SHORTLISTED FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND FICTION BOOK AWARD A captivating literary journey that delves into the intertwined lives of a town, its people, and a region shaped by revolution and war. The war broke out and she decided to call her dad. Weeks and weeks we do not speak, and the weeks become months and then they are so many years. She imagines herself starting this story. She imagines how she will tell this story later to someone else. We haven’t spoken for years but then the war broke out... As conflict plays out across an unnamed region, its inhabitants deal with the fallout. Families are torn apart and brought together. A divide grows between those on either side of the war, compromises are struck as the toll of violence impacts near and far. We learn about those who are left behind and those who choose to leave in a great scattering. As the stories of those affected play out they weave together to show the whole of a society in the most extreme of circumstances. Even when the last shot is fired, their world will never recover. From the acclaimed author of The House of Youssef, Australiana and The Lovers comes a powerful new novel that asks again if the world will ever learn that war is never the answer. PRAISE FOR POLITICA: ‘In a 2022 interview, Kassab said a responsibility of the novelist is to “write with an eye towards humanity”. And she never falters in this, with Politica always drawing us back to war’s immeasurable personal cost.’ – The Guardian