PositiveThe Canberra TimesKiesling writes in a stream of consciousness style with run on sentences that at first jars, but soon lulls the reader into the melody of Daphne\'s anxious and intelligent mind. The juxtaposition between Daphne\'s narration and the dialogue in the novel is awkward at times, with the transition between the two sometimes feeling clumsy ... The novel balances a realistic depiction of the boredom and loneliness Daphne feels, whilst gently building to a narrative arch that takes the reader through the crisis of her sudden road trip, to her eventual return to her ordinary life. For a book in which not much happens, The Golden State is packed with insight and questions. It ruminates on age, on class and culture, on the concept of \'home\', on the place of language in our identities, the way that isolation can create ignorance, and most importantly, on the value of human relationships in all the forms they take.
