‘The astonishing tale of a foster family held together by ferocious love and courage. What makes a real family? Whose rights should triumph in battles over a child? Which inheritances can we escape, and which will haunt us forever? All this is explored in an irreverently joyful family saga you’ll never forget.’ —Charlotte Wood, author of Stone Yard Devotional
‘Fact is stranger than fiction but it never arrives fully formed. We need writers like Blaine to do that for us. Here he delivers a rollicking, insightful and moving account of the everyday heavens and hells we make for ourselves, and each other.’ —Sarah Krasnostein, author of The Trauma Cleaner
‘This is the new benchmark for the quintessential Australian epic. I lost count of how many times I laughed and cried. If I was a believer, I’d say that Lech Blaine’s writing is godlike. Then again, it’s something better than that: enchantingly human.’ —Grace Tame
‘One of the best writers of his generation.’ —Benjamin Law
‘Blaine's native tongue, an ocker irreverence, gives his writing an amiable charm and reflects the styles of artists such as Tim Winton, Stella Franklin and Helen Garner.’ —Australian Book Review
‘Wild applause. Brave, funny and true.’ —David Marr
‘Despite the nightmare-inducing creepiness of the Shelleys, Blaine’s writing maintains a light and sometimes comical tone. This emotionally charged book reads partly as a thriller and partly as a literary memoir, creating a strange yet compelling combination that makes it worthy of a TV series adaption … it’s a great pick for fans of Tara Westover’s Educated, who can finally satisfy their cravings for another equally unsettling memoir, this time in an Australian setting.’ —Books+Publishing
‘Utterly unputdownable’ —Sally Hepworth, New York Times bestselling author
‘This is one of the best books you will ever read. It will make you laugh. It will make you cry. But it will ultimately renew your faith in humankind, and show the difference that loving parents can make to the lives of children.’ —Niki Savva
‘This is a delicate story told boldly; Blaine masterfully and respectfully threads the many narratives together to create a book that is profound, heartbreaking, hopeful and bloody funny.’ —Readings
‘Blaine shows that whether someone’s life becomes an Australian dream or nightmare can hinge on an opaque mix of nature, nurture, systematic factors beyond most people’s control and sheer luck. The final result, Australian Gospel, is a big-hearted epic, where the pangs of terror are never far from the next belly laugh.’ —Walter Marsh, The Guardian
‘What an extraordinary family story Lech Blaine tells.’ —Jason Steger, The Age & Sydney Morning Herald
‘A compelling story at a breathless pace’ —Mark Dapin, The Australian
‘A sensational tale that is close to home for author Lech Blaine, and it is to his enormous credit that he tells it with compassion, intelligence and wit. Australian Gospel is a captivating work of narrative nonfiction, at once a tremendously moving story of family life, and a profound meditation on family-making and the legacies of love, grief and trauma that get passed from one generation to the next. —Catriona Menzies-Pike, The Guardian
‘It is the two intertwined stories that makes Australian Gospel: A Family Saga such a propulsive, compelling tale.’ —Luke Horton, The Saturday Paper
‘Buckle in, because Lech Blaine’s story about his family will blow your mind … Blaine is considered one of Australia’s most talented writers and this story is a clear indication why … By telling us his story, Blaine opens his arms and invites us in to an extraordinary tale of love and survival. Australian Gospel is a riveting and exceptional read.’ —Chris Gordon, Readings ‘Nonfiction Book of the Month’
‘At the heart of this book lies, well, a whole lotta heart … a bloody good yarn’ —Luke Johnson, The Conversation
‘Such an unlikely and gripping story … this is carefully researched, carefully told fact. At times disturbing but also reassuring, Australian Gospel sees Blaine trace family inheritances of abandonment, addiction, intelligence and love with a clear but empathetic eye.’ — Avid Reader ‘Summer Reading Guide’
‘A narrative told with humour, compassion and an ever-present tension that haunts the reader from start to finish.’ —Paul Cowling, ArtsHub
‘Heartbreaking, hilarious and altogether astonishing.’ —Readings ‘Top Picks for Bookclubs this Month’
‘This story covers so many things: toxic masculinity, birth trauma, marginalisation, the broken foster care system, alcohol and drug abuse, mental health, disability, and the ways that poverty and isolation can force people into impossible circumstances. In parts, it's an indictment of the Australian gospel, and how good people are left behind in its wake. But, ultimately, this is a surprisingly heartwarming story about love: how a lack of it can irreversibly derail someone's life but how, in turn, a life can be saved by it.’ — ‘November’s Best New Books’ ABC
‘Blaine’s book details the damage wrought generationally by trauma and abuse. It captures the way fear reverberates; Shelley could terrify his children and others even when he wasn’t in the same country. The book also shows a triumph of love. The bottomlessness of the Blaines’ compassion and forbearance – not just sainted Lenore, but bolshie Tom and the siblings as well – made this flinty-hearted reader emotional.’ —Michael Winkler, Australian Book Review
‘Australian Gospel is a compelling story that manages to be both heart-warming and coldly terrifying. In short, it’s a shining example of creative non-fiction by author Lech Blaine, a stunning combination of family stories, woven into a braid that holds them all together.’ —Tasmanian Times
‘Lech Blaine has written the most remarkable family saga with Australian Gospel. The reader constantly has to remind themselves they are, in fact, reading a work of stunning, hilarious, harrowing non-fiction and not an Australian fiction classic.’ —Trent Dalton, ‘Best Reads of 2024’ The Sydney Morning Herald
‘This book is truly epic … at the heart of it, a really beautiful story about family … If you like something like Trent Dalton’s Boy Swallows Universe, it’s very much in that vein.’ —Danielle Raffaele, RTR
‘Lech so brilliantly recounts it all. The emotional winding story of his family is beyond comprehension, a story that is filled with love, trauma, grief, and wading through it all. Magnificently written, this is a robust book for lovers of human stories and fascinating perspectives. Highly recommended.’ —Great Escape Books
'This almost too-wild-to-be-true story is a stunning literary achievement, and a thumping good read ... This may be the most important – and personal – book published this year. A must read.' — Callum McLean, Openbook
