About the Book
Set in post-lockdown Melbourne, Melanie Cheng’s The Burrow is a tender, compact novel about a family reeling from the loss of a child. Told from multiple perspectives, it follows Amy, Jin, their daughter Lucie, and Amy’s mother Pauline as they attempt to navigate grief and rekindle fractured bonds. Cheng’s restrained prose captures the emotional stasis that trails trauma, portraying each character as both vulnerable and resilient. With the pandemic as a subtle backdrop, the novel explores themes of parenthood, silence, guilt and healing. A pet rabbit becomes a quiet metaphor for fragility, while long-buried tensions rise to the surface. Cheng offers a compelling portrait of loss, love, and the slow, complicated path to reconnection.
Event Details
When: Friday, 2 May · 6:30 pm – 8 pm
Where: Arts & Cultural Exchange (ACE), 8 Victoria Rd, Parramatta NSW 2150
