Book Launch + Author Talk: Illuminated Ruins by Miriam Sved
The Details
Join us at Imprints to celebrate the launch of Miriam Sved's latest novel, Illuminated Ruins. Miriam will be joined in conversation by author Georgia Phillips.
About Miriam:
Miriam Sved is an Australian author who grew up in Sydney. With Hungarian Jewish heritage, her mother’s family escaped Europe in the late 1930s and lived in Hong Kong for 20 years.
Her works include the novels A Universe of Sufficient Size and Game Day, and the novella All the Things I Should’ve Given.
About the book:
Hong Kong, 1956. On the heights of The Peak, the only way to survive the past is to bury it.
For Uri Weiss and his wife, Lujza, life in the British colony is a tailored mask. Hungarian Jewish doctors who escaped the wreckage of Europe only to endure Japanese occupation, they have rebuilt themselves through a fragile, assimilated restraint.
The arrival of the Mackays upends this peace. Hugh is a charismatic American with shadowy connections and Nancy is his effortlessly poised wife. As the families entwine, their daughters – Millie and Anne – form a bond so intense it threatens to consume them.
While the adults navigate the social rituals of the colony, the children retreat to the island’s illuminated ruins. Playing among bombed-out shells and wartime bunkers, they mirror a world of missions and cover stories. But when Anne reveals a truth Millie’s parents have kept unspoken for a decade, the foundations of their universe fracture.
As the Suez Crisis ignites, the children’s games lead them from the safety of The Peak into the Triad-controlled underworld of the Walled City. In a landscape of stolen identities, both families must finally confront the violence they can no longer outrun.
PRAISE FOR A 'UNIVERSE OF SUFFICIENT SIZE':
‘A fascinating, compelling, beautifully written novel.’ Liane Moriarty
‘Miriam Sved has woven three generations and two periods of history into a page-turning, emotional rollercoaster to remind us all that families are messy, complicated and that the repercussions of decisions made decades ago can come back to haunt you… I cannot recommend this book highly enough.’ Heather Morris
FAQs
- What time should I arrive?
The doors will be unlocked at 6:00pm for a 6:15pm start
- Will the book be available for purchase on the night?
Yes! Absolutely. Miriam's book will be available for purchase and signing on the night.
Lineup
Miriam Sved
Miriam Sved is an Australian author who grew up in Sydney. With Hungarian Jewish heritage, her mother’s family escaped Europe in the late 1930s and lived in Hong Kong for 20 years. Her works include the novels A Universe of Sufficient Size and Game Day, and the novella All the Things I Should’ve Given.
Georgia Phillips
Georgia is an award-winning writer who publishes fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, literary criticism and academic scholarship. She is the author of the literary historical novel, The Bearcat, published by Picador 29th April, 2025. She is a Lecturer in Creative Writing at The University of Adelaide and holds a BA. English Literature with a first-class Honours in Creative Writing and a PhD from the University of New South Wales (UNSW).
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