Only when he sees how unhappy everyone is, does he realize his attitude is making them miserable. He can’t work or play with his young sons. He goes from being an intensely active individual to sedentary and helpless. In “Like a House on Fire,” a man suffers a serious back injury. Life is more varied and colorful than she ever realized she should make the most of every opportunity.įearing for her family’s future, a woman faces a breast biopsy in “Tender.” Her husband isn’t very caring, and she knows he won’t look after the children properly. She lands a job in the local hospital, planning to move to London once she has saved enough money however, she finds herself enjoying the work. “Laminex and Mirrors” follows a teenage girl working her first job. It is the longest journey of his life, and he recognizes that right now, his mother needs him loving someone means accepting their faults. When his father dies, they travel across the country together to scatter his ashes. She is a demanding woman who makes Chris constantly feel like a disappointment. “Ashes” concerns a mother and her son, Chris. However, she soon understands that empowerment means using her strength to help others. He is a proud, cold, and cruel man, and she secretly loves seeing him miserable. Somehow, he survives, but he is crippled and unable to look after himself. Powerless to do anything to stop it, she assumes he is dead. The central theme linking the stories together is that we must develop compassion, empathy, and understanding in order to maintain healthy relationships and boundaries.Ī woman discovers the true meaning of empowerment in the first story, “Flexion.” One day, she watches a heavy tractor crush her husband on their farm.

Specifically, Kennedy considers how relationships change over time, and how our feelings towards other people evolve without us realizing it. The passage of time is significant in Like a House on Fire. Through their stories, Kennedy explores what happens when one decides to redefine oneself. They must learn to understand their own unique natures and what makes them human.

The characters fall into the roles that other people choose for them, or they shut themselves off from new opportunities. Like a House on Fire contains fifteen short stories, which, though unrelated, all focus on the human condition. She is best known for her award-winning short fiction collections and poetry, but she also writes full-length novels and travel memoirs. Before writing full-time, she lectured on various Australian campuses, including the University of Melbourne. An Australian writer, Kennedy graduated from the University of Canberra. The collection received various award nominations, winning the 2013 Queensland Literary Awards for a Short Story Collection. Cate Kennedy’s collection of contemporary short stories, Like a House on Fire (2012), focuses on daily life and the humorous complexities of human existence.

Like a house on fire by cate kennedy