The Brush Off is one of the books from my literature and film comparison course... i'm sticking with the Australian theme until my books get here from Amazon and beginning with this the secon of Shane Maloney's Murray Whelan books. Murray Whelan is a political shit kicker. He's the "minder and general dogsbody" to the newly named Arts Minister. Problem is he knows absolutely nothing about "the arts". He expects it to be gallery openings and crazy artists till a body turns up in the moat at the front of the National Gallery in Melbourne. He's thrown into a world of fakes, high finance and conspiracies filled with illigitemate children and secrets. All while he's fighting for his own job which may be lost due to his lack of interest in "the arts" and trying to enjoy a weekend visit from his ten year old son.
I have to say I possibly missed some of the very Victorian political humour based on the fact I grew up in New South Wales (and was actually only born in the 80's and this book is set in 89 - I think). While it was written in '96 Maloney has been able to throw in a bunch of throw away lines that are hilarious given the knowledge of what's to come. But a lot of that is commentary on the state of Victorian politics so I've missed a bunch of very regional jokes. That said some of the random commentary about FW DeKlirk being elected in South Africa and how will that change anything is hilarious.
The characters are great. Murray is a brilliant character to focus a book on. He's clever, in over his head, completely in it for whatever he can get and fun. His quiet weekend with his son has been completely thrown in turmoil but he may get a new girlfriend an a more solid job out of it so he goes with it. He's scrambling but he's also doing it well... in many ways he's a slightly less polished Josh Lyman (West Wing tends to be my go to for politics references). Agnelli is a bumbling idiot of a minister (and I can see why they cast Mick Molloy for him in the film adaptations that i'll be looking at). Eastlake is a smooth and clever money man who is of course corrupt and eventually murderous. The women go from femme fatale archetypes to office bitches an back to clever and interesting women who Murray keeps falling for. The introduction of Claire who is lovely and actually helps with a near disaster for Murray is great and the support murray gets from his close friend (and mother of disaster Tarquin) Faye is awesome - she's just as likely to whack him over the head and call him an idiot as she is to help him clean up his real an metaphorical messes. Lastly there's Mick "Spider" Webb. Someone Murray has known and avoided since a childhood misdemeanor who he assumes is in the middle of the crimes - he is but in actuality he's the detective investigating it.
This is one of those very Australian books with a very dry sense of humour. I'd never read any of Maloney's books but i think i'll be picking up some more at the second hand bookshop over the weekend. It's funny, it's tightly written and from the look of the cast on the DVD the adaptation is gonna be brilliant.
Showing posts with label Australian Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Australian Fiction. Show all posts
Friday, January 14, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
The Twyborn Affair - Patrick White
Been awhile since updating this... firstly cause Christmas made me busy, secondly cause Australian fiction is long and hard going and i gave up on one other book part way through before switching to this one.
Patrick White's Twyborn Affair was an interesting book about a series of very interesting characters. Eddie Twyborn is described on the back of the book as being bisexual and androgynous. I read him as a gay transvestite who occaisionally slept with women but preferred the company of men. Eddie is the child of Judge Edward Twyborn and his wife Eadie. Eadie in particular is written in a similar way to Eddie, she married the judge because it was the proper thing to do but is also seen to "enjoy the company of women". Eddie appears in three guises the first Eudoxia, then Eddie and lastly Eadith. Each section of the book (there are no chapters) focuses on each way that the character presents themself.
Eudoxia is "married" to Angelos but who captivates the interest of Joan Golson, the wife of an Australian businessman who we later find out has been having a long term affair with Eddie/Eudoxia's mother Eadie. This section is set in 1914 just as war is about to be declared and set around a villa and hotel in France. As the war comes closer the characters face questions about whether Joan and her husband Boyd should return to AUstralia and whether Eudoxia will stay with the elderly Angelos or leave him for a more interesting relationship with Joan. It's not till the end of the part that it is revealed that Eudoxia is actually a young man not woman although to some readers it would be much easier to spot that coming (as it is to see the early hints of the relationship between Eadie an Joan).
The second section is about Eddie returning home after World War 1. He stays with his parents reconnecting with his former life till he escapes again moving to a sheep farm as a jackaroo. Here White examines the differences between city and country life and the differences between the people who live in each place. Out of the city Eddie embarks on an affair with Marcia who is the wife of the owner of the sheep station. Marcia is also an acquaintance of Eadie who she dislikes for being "a frowzy lesbian". Throughout this period Eddie is often disgusted with himself not for having an affair with a married woman but for having an affair with a woman. He doesn't understand his sexual urges towards her and eventually leaves not due to this but to his secret life as a "queer" being discovered by the sheep stations manager who rapes him.
The last section features Eadith living in pre World War 2 London and working as a madam at a high end brothel. Again she falls in love but at this point she doesn't want to admit that she is a transvestite so she keeps the man she loves at arms length preferring to send him to her girls when he wants sex. Eadie also turns up in London and they finally make peace with Eadie accepting her child as Eadith saying "I always wanted a daughter".
