The Cutting

Forensic, furious and very, very funny, The Cutting slices deep into the machinery of wealth and power that drives Australian society, with exhilarating results.

James Bradley

Richard McHugh's writing is sharp enough to draw blood. Brilliantly funny, with a forensic insight into its characters and their world, The Cutting is that rare thing, a literary page-turner that has you laughing and thinking at the same time. I was sorry it had to end.

Malcolm Knox

The Cutting is an incisive look at money, power, class and the way they deeply affect people’s lives. It’s a clever, entertaining and thought-provoking second novel from McHugh.

Better Reading

Class is a dirty word in Australia – such an affront to our egalitarian pretensions that we like to pretend it doesn't exist here. The Cutting cuts through the crap in a dark satire on class privilege that stands as a kind of antipodean Bonfire of the Vanities.

Cameron Woodhead, Sydney Morning Herald

Sharp and clever . . . A brilliant treatment of modern Australia.

Frank O'Shea, Canberra Times