“Three steps in she found the crumpled body of her dead father.”

What causes more chaos than a will and the remaining family? In Susannah Begbie’s stunning debut novel, The Deed, she exposes the messy side of family and the chaos of sibling rivalry. Winner of the 2022 Richell Prize, Begbie’s story is so beautifully crafted with hilarious and, at times, shocking prose that readers could be forgiven for forgetting The Deed is her first novel.

“Maybe it could be done and maybe it couldn’t. He’d never know unless he tried. It might prod them hard enough to open their eyes. Even if it didn’t, it would give him a laugh, and bloody hell he could do with it.”

Before Tom Edwards dies, he has a mischievous idea to pull his useless adult children back to the farm. None of his children has the ability to continue to look after the Coorong farm. Christine, David, Sophie and Jenny are struggling, not with their father’s death, but their own messy lives. Each sibling greedily thinks that their share of the farm will solve their problems until they are read the terms of the will and property deed. Before they can even think about selling the farm, the siblings must complete an unusual task or lose their claim on the inheritance.

“Jenny stepped across the metal strip pinning the carpet edge and paused for a moment to let her eyes adjust to the dim. She went slowly, cautiously.”

The Deed begins slowly and draws the reader into the world of the Edwards family before packing an almighty punch that will leave them agog. Two pages into the story, and we are dropped right in the centre of family chaos. The last sentence of the first chapter will leave your jaw dropped with its brilliance and absurdity. Furthermore, The Deed’s short chapters help create impeccable pacing that works alongside the turmoil that descends onto the family after the death of their father. It is clear from the very beginning that Begbie has wasted no words. Every sentence and word is meticulously placed to reveal details at the precise moment they will have the most impact.

“She spoke to him quietly as she worked, and he listened. It had been a long time since he had listened so kindly.”

So nuanced are the family dynamics between the siblings while they deal with grief, selfish desires and the task that the characters are equal parts relatable and absurd (or perhaps disturbed). Just when the reader begins to empathise with one of the siblings, they will behave in such a way that they will shift to another. Each character is flawed and very real. Their pain is raw and creates characters that are not who they first appear to be but are just greedy and bonkers. Begbie deftly shifts their personalities, so we start to see hidden strength from an unexpected sibling.

Begbie’s The Deed is a brilliant, compelling and exquisite debut novel. I will be incredibly surprised if her novel does not achieve further accolades. The Deed is a hilarious, shocking and exceptional novel that will delight all readers.

I was intrigued by the premise of this novel - the Edwards siblings brought together by the promise of inheritance to build a coffin for their recently deceased father has all the promise of an entertaining read.
We're told the story from multiple perspectives - the four, very different, children - Jenny, Chris, Dave and Sophie, as well as flashback sections from their father Tom, and other interjections from Vince, the conniving local lawyer who is executing the Edwards will. As a result, we know everything that is going on with our main players which serves to heighten the tension. I'm not sure that all of those tensions were executed (or resolved) particularly well - some seemed to have minimal impact while others were resolved outside the pages of the novel (i.e. It would have been good to see Sophie dealing more directly with the police visit).
The ending too was a little rushed and I'm not sure Vince's last scheme was necessary, given that it too was resolved in a paragraph - a red herring perhaps but it was introduced a little late in the day...
Despite those few misgivings, I still thoroughly enjoyed 'The Deed' and found myself becoming more and more invested in the characters, particularly Jenny and Chris who have perhaps the most difficult internal battles out of the four but are the most capable of the siblings, despite their brother's (frankly) obnoxious disregard for their abilities.
That said, the writing of the characters and their interactions with each other are the strongest aspects of the book - Begbie writes great family drama and with 'The Deed', she has created a charming picture of a family coming together against the odds.

My thanks to Hachette Australia for the eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

If you are in the market for a book that will make you believe in family again, that will give you hope that people can come together after being a part and make something really meaningful - both physically and emotionally - then this book is what you have been waiting for.

The Edwards family are a motley crew! David's business is in real strife (and his wife knows it), Jenny has never strayed far from the family home and has a secret side project and boyfriend, Chris is living a glamorous life with a surgeon husband and perfect children (really??) and Sophie still hasn't found her purpose or her people.

But that is all about to change. When their dad dies and leaves them a seemingly impossible task, will the four siblings be able to team up for the most important project of their lives?

Super read!

I thoroughly enjoyed this story of the Edward’s family and the legacy of Ellersley. The characters are well drawn and even the flashbacks are expertly interwoven. Quintessentially Australian, these four siblings must work together to construct their father’s coffin if they are to receive their inheritance. Each had a different relationship with their father and each had gone their own way in life so being thrown together for this task makes for a challenging situation.
An excellent read and worthy winner of the Richell Prize.

Thank you hachette for letting me read an e-reader arc of this book.

The Deed - definitely a great story about how when there's a will involved and a multi-million dollar inheritance in play that things start to get greedy. I loved the story telling in this with the family and a lawyer I would not hire haha

Susannah Begbie wrote this story beautifully and I enjoyed every second of it.

A great debut novel about a dying man, a family and all the drama that goes along with it. But with a twist. A great Australian read and one that made me laugh and cry. With great characters you really do have to get to know so that the story comes together. It is a book that starts a little slowly but builds along the way which is a good way to get into the actual storyline.

This is definitely a story about the intricacies of the Australian family, money, greed and coping with life, death and ultimatums. I enjoyed it, was very entertained by and and would recommend it. I do look forward to seeing what comes next from this new author.

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Australia & New Zealand for giving me the opportunity to read adn review this book.

Thanks kindly to NetGalley and Hachette Australia for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was absolutely stunning. Susannah Begbie's debut novel is a gorgeous celebration of country Australia, and tells the story of four adult children of a farming family who are reunited to build their recently deceased father's coffin on a deadline, as a condition of his will.

I'll be the first to admit I wasn't sure if this book was for me. It took a while to orient myself in the world of 'The Deed', with its cast of characters and frequent perspective shifting. But I kept going, and I'm so, so glad that I did.

The writing builds and gets better and more enjoyable deeper into the book. I was increasingly impressed with how well developed and thought out the story was, and what felt like more frequent perspective switching became normal and even something to look forward to.

As a city person who's worked in agriculture, this reads as an accessible love letter to the contemporary struggles of generational farming. The genius of this novel lies in its unbelievably rich characters and story. I expected a dramatic tale but it was surprisingly humorous. And the ending was *ugh* oh so lovely - well considered and most definitely not rushed, whatsoever.

This novel surprised me in the best way possible, and I would most definitely recommend it for folks who are looking for a story centred on family dynamics that employs subtle and more understated humour, set in regional, farming Australia. Love love love. Genuinely so impressed.

12/02/24 note for publisher: Goodreads listing not linked successfully on NetGalley so separately posted there and linked here.