It's a thought provoking book and it only took four days to get through so it's all a bit of a blur but I enjoyed it and found the story to be powerful and involving. I shudder to think what some of my classmates who are very sheltered country kids are going to think and how they will react to some very frank sexual language. It's a good book an I really did enjoy it but it'll be one that will cause a lot of interesting discussions in class.
Patrick White's Twyborn Affair was an interesting book about a series of very interesting characters. Eddie Twyborn is described on the back of the book as being bisexual and androgynous. I read him as a gay transvestite who occaisionally slept with women but preferred the company of men. Eddie is the child of Judge Edward Twyborn and his wife Eadie. Eadie in particular is written in a similar way to Eddie, she married the judge because it was the proper thing to do but is also seen to "enjoy the company of women". Eddie appears in three guises the first Eudoxia, then Eddie and lastly Eadith. Each section of the book (there are no chapters) focuses on each way that the character presents themself.
Eudoxia is "married" to Angelos but who captivates the interest of Joan Golson, the wife of an Australian businessman who we later find out has been having a long term affair with Eddie/Eudoxia's mother Eadie. This section is set in 1914 just as war is about to be declared and set around a villa and hotel in France. As the war comes closer the characters face questions about whether Joan and her husband Boyd should return to AUstralia and whether Eudoxia will stay with the elderly Angelos or leave him for a more interesting relationship with Joan. It's not till the end of the part that it is revealed that Eudoxia is actually a young man not woman although to some readers it would be much easier to spot that coming (as it is to see the early hints of the relationship between Eadie an Joan).
The second section is about Eddie returning home after World War 1. He stays with his parents reconnecting with his former life till he escapes again moving to a sheep farm as a jackaroo. Here White examines the differences between city and country life and the differences between the people who live in each place. Out of the city Eddie embarks on an affair with Marcia who is the wife of the owner of the sheep station. Marcia is also an acquaintance of Eadie who she dislikes for being "a frowzy lesbian". Throughout this period Eddie is often disgusted with himself not for having an affair with a married woman but for having an affair with a woman. He doesn't understand his sexual urges towards her and eventually leaves not due to this but to his secret life as a "queer" being discovered by the sheep stations manager who rapes him.
The last section features Eadith living in pre World War 2 London and working as a madam at a high end brothel. Again she falls in love but at this point she doesn't want to admit that she is a transvestite so she keeps the man she loves at arms length preferring to send him to her girls when he wants sex. Eadie also turns up in London and they finally make peace with Eadie accepting her child as Eadith saying "I always wanted a daughter".
It's a thought provoking book and it only took four days to get through so it's all a bit of a blur but I enjoyed it and found the story to be powerful and involving. I shudder to think what some of my classmates who are very sheltered country kids are going to think and how they will react to some very frank sexual language. It's a good book an I really did enjoy it but it'll be one that will cause a lot of interesting discussions in class.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
El Dorado - Dorothy Porter
My best friend has been telling me for years that I need to read Dorothy Porter’s poetry and particularly her verse novels. Considering this is on the list for a lit subject i’m thinking of taking next year I began with this one. I’ve read verse novels before and I’m kind of on the fence about them. I don’t always like poetry so an entire book made up of the stuff is sometimes too much. “El Dorado” blew me away. It is tense, confronting and brilliant with the very distinct voices of the characters building and their friendship unravelling before coming back together while the plot unfolds around them.
Children are being murdered but their deaths look peaceful and they are buried in a ritualistic manner that seems respectful and all are left with gold on their forehead. Letters have been sent to the newspaper signed El Dorado claiming they are rescuing and saving children not killing them. Bill is the detective in charge of the case and is a “good Aussie Bloke” he is a single father whose best friend is Cath – who works in Hollywood but keeps coming home for a dose of reality. She sees things in a way that Bill can’t so he brings her in to help with his case.
The poems switch perspective from Bill to Cath both of whom have interesting ways to see things. Bill is a jaded cop, he’s tough, and under pressure from his bosses to sort this out. Cath is a creative free spirit who throughout the story falls in love with a woman much younger than she is which is causing her to question everything.
The mystery of who is killing these children is central to pretty much everything including Cath’s building romance. The killer leaves signs that they are linked to Bill and Cath’s childhood together making them question each other and the past. To say any more would be to give far too much away but simply put this book is brilliant and i’m adding the rest of Dorothy Porter’s works to my list of books to read.
“Once”, “Then” and “Now” vs “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas”
This summer i’m going to be helping out at the local library with the young adult reading group so I thought I should read a bunch of young adult novels so that I knew what to recommend. Who am I kidding? I read a heap of young novels anyway it’s just that I know I have a better excuse for it. I saw Boy in the Striped Pyjamas last year at the movies and have been trying to read John Boyne’s book since but i’ve never quite gotten around to it. Then I found out about Morris Gleitzman’s “Once”, “Then” and “Now” trilogy and decided I wanted to read them first.
