lip lit: morgan’s law
Everyone can relate to the hustle and bustle of everyday life and those moments, which make you really think about where you are headed. The book Morgan’s Law, by the rural Australian author Karly Lane centralises this theme throughout the plot. The story fantasizes about the ‘what if’. What if we all just stopped and appreciated the splendor all around us? What if we took a moment to breathe in the beauty Australia has to offer? Honestly, if we stopped working 14 hours a day to have a gorgeous Aussie farmer sweep us off our feet whilst we uncovered a lost family memory, I wouldn’t complain. This book is relatable and invests itself in the forgotten simple pleasures life can provide.
The plot is centred around a radical turn in the life of Sarah, an Australian advertising agent living a robotic and loveless life in London. She returns abruptly to Australia after her grandmother dies, to carry out her mysterious last wish. Sarah’s grandmother’s mystery leads her to the outback rural town, Negallan. After Sarah’s BMW inconveniently, yet coincidently, breaks down she is forced to live a life without diets, the Internet and the demand for advertising. She uncovers a family story, hid away by her grandmother, and of course is left breathless in a blossoming romance with a smoldering cattle farmer. Without giving the details away, Sarah develops a new sense of life and what is really important.
The theme that I liked most about Morgan’s Law was how relatable it is for us Aussie girls. We all deserve a break from working hard and counting calories. I shared Sarah’s mouthwatering satisfaction when she fed herself gravy soaked pub grub. I was proud of her when she made a new friend who is bizarrely unique compared with anyone she had met before. I smiled at her dizziness when a handsome country boy looked her way. I believe the best thing about Morgan’s Law is that there is a little bit of Sarah in all of us. Not to mention Lane’s description of the sparkling night sky, the rolling deserts and blending pink and orange sunsets in the Australian outback. Morgan’s Law reminded me to appreciate the simplicity and satisfaction Australia can offer.
Of course, being a critical reader there are some themes that dampened the book’s atmosphere. At times I found the plot and characters to be quite cliché. I know I said most of us girls like reading about a shining knight sweeping the heroine of her feet. But, when you see him coming from a mile away and the suspense is ruined with the characters bickering and flirting shamelessly, the relationship becomes somewhat dry. I also found the plot to be quite peachy and fall into place too easily. I found the fact that only after one week in Negallan, Sarah questioned her entire life. And that her advertising abilities were able to save the entire town, for me, mirrored a ‘fairy tale’ rather than reality.
I found Morgan’s Law to be a simple read, where I was able to be swept away in a daydream that is away from city lights and chaos. If you are craving an Australian adventure, then this is the book for you. This is not my favorite book of all time, as I love character depth and a shocking plot. But hey, there is nothing wrong with an easy read in bed, before you turn the light out and wake up to another day.
Morgan’s Law is published by Arena.
By Samantha Jones
