Book of the Month

Circle of Wonders

May 2026

Kathryn Heyman

From acclaimed writer Kathryn Heyman comes a luminously beautiful and personal novel, Circle of Wonders. It is the story of two deaths, but more importantly, it is the story of the legacy of life that flows from them - an uplifting celebratory song to life, and a homage to human resilience.

Roni is running out of time. As cancer claims her body, she begins a Book of Wonders, capturing the small, luminous moments she once overlooked. It's a final gift to the people she loves, and completing it means reckoning with both the flawed life she has lived and the fractured family she's about to leave behind.

Over one charged lunar month, the women closest to her gather: Belle, her daughter, fresh from rehab and trying to stay upright; Anna, her brilliant sister, returning from London with all her old certainties cracking; and Sylvie, her estranged mother, approaching her own death across the mountain ridge. Meanwhile, Roni's ex - the Drone, as she's dubbed him - refuses to leave the house, casting shade on the light Roni is fighting to keep burning.

Extraordinary, luminous and heart-expanding, Circle of Wonders is about facing death while rediscovering life, and about the messy grace that emerges when people who've hurt one another still choose to love.

PRAISE FOR CIRCLE OF WONDERS

'A novel that offers guidance, solace, and new models for living and dying' Guardian

'Heyman is a talented author and a brilliant observer of the world ... Despite focusing on death, this is a novel that truly celebrates life and all the trials and tribulations that come with it. It's messy, vulnerable, heavy yet light-hearted, tender and deeply human ... a truly intimate and detailed reimagination of life, death, and what awaits us beyond it. A must-read for anyone who has lost a loved one' The Australian

'A precious jewellery box of language, bravely capturing the imperfection of being human and probing the mysteries of what matters most - this courageous novel glitters with wonder itself' Suzie Miller, Prima Facie

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