Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: raw

  • Split True stories of leaving, loss and new beginnings

    Split True stories of leaving, loss and new beginnings

    Split: an interesting title for a book and one which will, as it is intended to do, either attract or repel, with the raw red slash splashed strategically across the front cover, but to reject, which would be all to easy to do, would be to miss some of the best writing from popular authors across a wide range of genres, as they open up their everyday life, just a sliver, to reflect on what the word Split means to them.

    As Graham Greene once famously wrote, ‘A story has no beginning or end’; such is the case in this raw, wry, heartfelt and in some instances, heartbreaking anthology from much loved authors such as Damon Young, Fiona Wright, Peter Bishop and many more.

    An invitation from Lee Kofman was issued to Australian writers she most admired, to take part in this anthology. Much to her immense surprise, many accepted the offer to write about an ending, a Split, in their life; an ending which in many cases left them raw, damaged, wondering what next, for others a conclusion or discovery was made that came at a price, as life so often demands, but allowed them to see their world and the world of others, very differently.

    People everywhere are infinitely curious about the lives of others, so when a collection such as this evolves, it is certain to evoke curiosity; who loves nothing more than to discover a little something about someone else they could not possibly have known.

    Alice Pung talks about being a migrant child growing up in Melbourne, a member of a huge family who were determined to make something good out of their new life. Sami Shah reflects on how a slip of the memory, forgetting the basics of being Pakistani and also Muslim, led him to becoming outlawed in his own family. Virginia Peters reflects about first loves, family and acceptance

    Leaving a much loved place of work, a place where you have come of age, given heart, soul and endless nights of self-doubt too, is placed under the microscope of reflection by Ramona Koval, returning to the angst of her final day working for the iconic Australian broadcaster the ABC, looking back, looking forwards from lessons learned.

    These are just a few amongst the many who have shared a heart wrenching time lived, eventually allowed to fade into time past, leaving behind the lessons learned, the healing to take place. Overarching everything offered, there is one gem in all of the stories, that of hope that when the hurt has healed, there is bright new future beckoning; maybe not one ever imagined or envisage, but one never the less to carve out or write large upon, as you so choose.

     

  • Old Growth

    Old Growth

    Sharp and confrontational, with once again a stark usage of words, Kinsella observes the complexities that makes up humankind. The series of stories highlights a perspective of life, of love, wins and losses of the many people, as they struggle to make their way through life to a place, or a point, where their chosen pathway may eventually make a kind of bizarre sense or reach a conclusion.

    As always his work hits at the centre of who we are with each of the stories told focusing on an aspect of behaviour that may or may not need to be dragged into the light of day, with the consequences of each of these actions climaxing in the unexpected.

    A sparseness of words paints a stark picture in Sisters:, ‘Jessy stood on the street, swigging from a bottle of vodka. It was morning. Maybe 9 am.’’, which brings the reader to a place where there can be more than one interpretation of the written word. Why was she on the street………. with the tale eventually coming back to the beginning asking, Why?

    The grief of the man who had lost his wife, destroying something special; destroying the things he had held dear, she had held dear while she was still alive, all in the name of grief or some other emotion, is a stark reminder that emotion is a comprehensive component to life, and regardless of how we attempt to avoid the tough stuff, it is always there, always a part of who we are and the world about us.

    The emotive issue of racism is addressed in The Shopping Trolley and in Cheating The Periodic Table, teen issues are also placed under the microscope, looking at lack of respect, evening the score and perhaps, eventually growing up.

    The stories are short, succinct and powerful as one would, and has come, to expect from a master of his craft. Under the sad tragedy of human life though, Kinsella has painted a layer of hope, that all is not lost, things a can change and the human spirit will eventually prevail over tragedy and should it not, as in some unfortunate cases, there is always a need for understanding.