Where the Line Breaks

The Unknown Digger is Australia’s most famous WWI poet. But for decades, his identity has remained a mystery. Enter Matthew Denton – a PhD student at University College, London – who believes the Unknown Digger to be in fact one of Australia’s greatest war heroes: Lieutenant Alan Lewis VC of the 10th Light Horse. As the story of Lieutenant Lewis, fighting his way across Sinai, Palestine, Jordan and Syria unfolds, the question of what makes him a poet, a lover and a hero becomes a troubled one. Meanwhile, in the footnotes, scholar Matt Denton is fighting his own battles with romance and with academia as he attempts to rewrite literary history.

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK

‘An ambitious and original novel – a literary puzzle, an engrossing war story and a captivating tale of love and obsession.’ Ryan O’Neill, author of Their Brilliant Careers

‘This is historical fiction, a mystery, a love story, but what Burrows does by splitting the narrative with Matthew’s thesis is effective, and a highlight of the novel.’ Good Reading

‘Where the Line Breaks is a beautiful, ambitious novel, and while it takes a big risk stylistically, the disparate parts of the book are handled with great skill. The result is an instant classic, and a perfect read for those interested in World War One.’ The AU Review

‘… it’s emotive, powerful and gripping, the triple narrative offering different perspectives on such a well-documented period in history and an alternative view on the idealism of heroes, war and love.’ Westerly

‘Vividly rendered historical fiction, an intriguing literary mystery and a number of tangled romances … intelligent and emotionally engaging debut novel …’ West Australian

‘This novel is a thoughtful and lively take on the limitations of scholarship and on the unknowable nature of the past.’ Sydney Morning Herald

‘… as it unfolds, the war story, the thesis and the footnotes become a compelling interwoven story of heroes and anti-heroes.’ Subiaco Post

‘Michael Burrows’s Where the Line Breaks is an impressive debut that will have readers sifting through the stories that they hold dear in their own lives, interrogating them for gaps and distortions where something might have come loose, slipped away, vanished – or never existed at all.’ Antithesis Journal 

‘Each strand of the novel succeeds in its on way.’ Australian Book Review