Chat about Sophie Laguna's The Eye of the Sheep ebbed and flowed. There was discussion about the way the author used pace to accentuate Jimmy Flick's thought processes. Most of our readers really enjoyed the way she told the story from Jimmy's perspective. Some thought the younger Jimmy was more authentic than the older Jimmy though. Some of our readers commented on the way the reader was left guessing as to defining what Jimmy's difficulties actually were. He just summed it up himself when he talks about sometimes being too fast and other times being too slow. The author really let the reader into Jimmy's head though which most of our readers found really intriguing.
Most of our readers enjoyed the descriptions of Jimmy's relationship with his big cuddly mother and the way the relationship between his father and the Cutty Sark bottle was portrayed. The way Jimmy's perception of his father's relationship with alcohol was written was also appreciated by our readers.
There was much discussion about the plight of children who lose their single parent. The pressures on foster carers was spoken about and some of our readers had had personal experience of the system and how because of under-resourcing there was a lot of duress exerted on active foster carers to continue beyond their ability to perform effectively. Jimmy Flick's foster carers were so exhausted by their long term custody of difficult children that they were unable to effectively cope with the plight of Jimmy Flick. There were comparisons drawn between Liam in The Eye of the Sheep and Garrick in Golden Boys and how they were the victims of unsupportive family lives and the way this anger was transferred from generation to generation.
Our readers were divided as to whether there were grounds for an optimistic outlook for Jimmy's future. Some thought that Jimmy's dad's addiction to alcohol and his reliance on it when times became tough did not bode well for Jimmy's future. Others were more confident that Jimmy's own resilience would win through despite adversity. There was general agreement that despite its greyness, this novel had a more positive essence than our last novel, Sonya Hartnett's Golden Boys.
Between the Lines Book Club will now take a break over the Christmas holiday period. We meet next year on Thursday 28 January. Some folks were happy to take a break from selected reading and enjoy their own choices over the holidays while others were enthusiastic about sampling Josh Cohen's tome, Book of Numbers. We agreed that it would probably take the two months to get through. It certainly gives us an experience of a genre that we have not dipped into previously.
Summer is shaping up to be a hot one so hopefully you'll be able to find a cool spot to enjoy reading whatever you fancy.
Wishing all BTLBCers and their families a safe happy Christmas and an exciting 2016 crammed chock-a-block with fulfilling reads!
Monday 30 November 2015
Monday 23 November 2015
'The Eye of the Sheep' will be under discussion this Thursday!
We'll be meeting this Thursday at Gordon White Library at 6.00 pm in the Community Meeting Room. It'll be interesting to hear of everyone's experience of Sophie Laguna's 2015 Miles Franklin Literary Award winning novel.
See you on Thursday!
See you on Thursday!
Wednesday 4 November 2015
Next on the menu: 'The Eye of the Sheep'
Most of our readers felt a bit depressed after being assaulted by Golden Boys. There were pleas for a more uplifting book. Sophie Laguna's 2015 Miles Franklin Literary Award winning book The Eye of the Sheep deals with more difficult domestic issues but somehow I feel there is a faint hint of hope there which was not an element of Sonya Hartnett's novel.
Louise Swinn from The Australian penned this review of Sophie Laguna's debut novel.
I'm sure we'll have another interesting discussion when we meet on Thursday 26 November at 6.00pm at the Gordon White Library Community Meeting Room!
Monday 2 November 2015
"Golden Boys" provokes much discussion
Sonya Hartnett's novel Golden Boys, short-listed for the 2015 Miles Franklin Literary Award, fuelled some very polarised discussion at out Between the Lines Book Club.
One of our regulars really loved the book and was so fired up about discussing it, she couldn't wait for book club. She so convinced a family member of its readability that they obtained it and read it so that their discussion could begin. She loved the language and the whole subtle suggestive way the story was told.
On the other end of the spectrum, another reader was quite confused with the intent of the book. She willing admitted that such difficult social issues need to be in the open but she felt that in the current climate, issues of domestic violence and paedophilia were very much to the forefront of the public consciousness. From this perspective she felt the book was redundant and rather a waste of time as, though it highlighted both issues and their detrimental effects, it did not offer any solutions.
