quadruploni's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
hcube3's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
cbennie's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
wendoxford's review against another edition
2.0
Whilst I accept that this is a perfectly captured time moving between perspective seamlessly, I really didn't like it. I felt thrown between the characters, none of whom held any allure for me in this domestic drama.
I think it is a novella of class and probably another time of reading might have left me more impressed than I actually was
I think it is a novella of class and probably another time of reading might have left me more impressed than I actually was
emmcbanks's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the perspective on maturity & gender, combined with the setting of Melbourne in summer, I enjoyed the openness and fluidity of the characters. It was a bit of a pain to get through, however, and even when I started getting into it, it was over.
beckyespagne's review against another edition
4.0
incisive, observant story of human dissatisfaction in domesticity
ashtrimmmer's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
nghia's review against another edition
2.0
As an actual Australian citizen I sometimes feel a bit of chagrin over how few Australian writers I've read. I'm pretty sure I've read more Argentinian authors than Australian authors. A long time ago I tried (and failed) to read [b:Voss|411496|Voss|Patrick White|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1330428809l/411496._SY75_.jpg|2938914]. I read [b:The Dry|27824826|The Dry (Aaron Falk, #1)|Jane Harper|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1456113132l/27824826._SY75_.jpg|47804789] a year or two back and enjoyed it. And then after that...uh... [a:Garth Nix|8347|Garth Nix|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1207583754p2/8347.jpg] is Australian and I read one of his books!
The Guardian called Helen Garner "Australia's greatest living writer" so I decided to give this slim novel, written and set suburban Melbourne in the early 1980s, a crack.
Okay, look, I read this and I still couldn't really tell you what it was about. Dexter and Athena are happily married and have two kids. One day at the airport Dexter runs into an old university friend he hasn't seen in 20 years and suddenly Elizabeth (the university friend), Vicki (friend's 17 year old much younger sister sister), and Philip (friend's boyfriend) flit into their life. And, uh, some stuff happens. They come over and have dinner. They go to watch some bands play live music. Vicki moves out of Elizabeth's studio apartment into Dexter & Athena's spare room.
After I finished this I read the publisher blurb -- "Elizabeth draws the couple out into a world whose casual egotism they had barely dreamed of. How can they get home again?" -- but I struggle to actually see much of that in the book.
It has nice little touches of Australian-ness that make me nostalgic. But there were two big things that kept pulling me out of the book.
One, there's a pretty horrible extended & recurring section involving Dexter & Elizabeth's severely handicapped young son. (Which comes across as a completely nonverbal austism, though I'm not convinced Garner actually intended it as anything but "he's retarded".) Everyone in the book is completely terrible to the child. Like, in a way that any parent with a child with autism should definitely not read this book.
The mother says, "there's nobody in there".
Someone asks the mom whether she's ever considered just pushing him in front a car and the mom says yep. As another review points out: it isn't clear whether the son is supposed to be a metaphor for the character' narcissism (but then you've got disability as metaphor, which is kinda icky) or whether the whole thing doesn't really have any meaning behind it at all. After all, the book came out in the early 1980s and neither this book nor the author are especially well-known as path-breaking disability rights advocates.
And remember that blurb implying that Dexter and Athena are kinda, sorta the good guys in the novel? That's hard to mesh with Athena acting like this.
My biggest stumbling block, though, is the entire book doesn't make any of the characters feel authentic because they are all cultural snobs despite being suburban housewives and guys who play in a band. It's almost a caricature: they talk how an out of touch elite imagines actual people talk.
When Dexter meets Elizabeth in the airport after not seeing her for almost two decades one of the first things he says is:
Random literary name checks with people you haven't seen in two decades are tight.
Dexter sings opera in the house. I mean, as you do. I'm sure that was a totally common thing in suburban Melbourne. He just casually thinks
Basically a convincing picture of a working man with a stay-at-home wife living in the suburbs of Melbourne!
Philip, the late 30s guy who is still in a band says things like:
Totally makes sense that a musician would pull random literary references instead of comparing him to, you know, some eccentric musician.
