Synopsis
Kathy has worked at beloved Brisbane indie record store Dusty’s Records for half her life. She arrived as a teenager high on her dad’s supply of Led Zeppelin, stayed through her twenties and suddenly thirty is on the horizon, and she’s still there, measuring her self-worth by her knowledge of the Velvet Underground’s back catalogue.
Lately, though, cracks have been appearing in Kathy’s comfortable indie bubble. Her friends – feisty Mel, the only other woman employed at Dusty’s, and straight-laced Alex, whom Kathy has known since preschool – are growing up and moving on, while she’s stuck in a cycle of record store, pub, repeat, with the rest of the Dusty’s music bros. But how do you move forward when you’re stuck in a groove? And what happens when you realise that you’ve been working so hard to be part of the boys’ club that you never stopped to wonder if you should be creating a club of your own?
Review
Kathy has been working religiously at Dusty’s Records since she was a teenager. What started as a short-term plan culminated into a full-blown one in her twenties, and now at the brink of thirty too, where she finds herself stuck in a whole submerged iceberg of doubts about self-worth. Everything around her has remained pretty much the same for over a decade, whether her job or friends. She’s tried her best to fit in and be a part of the boy’s club, but now she wants to break the cycle and achieve a new meaning in life; the only problem is- how?
Her Fidelity is guaranteed to delight those who are curious about the nature of record stores in all its glories and vagaries, narrated by someone who has immersed herself into the heart of this job for many years. Pollock gives us a real sense of what it means to navigate where you truly belong. You feel lost and consumed with guilt and questions, but you work it out in the end.
Katharine Pollock’s debut novel is a fun, relatable and entertaining read. I really like her writing style and subtle sense of humour. I think she’s perfect amounts introspective and observant without being too long-winded. Backed by some solid music references and facts, Her Fidelity is full of quirky characters that unfold many layers and make this novel a wholesome joy to read. Highly recommended!
Her Fidelity was published on 5 July 2022 by Penguin Books Australia. You can purchase the book here.
| Title | Her Fidelity |
| Author | Katharine Pollock |
| Publisher | Penguin Books Australia |
| Pages | 304 |
| List Price | 32.99 AUD |
To read our interview with the author Katharine Pollock, click here.