Vivian Molloy's husband urges her to retire from teaching, and he’s keen to travel Australia and then Covid ends their plans. The borders open and they attend the Festival of Singing in Queensland and Dave has been a bit distant lately and Vivian hopes a holiday will rekindle the spark.

When Dave doesn’t return to their room on the last night, and Vivian has to go home to Devenport alone, she’s upset and embarrassed and very confused. While grocery shopping in another town, Vivian bumps into an old work colleague Cathy and she asks her to teach a writing class at the library, at first Vivian is hesitant and she decides to give it a go and it will take her mind of her marital problems. The members of her writing class are attending for a variety of reasons, and a mixture of ages, ethnic groups and circumstances.

Marilyn looks forward to visiting the library once a week, to get away from her useless partner Frank and she loves to read romance novels. Sienna is a young single mother, she’s a victim of domestic violence, and she's scared and lost her confidence. Oscar is house-sitting for his sister and brother-in-law, he was retrenched from his job in Melbourne, and he’s suffering from long Covid and needs to improve his literacy skills to find a new job.

Vivian remembers how much she enjoyed being an educator and gets back into the grove, she doesn’t bombard her students with too much at once, and it’s an inclusive environment. The lessons become an outlet for Vivian and her class, here they can write down how they feel and talk to others, friendships and bonds are formed and confidence grows.

I received a copy of The Writing Class by Esther Campion from NetGalley and Hachette Australia & New Zealand in exchange for an honest review. A well written and uplifting narrative about how everyone has a story and they need a way to express themselves and share it, being brave and taking risks, helping others and forming meaningful connections.

Five stars from me, the characters are wonderful and I cheered them on and felt sad when they did, and a great teacher can be an inspiration and libraries are a hub for many communities and they provide much more than reading material. I highly recommend The Writing Class and the author’s previous novel A Week to Remember.

The “Writing Class” is a book that kept growing on me the further I read. I got to know several of the members of the class better over time, until they felt more like friends and acquaintances, rather than characters in a book.

Vivian opens her heart to new friends and experiences by starting to say “yes” rather than “no” when given the opportunity and this leads to previously unimagined help and healing at a difficult time in her life. Marilyn would fit well writing reviews of her favourite romances on Bookstagram; and Cathy and Jess both captured my heart with the glimpses of their stories. I would love to read more about Jess and her work, and more about Cathy who sees needs and meets them, both while dealing with their own struggles.

Sienna’s story is heart breaking and one that sadly many people are familiar with; her experience with domestic violence is one that needed to be told. Oscar and dog somehow became my favourite characters as did his increasing interest in his sister’s cleaner and the amazing storyline that developed there.

So much happens within this book, and all set around Devonport and the local area in Tasmania which made it extra special to read. I’ve only spent a short time in this area but it was enough to have some sense of where things happened including the visit to Home Hill (which i only glimpsed from the outside). Something about knowing the setting a little, and imagining it, added an extra dimension to my appreciation of this story.

It would be such fun to read the book that was launched at the end of the writing class, and to take part in something similar. The book also provided a good avenue for exploring learning difficulties and also the challenges people speaking English as a second language can face in so many formal and informal settings.

Overall this story was both challenging and delightful, and captured events so perfectly by the author, who is a gifted storyteller. With thanks to Netgalley and Hachette Australia and New Zealand for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for my review; due for release Nov 27 2024.
(4.5/5 stars)