The Strays

A powerful story about the fierce friendship between three sisters and their friend as they grow up around wild, artistic bohemian parents.

New York Times Book Review Editors’ choice

Winner of Australia’s 2015 Stella Prize

“Emily Bitto writes so well about art, childhood, infatuation, loneliness—you name it. The Strays is a knowing novel, and beautifully done.” —Meg Wolitzer, New York Times–bestselling author of The Interestings

On her first day at a new school, Lily befriends Eva and her two sisters, daughters of the infamous avant-garde painter Evan Trentham. Lily has never met anyone like Eva, full of unabashed confidence and worldly knowledge. And she has never seen a household like the Trenthams’—a community of artists who orbit Evan and his wife, all living and working together to escape the stifling conservatism of 1930s Australia. Lily becomes a fixture in their home, where she and Eva spend their days lounging in the garden, filching cigarettes and wine, and skirting the fringes of the glamorous lives of the adults, who create scandalous art during the day and host lavish, debauched parties by night. But, as seductive as the artists' utopian vision appears, behind it lies both darkness and dysfunction. With elegance and vibrancy, The Strays evokes the intense bonds of girlhood friendships, the explosive undercurrents of a damaged family, and the yearning felt by an outsider looking in.

“Disturbing and magical. . . .with a grace and eloquence.” —NPR Books

“Full of lush, mesmerizing detail and keen insight into the easy intimacy between young girls which disappears with adulthood.” —The New Yorker