Along with his sister Jenny, they are able to talk freely to most of the people involved in the funeral procession and snoop in areas and listen in on conversations where no one pays them much attention.

Jack is a typical country boy full of mischief, questions and ideas. Narrated by Tom's twelve year old son Jack, the novel will appeal to teenagers as well as a wider audience. His widow Dawn, together with his twin children and friends, decides to stage a protest, taking his coffin by horse and cart on a five day trek to Melbourne where he can be buried close to his family.Īlong the way, the protest takes on a life of its own with farmers and those affected by the economy, the drought and climate change joining the procession and making headlines in the local and national press, especially when someone starts torching banks and supermarkets along the route. Unfortunately things go wrong and Tom loses his life in the fire. Unable to pay his bank loan, he decides to burn down his house instead of letting the bank take it. Tom Murray is one such farmer in rural Victoria. It's a very Australian story focusing on the plight of dairy farmers who are being forced out of business by aggressive supermarket chains who have decided that cheap milk is what the public wants, even if it means dairy farmers and their families will lose their livelihoods. Taking Tom Murray home is a delightful book. It's a novel about grief, pain, anger and loss, yes, but it's also about hope - and how community, friends and love trump pain and anger, every time.

Told with a laconic, deadpan wit, Taking Tom Murray Home is a timely, thought-provoking, heart-warming, quintessentially Australian story like no other. Five days, five more towns, and a state ready to explode in flames. And as the motley funeral procession passes through Victoria, there are more mysterious arson attacks. To make a bigger impact she agrees with some neighbours to put his coffin on a horse and cart and take it slow - real slow.īut on the night of their departure, someone burns down the local bank. His wife, Dawn, doesn't want him to have died for nothing and decides to hold a funeral procession for Tom as a protest, driving 350km from Yardley in country Victoria to bury him in Melbourne where he was born. But something goes tragically wrong, and Tom dies in the blaze. The winner of the inaugural Banjo Prize, Taking Tom Murray Home is a funny, moving, bittersweet Australian story of fires, families and the restorative power of community.īankrupt dairy farmer Tom Murray decides he'd rather sell off his herd and burn down his own house than hand them over to the bank.

Taking Tom Murray Home by Tim Slee