Maree lives in a sprawl of brick veneer, splintery fences, hot summers and vacant lots. Father sticks to the adage, 'waste-not, want-not' and thinks parenting is a matter of keeping the family in sight and under check. Her mother flits from room to room with a Mortein can on a campaign to eradicate.
This is the 'burbs', where boys are tough, older sisters spend a lot of time in the bathroom, and parents jam 1950s expectations into a 1970s nuclear now. Life is never precisely as it was meant. But then again, who meant it?
Maree fervently wishes to be an orphan adopted by her teacher. When this fails, she wants instead to be a horse. Part tableau, ruthlessly deadpan, and only in small measure a story of a teenager and her horse, 'Pegasus In The Suburbs' tells what happens when a girl gets - almost - what she wants.
Winner of the Australian/Vogel Literary Award.
