About the Novel

In this deeply personal novel, Nigel Featherstone imagines the course of one man’s quest for happiness based on one question - what if I disobey my mother? My Heart is a Little Wild Thing follows Patrick who has dedicated his life to the care of his elderly mother for decades. Until one vicious fight leads him to break away and return to a childhood place of solace in the isolated Monaro region. There he meets Lewis – a moment that will change his life. The novel tracks Patrick’s life from the 1980s through to contemporary times, charting gay history in Australia over several decades. Through the evolution of Patrick’s relationship with Lewis and the shifting relationships with his family, My Heart is a Little Wild Thing explores the push and pull of a sense of family expectations versus the lure of love. As the story progresses, Patrick reflects on his memories of the steading at the Monaro, the place where he has felt most himself, highlighting the impact that place, and nature, can have on one’s sense of self. Tender and insightful, My Heart is a Little Wild Thing serves as a reminder that we all deserve to follow our dreams.

‘A poignant and ultimately hopeful novel about how it’s never too late to find courage or connect with joy. I was captivated by the elegance of Featherstone’s prose and the quiet power of his voice.’ Delia Falconer,

‘Epic in its intimacy... It’s a triumph of a book about the timeless theme of how romance can be obstructed by a suffocating mother.’ Peter Polites

'Entrancing, multifaceted, melancholic and yet full of joy, what ultimately makes this book sing is the sheer weight of human experience underpinning every one of its moving parts.’ Sam Coley

‘Beautiful and disarmingly honest, this is a searing meditation of an urgent quest for self-meaning and deep love – and about what being a ‘good child’ and a complete adult means.’ Paul Daley

‘My Heart Is A Little Wild Thing is a brilliant and deeply evocative novel that breaks your heart and hints that, if you trust it enough, it will lovingly piece it back together. Powerful, tender, visceral and sublime – a must-read piece of Australian literature.’ Holden Sheppard‘

Nigel Featherstone’s latest novel is an intense emotional journey, across longing, loss, letting go and embracing the unknown. A reading experience to savour and revisit again and again.’ Melinda Smith

‘My Heart Is A Little Wild Thing beautifully explores the permutations of love – of intimacy and sex, and of connection and belonging. This is a novel that will stay with me.’ R.W.R. McDonald,

‘Featherstone’s writing rings with assurance and echoes with love, memory and tenderness.’ Karen Viggers

Nigel Featherstone

Nigel Featherstone is the author of Bodies of Men which was longlisted for the 2020 ARA Historical Novel Prize, Highly Commended for the 2020 ACT Book of the Year, shortlisted in the 2019 Queensland Literary Awards, and received a 2019 Canberra Critics Circle Award. Nigel lives on the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales and spends considerable time in Canberra, the national capital of Australia.

Anna Vidot

Anna is ABC Radio Canberra’s Drive presenter. Prior to moving to local Radio, Anna was the ABC Rural's national political reporter based in Parliament House, Canberra. She reported on agricultural and regional issues from Hobart and Launceston in Tasmania, and Wagga Wagga in southwest New South Wales, in the heart of the Murray-Darling Basin.During her time at Parliament House, she covered leadership spills, the creation of the Basin Plan, the backpacker tax debacle and the twists and turns of trade policy.

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