What does Athena do when she's at home? She just lies on the floor listening to Haydn concertos. Pretty normal thing for housewives. And then she says, with a straight face,
Ah yes, the key it was in! Ugh. Who even talks like this?
The Guardian called Helen Garner "Australia's greatest living writer" so I decided to give this slim novel, written and set suburban Melbourne in the early 1980s, a crack.
Okay, look, I read this and I still couldn't really tell you what it was about. Dexter and Athena are happily married and have two kids. One day at the airport Dexter runs into an old university friend he hasn't seen in 20 years and suddenly Elizabeth (the university friend), Vicki (friend's 17 year old much younger sister sister), and Philip (friend's boyfriend) flit into their life. And, uh, some stuff happens. They come over and have dinner. They go to watch some bands play live music. Vicki moves out of Elizabeth's studio apartment into Dexter & Athena's spare room.
‘Two four six eight, bog in don’t wait,’ said Dexter.
After I finished this I read the publisher blurb -- "Elizabeth draws the couple out into a world whose casual egotism they had barely dreamed of. How can they get home again?" -- but I struggle to actually see much of that in the book.
‘Where’s the toilet?’ said Vicki.
‘Right down in the corner of the yard,’ said Dexter.
Vicki lit the candle. The door would not stay shut.
It has nice little touches of Australian-ness that make me nostalgic. But there were two big things that kept pulling me out of the book.
One, there's a pretty horrible extended & recurring section involving Dexter & Elizabeth's severely handicapped young son. (Which comes across as a completely nonverbal austism, though I'm not convinced Garner actually intended it as anything but "he's retarded".) Everyone in the book is completely terrible to the child. Like, in a way that any parent with a child with autism should definitely not read this book.
The mother says, "there's nobody in there".
‘How do you bear it?’ she said.
‘Bear it?’ Was this one of Elizabeth’s dramatic exclamations, or did she really want to know? ‘I’ve abandoned him, in my heart,’ said Athena. ‘It’s work. I’m just hanging on till we can get rid of him.’
Someone asks the mom whether she's ever considered just pushing him in front a car and the mom says yep. As another review points out: it isn't clear whether the son is supposed to be a metaphor for the character' narcissism (but then you've got disability as metaphor, which is kinda icky) or whether the whole thing doesn't really have any meaning behind it at all. After all, the book came out in the early 1980s and neither this book nor the author are especially well-known as path-breaking disability rights advocates.
And remember that blurb implying that Dexter and Athena are kinda, sorta the good guys in the novel? That's hard to mesh with Athena acting like this.
My biggest stumbling block, though, is the entire book doesn't make any of the characters feel authentic because they are all cultural snobs despite being suburban housewives and guys who play in a band. It's almost a caricature: they talk how an out of touch elite imagines actual people talk.
When Dexter meets Elizabeth in the airport after not seeing her for almost two decades one of the first things he says is:
‘We’ll go together down. Who wrote that?’
‘Browning. “My Last Duchess.”’
Random literary name checks with people you haven't seen in two decades are tight.
Dexter sings opera in the house. I mean, as you do. I'm sure that was a totally common thing in suburban Melbourne. He just casually thinks
They had cold, passionless faces. He knew the phrase for it: ‘l’ inébranlable résolution de ne pas être ému.’
Basically a convincing picture of a working man with a stay-at-home wife living in the suburbs of Melbourne!
Philip, the late 30s guy who is still in a band says things like:
‘I like him,’ said Philip. ‘He’s like a character out of a Russian novel, or a Wagner opera.’
Totally makes sense that a musician would pull random literary references instead of comparing him to, you know, some eccentric musician.
What does Athena do when she's at home? She just lies on the floor listening to Haydn concertos. Pretty normal thing for housewives. And then she says, with a straight face,
‘Haydn. It’s in C major. Isn’t that supposed to be the optimistic key? I could never understand why I always felt so cheerful after I’d heard that concerto, till I thought what key it was in.’
Ah yes, the key it was in! Ugh. Who even talks like this?