November 14, 2023
Liam Murphy’s debut novel, The Roadmap of Loss, has all the hallmarks of sad girl (or, in this case, sad boy) literature: a self-destructive 20-something narrator and a vitriolic rage at reality. We meet Mark Ward as he moves into his recently deceased mother’s home. Mark feels his ‘entire life has been a rough patch’ and the world is ‘slowly rejecting him like some kind of bacteria’. While cleaning up his deceased mum’s belongings, Mark finds an old shoebox full of letters addressed to her from his father, who disappeared from his life at a young age. This triggers a road trip following in his father’s footsteps. Cue Mark’s sad cycle of alcohol and self-sabotage as he travels across America in an old Miata convertible as un-roadworthy as Mark himself. One of the strongest parts of the novel is when Mark, heavily drunk again and spiralling in Denver, is rescued by a retired local teacher, Jack, who helps him dry out, lighten up and realise that ‘he’s worth something in the world’; something poignantly echoed by his father’s letters. The Roadmap of Loss is a surprising read, filled with tender authenticity, startling dialogue and real heart. Fans of Trent Dalton’s Boy Swallows Universe will enjoy the gritty essence of Liam Murphy’s characters. By the end, The Roadmap of Loss could just as realistically be called The Highways to Hope.