Okay, so at this point I have come to the realisation that I’m not going to get all of the longlist read by the time the winner of the [...]]]> This review is the fourth in my series of reviews of books from the 2009 Miles Franklin Literary Award longlist. To see more reviews, please go here.

Okay, so at this point I have come to the realisation that I’m not going to get all of the longlist read by the time the winner of the 2009 Miles Franklin Award is announced on June 18. I’m not even going to get all of the shortlist read before that date either. After my initial burst of steam I sort of slowed down a bit, and I’ve been getting distracted and reading other things (more about that later) but I do still want to read all ten of the books on the longlist. Considering I generally don’t read a lot of fiction these days, I have been enjoying these books more than I thought I would. So I will keep going, and I will finish when I finish. I mean, where’s the rush?

Speaking of enjoying things more than I thought I would, that is definitely how I feel about Fugitive Blue by Claire Thomas.  Actually I’m not really sure what I expected, but what I found was a thoroughly engaging novel that centres on an unlikely medievel painting and the people whose lives it touches down the centuries. The central story of the book surrounds a present day art conservator who is becoming obsessed with an art work she is in the process of restoring, as her relationship with her partner (and her spare room) is falling apart around her. Interwoven with this story is a series of shorter stories that begin with the painting’s creator and then proceed to follow the painting through different eras, different owners and different countries as it makes its way to present day Melbourne.

My favourite of the short pieces was easily the story of the dancer, and I liked that the reader has to wait until well into the next story to find out which man and ultimately which future the dancer has chosen for herself. The other short pieces are also cleverly written in such a way as to give just enough details  to spark the imagination without over burdening the reader with a precise history of everything that has ever happened to the painting and its owners down the years. I felt that the weakest part of the whole book was probably the present day story, and at the beginning I especially didn’t like the way it was written as a sort of letter to an unknown recipient, although by the end I did think that this particular element was brought to a strong enough conclusion that I managed to forgive what I felt to be the initial clunkiness of this device.

Fugitive Blue is Claire Thomas’ first novel, and although there is no mention of her working on a second novel in the author bio that I read, I for one am hoping that there will be one (or a book of short stories for that matter), as I look forward to reading more by this emerging Australian writer.

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In One Foot Wrong, by Sofie Laguna, we are completely immersed in the world of Hester, a little girl trapped inside the world of her suburban home. Hester has never [...]]]> This review is the third in my series of reviews of books from the 2009 Miles Franklin Literary Award longlist. To see more reviews, please go here.

In One Foot Wrong, by Sofie Laguna, we are completely immersed in the world of Hester, a little girl trapped inside the world of her suburban home. Hester has never been outside and her only friends are handle, spoon and cat. Her parents, known only as Boot and Sack, punish her for laughing and tell her that laughter is the devil’s language. She has never been taught to read or write, but she does know all of the pictures in her Abridged Picture Bible off by heart.

Hester’s world is bleak to say the least, but things begin to look up one day with the appearance of a government man at the door demanding that Hester be sent to school. At school Hester finally gets to experience the world of other children, and she makes her first real friend, Mary. But the freedom that Hester gains by going to school is short lived and is devastatingly taken away from her after the guilt trips and punishments doled out by her parents cause Hester to lash out at one of her teachers.   

From here, Hester’s life goes from bad to worse, and the horrendous physical and psychological abuse she endures from her parents over the years takes its toll. Hester again lashes out, this time at her parents, and they decide that they must send her away.

Now trapped inside a psych ward instead of her home, Hester once again makes a friend. Together, Hester and her new friend Norma begin the journey to a new life, one that will be free of the pain and torture of the past. But first Hester must deal with the voices, the ones in her head that keep telling her to go home for one last visit…

One Foot Wrong is not for the faint of heart but the speed and skill with which Sophie Laguna pulls us into this child’s imaginary and yet all too real world shows all the marks of a gifted storyteller. There were certain parts of the book where I wasn’t sure if I could keep reading, like when you are watching a horror movie and you want to look away but inevitably you keep watching because you just have to know what happens. I did keep reading, and I was glad that I did, if only to know that the book does end on a somewhat hopeful note.

One Foot Wrong is Sophie Laguna’s first book for adults but she has previously written for children and young adults. Her other titles include Bird and Sugar Boy, Bad Buster and Too Loud Lily.

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Hmm, where do I start with this one? I think I’m having trouble getting started with my review of The Pages by Murray Bail because I feel quite conflicted about [...]]]> This review is the second in my series of reviews of books from the 2009 Miles Franklin Literary Award longlist. To see more reviews, please go here.

Hmm, where do I start with this one? I think I’m having trouble getting started with my review of The Pages by Murray Bail because I feel quite conflicted about this book. It is very well written, there is no doubt in my mind about that. I would love to give an example of this but I had to return the book to the library yesterday because it was already overdue, and I forgot to write down some of the passages I particularly liked (note to self: write these things down as you go along). So you’ll have to take my word for it, Murray Bail has a quite a gift with words. On the other hand, this book left me cold. I didn’t warm to any of the characters, nor did I find any of them particularly likable, but then again none of them were particularly unlikable either. I found the beginning quite slow, and I felt that just as it was starting to pick up pace and get interesting, it ended. And yet, there was something sort of wonderful about the slow and meditative nature of parts of this book, and I decided the other day on the tram that if I had to pick one word to describe this book, it would have to be ‘thoughtful’. Yes, The Pages is definitely a thoughtful book. But before I get too much further with this back and forth, I might at least tell you something about the story…

Erica, a philosophy lecturer, and her friend Sophie, a psychoanalyst, leave Sydney one morning on a road trip to a farming property somewhere in the New South Wales countryside. The purpose of their trip is for Erica to take a look at a manuscript, the ‘pages’ of the title, and to assess it for its philosophical merit, or lack there of. Sophie has come along for the ride, as she attempts to get over yet another failed relationship with yet another married man. On arrival at the farm they meet the Antills, a sister and brother team who have inherited the job of running the family farm. The manuscript that Erica is there to read belongs to the Antills dead brother Wesley, the family tearaway who went to the city, travelled to the ‘old world’, had some big thoughts, and then came home to write it all down. Interwoven with the present day story of Erica and Sophie on the farm, we are told Wesley’s story, and for me it is these parts where we hear from Wesley that are far and away the best bits of the book. Wesley is almost likable, but not quite, as he takes himself far too seriously for all that. He is interesting though, and as the book went on I found myself not really caring about Erica and Sophie and their present day friendship crisis at all, I just wanted more of Wesley’s story.

I wouldn’t say that The Pages is an easy read, but ultimately I do think it is a worthwhile book, for its wonderful use of language, and for making me think about the nature of thinking. Other books by Murray Bail include Eucalyptus, winner of the 1999 Miles Franklin Award, and Homesickness.

Thank you for visiting Bookishness. If you have an opinion about this book, please leave a comment below (feel free to link to your own review). And if you liked this post, don’t forget to subscribe!