A novel by Jamie Marina Lau

September 8, 2020 • 5 x 7.75 • 248 pages • 978-1-56689-594-1

Blending digital fever dream and hard-boiled noir in bursts of claustrophobic prose, Pink Mountain on Locust Island follows a teenager and her maybe-boyfriend into the seedy corners of the art world.

Fifteen-year-old Monk drifts through a monotonous existence in a grimy Chinatown apartment with her “grumpy brown couch” of a dad, until she meets high school senior Santa Coy ([email protected]). For a moment, it looks like he might be her boyfriend. But when Monk’s dad becomes obsessed with Santa Coy’s artwork, Monk finds herself shunted to the sidelines as her father and the object of her affections begin to hatch a scheme of their own. To keep up, Monk must navigate a combustible cocktail of odd assignments, peculiar places, and murky underworld connections.

In Jamie Marina Lau’s debut novel, shortlisted for Australia’s prestigious Stella Prize when she was nineteen years old, hazily surreal vignettes conjure a multifaceted world of philosophical angst and lackadaisical violence.

About the Author

Jamie Marina Lau is a multidisciplinary artist and the author of Pink Mountain on Locust Island. With explorations focusing on language, Lau's work meditates on a landscape exploring the dis-location of culture and space. Her second novel will be published with Hachette and W&N in 2021. More info: 

Praise for Pink Mountain on Locust Island