Camille's Bread

Camille's Bread (1995) is a novel by Australian writer Amanda Lohrey. It was originally published by Angus and Robertson in Australia in 1995.

Synopsis
Narita is a single-mother of Camille, living in Sydney, when she meets Stephen, a public servant who is seeking a change of lifestyle.

Publishing history
After its initial publication in Australia by Angus and Robertson in 1995, the novel was reprinted by the same company in 1996.

Epigraph

 * Epigraph: "The child's first decision, noted Freud, is whether to swallow it or spit it out."

Critical reception
Writing in The Sydney Morning Herald reviewer Morag Fraser commented: "Amanda Lohrey's Camille's Bread is all domestic interiors and friction over ritual." She then went on to note that "..random riches at the novel's edges make you speculate that Lohrey has other novels in her that will prove riskier and more grand."

In The Age Lyn McCredden wrote: "It is the sheer glory of the novel that its understated humor and subtle neo-realism deliver a feast of contemporary vignettes and characters. Each scene totters deliciously on the brink of farce but is pulled back into the narrative."

Awards

 * 1996 ALS Gold Medal winner
 * 1996 Victorian Premier's Prize for Fiction winner
 * 1996 Miles Franklin Award, shortlisted