Sophie Laguna is the author of the Miles Franklin Award winning Eye of the Sheep, the Indie Book Award winning The Choke. Sofie's latest novel is Infinite Splendours.Infinite Splendours takes us back to 1950’s Victoria...Lawrence lives an idyllic life with his mother and younger brother Paul. Lawrie’s father was killed in the second world war and the boys roam free around their homestead in the shadows of the Grampians.Lawrie’s a good student, and a faithful brother and son. Art is his passion and Lawrie can see the world differently to others until a horrific trauma robs him of his sense of freedom in the world.That’s the first thing to know about Infinite Splendours; it confronts trauma head on and does not flinch from the damage and the repercussions suffered throughout the lifespan.This is a difficult topic and it will hit home for too many people. I’m not going to go into the details of what Lawrie experiences but for anyone out there going through a difficult time know that help is available and you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14.Infinite Splendours takes us from Lawrie’s childhood, through his twenties and into his fifties. Lawrie has been scarred by the trauma he experienced and is prevented from talking about it both psychologically and physically through a stammer that manifests, preventing him from clearly articulating.Lawrie finds no comfort or understanding in the men around him and returns to the art that he discovered as a boy.In the natural world Lawrie is able to explore a multitude of expressions from the interplay of colour to the contrast of dark and light. It is in this way Lawrie is able to communicate, in a language of the senses and in a constant dialogue with the Masters who have gone before him.Sofie’s prose effortlessly moves between Lawrie’s interior world and the shifting landscapes of Australia in the second half of the twentieth century. Lawrie’s voice retains a childlike naivety balanced with a developing sophistication as he learns the various modes and techniques of his art. In exploring the landscape around him, sitting at the foot of the Grampians Lawrie seems to transcend time and space as he explores the meanings of his life.Into this world perpetual interruptions obscure the beauty of pure art. Lawrie must try and hold a job, Paul grows up and cannot understand what has happened to the brother he once looked up to. We as readers are presented with the impossible contradiction of Lawrie’s world; cut off but so much more connected with himself.Back in 2016 when I read The Eye of the Sheep I was blown away by Sofie Laguna’s powerful insights into our humanity and in Infinite Splendours she has done it again...