The Idea of Perfection by Kate Grenville

Sometimes love grows in the cracks where perfection cannot.

When Harley Savage, a practical museum designer with a hidden past, and Douglas Cheeseman, an awkward engineer with a fear of heights, arrive in the small Australian town of Karakarook, their paths collide in the most unlikely way. Both are tasked with preserving the town’s history, but what they discover instead is the imperfect beauty of human connection.

“The Idea of Perfection” is a tender, witty, and deeply humane novel by Orange Prize–winning author Kate Grenville—a story about love, vulnerability, and finding grace in imperfection.