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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Entertainment
Seren Heyman-Griffiths

Hailstones Fell without Rain by Natalia Figueroa Barroso review – a funny and tender debut

Composite image featuring author Natalia Figueroa Barroso wearing a bright top, and the cover of Hailstones Fell Without Rain, featuring an illustration of a woman holding a flame.
In her debut novel, Natalia Figueroa Barroso posits joy as a form of resistance. Composite: Natalia Figueroa Barroso/UQP

Graciela María Ferreira – or “Grachu” to her loved ones – is late with the rent again, and she needs the money now. Unfortunately, she’s spent her last dollars on a plush couch and her landlord is waiting on her doorstep. Grachu isn’t always a believer but today “she needs God to find her a new job”.

So begins Hailstones Fell Without Rain – Natalia Figueroa Barroso’s debut, and the second published novel by a Uruguayan-Australian writer.

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