I Want Everything

When a frustrated young writer stumbles across an elderly woman at a Melbourne pool, he realises the scoop of a lifetime is right in front of him — the woman is the reclusive cult author Brenda Shales, whose disappearance from the public eye remains one of Australia’s last unsolved literary mysteries. He’s determined to pursue her, to discover what happened to her all those years ago, and to possibly fulfil his dreams of stardom through a tell-all biography. But a case of mistaken identity and Brenda’s own terrible secrets begin to derail his ambitions, and ultimately, his entire life. 

From brilliant debut novelist Dominic Amerena, I Want Everything is a wickedly sharp story of desire and deception, authorship and authenticity, and the devastating costs of creative ambition.

‘A delightful literary puzzle, posed to the reader in vibrant and clear-cut prose... It's rare for a writer to be this good both at crafting a sentence and at making you want to read the next one.’ Naoise Dolan, author of Exciting Times and The Happy Couple
 
‘Composed with stylistic brilliance and structural ingenuity, I Want Everything is that rare thing, a great contemporary novel... Dominic Amerena is a fantastic writer. (Seriously.)' Lauren Oyler, author of Fake Accounts and No Judgement
 
You all know this, of course, but years and years ago, acclaimed Australian novelist Brenda Shales went missing. After two explosive, controversial books that would shape the literary canon of the country for decades to come — and that terrible legal scandal about plagiarism, of course — she was simply gone.
 
That was, right up until a frustrated young writer sees an elderly woman swimming at his local pool in Melbourne. She looks familiar…very familiar in fact. No. It couldn’t be. Stunned, he returns home to confirm the impossible truth; it’s Brenda Shales, now in her old age and stranded in a retirement home. He’s determined to pursue her, to discover what happened to her all those years ago, and to possibly fulfil his dreams of literary stardom through a tell-all biography. But when he finds her, a case of mistaken identity and Brenda’s own terrible secrets begin to derail his ambitions, and ultimately, his entire life.

From brilliant debut novelist Dominic Amerena, I Want Everything is a wickedly sharp story of desire and deception, authorship and authenticity, and the devastating costs of creative ambition.