# The Banksia House Breakout

By James Roxburgh

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/the-banksia-house-breakout-9842364b/

Ruth Morris, 81, needs to get from Sydney to Brisbane to say goodbye to her dying best friend. Her son refuses to take her, so she leaves Banksia House nursing home with Beryl and veteran escape artist Keith. Their transport arrangements soon stray beyond the respectable.

## What makes it funny?

The Burgeoning Bookshelf review singles out the runaway residents doing odd jobs at a hostel, meeting bikers and backpackers, and narrowly evading the police. People have underestimated these pensioners; now the supposed dependants are improvising their way along the coast.

### The comedy at work

An urgent visit becomes an episodic escape adventure: each travel problem demands another improvised solution. The comedy gives Ruth room to recover her confidence, while the trio’s experience proves useful in situations their families would never have imagined for them.

### Try this if…

A good prospect for readers who enjoy later-life friendships, Australian road trips and hopeful stories about winning back control of your own life.

### Good to know

Ruth’s journey begins with family control and mistreatment in aged care, and her destination is a dying friend. Grief and lost independence give the cheerful escapades emotional weight; the opening has a more ominous mood.

## What to expect

- Genre: Adventure · Contemporary & literary
- On the shelf: Picaresque
- Kind of humor: Situational comedy
- The atmosphere: Warmhearted
- Audience: Adult
- Format: Novel
- Published: 2021

## A few distinguishing details

- A Sydney-to-Brisbane escape by three nursing-home residents
- Hostel jobs and police evasions on the way to a farewell

## Sources & further reading

- Review: [Sanch Writes review](https://sanchwrites.com/2021/09/book-review-the-banksia-house-breakout-by-james-roxburgh)
- Author commentary: [James Roxburgh interview](https://sanchwrites.com/2021/09/q-a-with-james-roxburgh-author-of-the-banksia-house-breakout)
- Publisher: [Simon & Schuster publisher listing](https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/The-Banksia-House-Breakout/James-Roxburgh/9781920727840)
- Publisher: [Ventura Press book page](https://www.venturapress.com.au/fiction/thebanksiahousebreakout-b3j4t)
- Review: [Burgeoning Bookshelf review](https://theburgeoningbookshelf.blogspot.com/2021/09/book-review-giveaway-banksia-house.html)