textpublishing's review against another edition
5.0
‘[Patrick White] was a prophet, and from his sublime mountaintop, he sent down lightning bolts on our callow heads. Some of these bolts are vivid in Happy Valley, his first novel, published in 1939 and now reissued…The novel stands up well in the high company of its later brethren. It prefigures the greatness to come, and is a more adventurously wrought than many of our own age. White is a mesmerising narrator whose prose illuminates the most ordinary object and event in new and gripping ways.’
Thomas Keneally, Guardian
‘Happy Valley will be a joy for any fan. Here we see a sensibility not so much forming as finding, and owning, itself.’
Weekend Australian
‘This is a remarkable first novel, already discernible as the performance of a master whose apprentice work cannot be glimpsed. We are fortunate indeed that Text has reopened the front door in the house of Patrick White’s fiction.’
Canberra Times
‘My favourite Australian novel was by a newcomer — well, a newcomer in 1939. A sardonic, grotesque, oddly moving ensemble of piece about thwarted lives in a dismal country town, Happy Valley presages the later Patrick White, but is also refreshingly original and feels as contemporary as the latest bestseller.’
Jane Sullivan, Australian Book Review
‘Happy Valley is a harsh and unsparing picture of a prematurely exhausting, life-denying Australia. It’s a world full of violence, adultery and financial ruin, in which nothing will ever change. White’s main focus, as in his great later novels, is the thwarted spiritual yearning of his characters. But this is also a superb anatomy of Australian society.’
Metro Magazine (NZ)
Thomas Keneally, Guardian
‘Happy Valley will be a joy for any fan. Here we see a sensibility not so much forming as finding, and owning, itself.’
Weekend Australian
‘This is a remarkable first novel, already discernible as the performance of a master whose apprentice work cannot be glimpsed. We are fortunate indeed that Text has reopened the front door in the house of Patrick White’s fiction.’
Canberra Times
‘My favourite Australian novel was by a newcomer — well, a newcomer in 1939. A sardonic, grotesque, oddly moving ensemble of piece about thwarted lives in a dismal country town, Happy Valley presages the later Patrick White, but is also refreshingly original and feels as contemporary as the latest bestseller.’
Jane Sullivan, Australian Book Review
‘Happy Valley is a harsh and unsparing picture of a prematurely exhausting, life-denying Australia. It’s a world full of violence, adultery and financial ruin, in which nothing will ever change. White’s main focus, as in his great later novels, is the thwarted spiritual yearning of his characters. But this is also a superb anatomy of Australian society.’
Metro Magazine (NZ)
thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Medical content, and Pregnancy
cakefairy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Goodness me aren't Australians sad.
tasmanian_bibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
‘Waiting, waiting for what, Happy Valley waiting in the dark is the question without answer.’
The novel opens with a hawk's-eye view of the (fictional) Snowy Mountains townships of Happy Valley, Moorang and Kambala. Then, as the Kambala publican's wife gives birth, the narrator tells us that the towns were founded as a consequence of gold prospecting, and still have some inhabitants of Chinese descent. It's a peaceful place that Clem Hagan has to work at, as overseer for the Furlows. Or is it? As the reader is drawn in from the panoramic view of the hawk, to the specifics of the town of Happy Valley and its inhabitants it seems that peace is an illusion for many. Most want to escape.
`Mr Furlow hadn't a mind, only a mutual understanding between a number of almost dormant instincts.'
The Furlows are the wealthy landowners of Glen Marsh. Their daughter Sidney wants to escape, but not by marrying the man selected for her by her mother.
`Miss Cortine prepared her girls for life with a course of tea-pouring and polite adultery.'
In the town of Happy Valley, Amy and Arthur Quong own the general store and the picture theatre, while their brother Walter owns the garage. Other characters include Walter's daughter Margaret, the local doctor and his family (the Hallidays), the asthmatic school teacher and his wife (the Moriartys), the piano teacher Alys Browne, cart driver William `Chuffy' Chambers, and Mrs Belper the bank manager's wife, who `in spite of breeding dogs had her Artistic side'.
`Autumn was a season of preliminary cold and suppressed winds.'
And in this small community, there is adultery, tragedy and murder. Some lovers come to their senses, while others strike bargains in order to escape. Happiness is elusive for many, impossible for some. Duty and poverty can be hard to escape.
`The air was intricate with conversation.'
Patrick White was 27 when this, his first, novel was published. He did not allow it to be republished in Australia during his lifetime and for many, this 2012 republication will be a first opportunity to read it. It's not perfect - I found some scenes jarring - but it's indisputably Patrick White. His depiction of children - especially Margaret Quong and Rodney Halliday - is unsentimental, and sometimes unsettling. Alys Browne is, to me, the finest character. I could wish that she and Margaret Quong could escape and leave Happy Valley behind them. In this novel there is more than a hint of the great novels yet to come.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
xb_bi's review against another edition
2.0
At the beginning, this was very promising. The narrative is character-driven, detailed, with interesting plot points and a focus on domestic life, which interested me. Despite the detailed description of each character, I still felt very detached from them - I think this was because White used their full names when referencing them, which put me off a little. I couldn't feel sympathy, dislike, anything towards the characters because I simply didn't care enough about them. This made anything that happened to them completely redundant in my mind.
What bothered me most were the apparent streams of consciousness that White included. These were generally dense paragraphs of unfinished sentences describing what I can only assume are the characters thoughts, and I didn't understand them at all. Unfortunately, they appeared so frequently that most of the time I had no clue what was going on. This only served to detach me further from the storyline.
The last 100 pages was utter hell to read. I just wanted it to end. To top it all off, the ending was abrupt and anticlimatic.
I can't give this one star as I must give credit where it's due - I will happily believe that White's other works are better than this, this having been his debut. However, that is not to say I will be picking up another of his novels anytime soon.
What bothered me most were the apparent streams of consciousness that White included. These were generally dense paragraphs of unfinished sentences describing what I can only assume are the characters thoughts, and I didn't understand them at all. Unfortunately, they appeared so frequently that most of the time I had no clue what was going on. This only served to detach me further from the storyline.
The last 100 pages was utter hell to read. I just wanted it to end. To top it all off, the ending was abrupt and anticlimatic.
I can't give this one star as I must give credit where it's due - I will happily believe that White's other works are better than this, this having been his debut. However, that is not to say I will be picking up another of his novels anytime soon.
jayden_mccomiskie's review against another edition
5.0
It is so unbelievable he prevent this from being republished for so long. Happy Valley was a fantastic read. Easily a five star. The language and stream of consciousness was employed masterly.
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