We had a great turn up to discuss Jenny Pattrick's novel set on the cold wet coalfields of Denniston in its formative days. Some readers spoke of how effectively Jenny Pattrick described the conditions of the time - our readers felt the cold and the squelch of the mud, the pervading damp and discomfort of the persistent rain and the general inhospitality of the whole environment while others found it difficult to picture the setting, feeling quite removed from it.
We did look at the two different book covers and discuss how one really gave a much clearer picture of the Denniston environment than the other.
Our readers spoke of the capacity of some of the characters such as the Scobies, the Hanrattys and the Rasmussens to create a home in such harsh conditions while people like Eva Storm had not the foggiest notion of home-building and maybe represented the bulk of the population who were more concerned with wealth creation. Readers spoke of how the young Rose was drawn to the homier environments despite, or maybe because she had never had that experience from her mother.
One of our readers spoke of the telling contrast between the plump, generous Bella and the lean mean Eva. Others spoke of Eva's actions being influenced by her deep-seated desperation and how this intense desperation over-rode everything including the safety of her daughter. There was discussion about Eva's perception that she had to have a male to provide for her no matter what the cost. This led to discussion about the vital yet rarely recognised role of women in pioneering times.
Folk spoke of how characters like Bella, Totty and Mary Scobie overcame their difficulties and battled through their despair, becoming stronger and more able and willing to contribute to the greater good while characters like Eva, Jimmie Cork and Billy Genesis are caught in the down-spiralling eddy of their circumstances perceived as being caused by something or someone other than themselves and therefore are never able to move forward.
One of our readers was disappointed with the character development in the novel and spoke of the flatness of the characters. She gave examples of when the author had absolutely nailed a character and they bounced off the page in full 3D but she felt this happened too infrequently which detracted from the novel. Other book clubbers suggested that this was because the author was leaving space for the readers to draw the characters for themselves and that the characters were but one part of an integrated whole and if there was too much concentration on their exact delineation this would reduce the impact of the whole.
It was interesting that the character Rose generated only minimal discussion. Clubbers spoke about how they enjoyed the unlikely relationship between the three children from the three different groups and how this friendship represented a harbinger of the community to come. People spoke of the unifying effect of the miners' strike and referenced the recent film Pride which depicted this same need for unity in the strikes of the 1970s in England under the Thatcher administration.
Most of our readers rated the book around a seven out of ten. One of our readers felt it was one of the best book club selections we had read, rating it a nine while at the other end of the spectrum another reader rated it a five due to the lack of satisfaction with the character development. Readers were keen to see that Jenny Pattrick had written both a sequel, Heart of Coal and a spin-off Catching the Current. (Both are in the library collection for those wanting to read more of Jenny Pattrick.)
Our next read is Bluey's War written by Herb Hamlet, a Queensland writer.
We have a bit longer to read this one!
Happy reading!
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