For lovers of Elizabeth Acevedo and Angie Cruz comes this extraordinary debut novel from Uruguayan-Australian author Natalia Figueroa Barroso. The power of Hailstones Fell without Rain lies in its pacy, multi-generational story and its memorable, wise and sharply funny characters. Graciela is a Uruguayan migrant struggling to raise her three daughters in Western Sydney- her life feels like just one bill after another, and she's reaching breaking point. Chula, her elderly aunt, is still waiting for justice after living through the civic-military coup of 1973 in Uruguay. And Rita, Graciela's eldest daughter, wants to escape the constraints of her family but finds herself indelibly tied to the ghosts of her mother's past. Dazzling, multilayered and often sharply funny, Hailstones Fell without Rain tells the story of these three indomitable women from one working-class family. As the novel moves across time and place, from Western Sydney to Uruguay and back again, we realise that buried secrets and family trauma will always resurface, but it's also possible for broken connections to mend.

Details

ISBN13: 9780702268816
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 288
Edition:
Publication Date: 05 Aug 2025
Publisher: University of Queensland Press
Publication City, Country: St Lucia, Australia
Dimensions (cm): 22.7(H)x15.3(L)x2.2(W)344
Weight (gm): 344

Author Biography

Natalia Figueroa Barroso is a writer of Uruguayan descent with Charroa, Yoruba and Iberian origins. She was born on Dharug Ngura, and was raised between her birthland and her homeland. She is a member of Sweatshop Literacy Movement and has degrees in communications, screenwriting and media production from UTS. Her essays, poems and short stories have been published widely, including in Sweatshop Women- Volume One, Between Two Worlds, Meanjin, Red Room Poetry, Povo, Overland and Griffith Review. Hailstones Fell without Rain is her debut work of semi-autobiographical fiction.

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