A Few Days in the Country

Australian author Elizabeth Harrower spent decades largely out of print, and this 2015 collection of twelve stories — most written in the 1960s and 1970s — helped correct that. The stories examine women, men, and children navigating power, vulnerability, and social expectation in mid-20th-century Australia, and the best of them are precisely observed and quietly devastating. The inclusion of 'Alice,' published for the first time in The New Yorker in 2015, adds genuine discovery value. The collection won the Steele Rudd Award for Australian Short Story Collection and was shortlisted for the Stella Prize — recognition that reflects the quality of Harrower's compression and psychological insight. The honest caveat is that her detached, ironic tone can feel cold, and not all twelve stories are equally strong. Literary adult readers will find this a rewarding introduction to a neglected major voice.