which says a lot. Readers of the first novel will love this new story. I commend it to you in the strongest and brightest of terms.
Thankyou, Holly Ringland, for sharing Esther with us. I cannot wait to see what comes next.