Summary

“Closer” by David Malouf starts with Amy Morpeth, a nine-year-old Pentecostal girl (a form of Christianity that takes the Bible as fact). She lives with her parents, siblings, uncles, and grandparents on a dairy farm. Amy thinks about her Uncle Charles, her mother’s brother, who lives in Sydney. Unlike his sister and other two brothers, Uncle Charles is more of a rebel and was banished by his family because he has come out as gay.

Amy compares Sydney, the city where her uncle lives, with the biblical Sodom, which was punished by God and destroyed with fire. Amy also describes life on the farm, particularly the way in which her other uncles, James and Matt, work hard and look messy.

Amy’s Uncle Charles comes to the farm twice a year, for Easter and Christmas, but his family does not let him approach. When he calls from his BMW to let his…