Room for a Stranger

‘Room For A Stranger’s beauty lies in confronting the unknown parts of ourselves. It’s facing up to feeling lonely, feeling like you got left behind, like you’re disappointing everyone you love, and being disappointed by your own expectations. Room For A Stranger is a timely reminder of all the badness in the world, and a reminder that we don’t need to give into it if we don’t want to.’

Kill Your Darlings

‘Room for a Stranger confirms [Melanie Cheng’s] status of one of Australia’s most gifted writers…It is an important Australian novel, thought-provoking and timely. A modern masterpiece.’

Better Reading

‘A tender and touching novel written with a sharp understanding of human nature.’

Who Weekly

‘A smart read that highlights the joy of human relationships.’

Instyle

‘Room for a Stranger touches gently on the lives of ordinary people with great dexterity and empathy.’

Harpers Bazaar

‘Sacrifices provide shocking plot turns in this exquisitely written novel while also serving up a brilliantly pitched slice of modern Australian life.’

Australian Women’s Weekly

‘Neither Meg nor Andy are extraordinary people, but Cheng brings their humanity, their striving and their questioning to the fore with quiet tenderness.’

ABC Arts Online

‘A vitally contemporary novel.’

Australian

‘Room for a Stranger is a simple story about ordinary people trying to find their place in the world, but it’s told in such a warm, empathetic way — free from cliché and sentiment — that it’s a true joy to read. I loved it.’

Reading Matters

‘Cheng’s great triumph here is that aside from the satisfying humorous moments (we see Meg’s meat and three veg cooking through Andy’s horrified eyes) there are no easy answers or charming moral lessons to be learned here. There are only complex and multifaceted human relationships, which are the most interesting kind.’

Overland