“Once” is set in 1942. It is the story of Felix a 9 year old Polish Jew. Felix’s parents were booksellers so he tells the story of his life as if it’s one of the tales he knows. His parents left him at the catholic orphanage with the nuns because they needed him to be safe. He begins the story optimistic after finding a whole carrot in his soup which he decides is a sign from his parents that they are coming for him so he leaves the orphanage to meet them. Outside he is confronted by the real world that includes soldiers who shoot at him, a 6 year old orphan named Zelda who he befriends after rescuing her from a burning building, books that are being burnt and not cherished as his parents would like and that Adolf Hitler is not the “great man” that the nuns taught him he was. Felix and Zelda end up in the Warsaw Ghetto where Felix finds people like him who tell stories of “death camps” and trains that go to them.
“Then” is a year later after Felix and Zelda escape the ghetto and the train to the death camp. They escape to the countryside where they find a sympathetic woman who shelters them on her farm. And “Now” is set in modern Australia about Felix’s granddaughter Zelda and shows how Felix grew up to fulfil his promise of “being the best human being he could be”. He is a retired surgeon and Zelda has come to stay for the summer while her parents are in Africa.
These three books are brilliant. Felix and Zelda (both original and junior versions) are vibrant, believable characters who face problems but keep looking for the best in the world. They grow through bad situations and are completely changed by them but the best of them remains. Even as a grandfather Felix tells stories and the little boy who escapes the orphanage is in him he’s just older and wiser now. Morris Gleitzman has stated that these books are fiction and “came from imagination” but his grandfather was a Polish Jew from Krakow who left Poland safely before the war... his extended family didn’t. So there is realism to his writing and a respect for the history and the characters he has created.
On the other hand “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” is about Bruno. Like Felix he is 9 unlike Felix he is the son of a German officer who works for “The Fury” and has just been sent to “Out-With”. After Felix who grew and learnt and lost his innocence Bruno is hard to take. He acts far younger than 9 and shows no understanding of the world. I get that kids can be sheltered but for a 9 year old German to not know “The Fuhrer” and not understand why Schmuel the young boy from “out-with” who he speaks to through the fence at the back of his new house isn’t allowed out to play with him just seems too much. At one stage the two boys compare the symbols that Schmuel wears on his arm to the one Bruno’s father wears. Schmuel explains he wears the star because he is a Jew which leads Bruno to wonder if he could be Jewish and why his father wears the spidery symbol instead. I see what John Boyne’s is trying to do and when the book ends it ends powerfully and horribly but it just doesn’t work for me. And i’m not sure if that’s because of reading it so soon after Gleitzman’s trilogy or if it would’ve been the same if I had read it first. Although I do remember Bruno bugging me with his ridiculous questions in the movie as well.
“Once” is set in 1942. It is the story of Felix a 9 year old Polish Jew. Felix’s parents were booksellers so he tells the story of his life as if it’s one of the tales he knows. His parents left him at the catholic orphanage with the nuns because they needed him to be safe. He begins the story optimistic after finding a whole carrot in his soup which he decides is a sign from his parents that they are coming for him so he leaves the orphanage to meet them. Outside he is confronted by the real world that includes soldiers who shoot at him, a 6 year old orphan named Zelda who he befriends after rescuing her from a burning building, books that are being burnt and not cherished as his parents would like and that Adolf Hitler is not the “great man” that the nuns taught him he was. Felix and Zelda end up in the Warsaw Ghetto where Felix finds people like him who tell stories of “death camps” and trains that go to them.
“Then” is a year later after Felix and Zelda escape the ghetto and the train to the death camp. They escape to the countryside where they find a sympathetic woman who shelters them on her farm. And “Now” is set in modern Australia about Felix’s granddaughter Zelda and shows how Felix grew up to fulfil his promise of “being the best human being he could be”. He is a retired surgeon and Zelda has come to stay for the summer while her parents are in Africa.
These three books are brilliant. Felix and Zelda (both original and junior versions) are vibrant, believable characters who face problems but keep looking for the best in the world. They grow through bad situations and are completely changed by them but the best of them remains. Even as a grandfather Felix tells stories and the little boy who escapes the orphanage is in him he’s just older and wiser now. Morris Gleitzman has stated that these books are fiction and “came from imagination” but his grandfather was a Polish Jew from Krakow who left Poland safely before the war... his extended family didn’t. So there is realism to his writing and a respect for the history and the characters he has created.
On the other hand “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” is about Bruno. Like Felix he is 9 unlike Felix he is the son of a German officer who works for “The Fury” and has just been sent to “Out-With”. After Felix who grew and learnt and lost his innocence Bruno is hard to take. He acts far younger than 9 and shows no understanding of the world. I get that kids can be sheltered but for a 9 year old German to not know “The Fuhrer” and not understand why Schmuel the young boy from “out-with” who he speaks to through the fence at the back of his new house isn’t allowed out to play with him just seems too much. At one stage the two boys compare the symbols that Schmuel wears on his arm to the one Bruno’s father wears. Schmuel explains he wears the star because he is a Jew which leads Bruno to wonder if he could be Jewish and why his father wears the spidery symbol instead. I see what John Boyne’s is trying to do and when the book ends it ends powerfully and horribly but it just doesn’t work for me. And i’m not sure if that’s because of reading it so soon after Gleitzman’s trilogy or if it would’ve been the same if I had read it first. Although I do remember Bruno bugging me with his ridiculous questions in the movie as well.
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