Set in South Africa over three decades, this is the story of a family in decline. When their mother dies, three siblings return home, a place of complicated feelings and relationships. Their mother extracted a promise from their father to give a house to their black housekeeper, and this unkept promise plagues the family for many years. This was a slow burn for me; a dark, bleak, character study and reflection on the complicated changes in South Africa.
Scary Monsters had me singing the David Bowie song whenever I looked at the cover, but drove all else from my head when I was reading. It is two novellas, each with its own cover, and you can choose the order in which you read them (I chose Lyle first). Don’t be fooled by the cover art, they are both dark. Lili is set in the early 80s and Lyle in the not-too-distant future. Both characters migrated to Australia when they were young, and the issue of belonging is a scary monster for each, and racism, misogyny and ageism permeate the book. Lili is teaching English in France before going to university, and her story is about friendship, power, and growing up. Lyle lives with climate crisis, extreme pressure to conform in a believable dystopian future. Disturbing, beautiful, darkly humorous, clever and thought-provoking, it might be my favourite de Kretser novel.
I think this is my first Native American book, and I found it a beautiful, moving, deeply compelling story of a fight for identity and rights, life’s hardships and wonder, love and hope. Based on Louise Erdrich’s own grandfather and his work defending the Chippewa people against an “Emancipation Bill”, it is also about Pixie, who wants to be called Patrice, as she tries to find her way as an adult, and those in their vibrant community. A glorious sense of place, culture, spirituality, strength and heart.
This is a story told in two parts; 1960s Uganda where Hasan is dealing with the loss of his wife and changes to his place in society with Idi Amin’s regime, and current day London where Sameer is trying to find the balance between his high-powered law career, his family’s expectations and his deeper hopes. It’s about the impact of the expulsion of East-Asians from Uganda, racism, family ties, belonging, and love. I found it lush and atmospheric, thought-provoking and hopeful.
Don’t Touch my Hair is about how black hair is never just hair. I found this utterly riveting; the fascinating, shocking, sad, wondrous, rich history of black hair. Apart from the mathematical section, I found it very accessible, with personal details mixed in with lesser known historical facts, taking in slavery, science, colonisation, cultural appropriation, and so much more. Educational in the very best way, and while enjoyable is probably not the most appropriate word, I did enjoy it very much.
Kings Cross in the 60s makes a vivid background for this story. Polly brings her daughter Gina, who was being looked after by her mother in New Zealand, to live with her. Rhoda and Star are Polly’s housemates, and together with Gina’s babysitter and Polly’s friend Evie form a family. The relationships between them temper the other issues explored in the novel – addiction, sexuality, abuse and the tough life of living in Kings Cross.
Three teenaged girls marry three brothers in Punjab in 1929, but as they are separated from the men by day, working in the china room, and only brought together in the darkness, they do not know which of the brothers is their husband. A young man in 1999, comes to his uncle’s house in Punjab to try and get clean before he goes to university, and becomes intrigued by his great-grandmother’s story. It is a heart-wrenching and beautiful story of oppression, desire, racism, love, and the need for freedom.
The story set in China and Australia in the 1850s. At the heart of the story is two women from these cultures who are both fighting for their independence. Little Cat escapes to the gold fields of Australia disguised as a man and Violet is a governess for a family in Robe after fleeing England. It was interesting to read about the cultural differences of these 2 women, who were escaping their pasts and figuring out their futures on the goldfields of Australia, their different actions and how they were shaped by their culture.
I knew very little about Michelle Obama before reading this. It’s hard work for me to have any interest in Australian politics, so I have made little to no effort with that of other countries, however prominent. This is the story of a working class girl, with a stable, loving family, naturally inclined to work hard, and supported by those around her so that she achieved all she set out to do, and sought to use her gifts to make a difference in the lives of others. It is long and detailed, but I found it enthralling, at least until Barack Obama entered politics. It’s about the importance of education, representation, having people who believe in you, and hope. It really does make the years that followed even more incomprehensible. I listened to the audiobook, beautifully read by the author.
There is no-one like Sofie Laguna for creating beautiful children and inflicting terrible damage on them. Lawrence is ten, living in rural Victoria with his mother and younger brother, after his father died in the war. He is good at school, and just discovering a passion for painting when his uncle arrives, changing their lives forever. As disturbing as it is beautiful, it’s about the beauty and fragility of childhood, the impact and legacy of trauma, the atmospheric landscape, and the power of art – not power to console, or provide solace necessarily, but as an expression. Not a hopeful story, but it is hauntingly affecting.
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