Other members suggested that the book was really saying that such social problems are not confined to one particular socio-economic group but in reality found across the whole social spectrum. The superficially 'golden' life of the Jenson family hides the suggestion of the dark secretive paedophile. The author only ever suggests the crime and while there is the evidence of 'grooming', only Garrick Greene's crude exclaimations approach naming the sin. The alcohol-fuelled domestic violence in the Kiley household is far more openly described but as Freya points out in society it has been historically ignored.
There was much discussion on how family violence impacts the whole family. There was discussion how this 'invisible' crime is becoming more openly discussed today but how historically the court system really supported the perpetrator rather than the victims. Stories surfaced about both the victim and the perpetrator having to wait simultaneously outside of the Family Court and the way the perpetrator could utilise this opportunity to further intimidate the victim who then presented in court as an incompetent and thus losing the custody of children. There was much talk about why victims of domestic violence 'choose' to stay and that inside the situation the choice to leave is not practically a real option, especially when custody of children is a concern.
One of our readers is always keen to know why a novel has its particular title. There was a variety of ideas as to who the 'Golden Boys' were. Some thought it was Colt and Bastian as on the surface it appeared they had everything. Some thought it was all the boys as they were all potential 'gold' for the kingly paedophile Rex. Some thought it was Declan, the gallant and Colt the athlete who were the 'Golden Boys' as they were so gifted. There was that flood of ambiguity again!
Several readers raced through the book while others were unable to face its confronting content or had to make several efforts to get through it. Some readers commented on how clever the names of the characters were as their names amplified their roles in the story. Some of our readers found the subject matter just too confronting to read. Other readers found the story, while confronting, so engrossing they could not put it down.
Our readers were divided as the ending; some firmly believed Colt survived while others were convinced he died as a result of the beating. Sonya Hartnett is obviously at her ambiguous best.
Generally our readers thought the novel was well written but many found the subject too confronting for their taste. Sonya Hartnett's foray into adult literature has not strayed too far from her Young Adult speciality as it is the young adults in the story who bear the brunt of the sins of the adults and who reveal the truth. The adults generally are seen to be lacking in their ability to make positive adult decisions and appear completely incapable of keeping their children safe, a worrying judgement of our society.
Our book clubbers were looking to having a more uplifting read for our next book club, but unfortunately it is Sophie Laguna's The Eye of the Sheep, winner of the 2015 Miles Franklin Literary Award which is our next selection. I do think The Eye of the Sheep leaves one slightly more optimistic than Golden Boys.
Looking forward to hearing about your experience of this prize-winning Australian novel.
One of our regulars really loved the book and was so fired up about discussing it, she couldn't wait for book club. She so convinced a family member of its readability that they obtained it and read it so that their discussion could begin. She loved the language and the whole subtle suggestive way the story was told.
On the other end of the spectrum, another reader was quite confused with the intent of the book. She willing admitted that such difficult social issues need to be in the open but she felt that in the current climate, issues of domestic violence and paedophilia were very much to the forefront of the public consciousness. From this perspective she felt the book was redundant and rather a waste of time as, though it highlighted both issues and their detrimental effects, it did not offer any solutions.
Other members suggested that the book was really saying that such social problems are not confined to one particular socio-economic group but in reality found across the whole social spectrum. The superficially 'golden' life of the Jenson family hides the suggestion of the dark secretive paedophile. The author only ever suggests the crime and while there is the evidence of 'grooming', only Garrick Greene's crude exclaimations approach naming the sin. The alcohol-fuelled domestic violence in the Kiley household is far more openly described but as Freya points out in society it has been historically ignored.
There was much discussion on how family violence impacts the whole family. There was discussion how this 'invisible' crime is becoming more openly discussed today but how historically the court system really supported the perpetrator rather than the victims. Stories surfaced about both the victim and the perpetrator having to wait simultaneously outside of the Family Court and the way the perpetrator could utilise this opportunity to further intimidate the victim who then presented in court as an incompetent and thus losing the custody of children. There was much talk about why victims of domestic violence 'choose' to stay and that inside the situation the choice to leave is not practically a real option, especially when custody of children is a concern.
One of our readers is always keen to know why a novel has its particular title. There was a variety of ideas as to who the 'Golden Boys' were. Some thought it was Colt and Bastian as on the surface it appeared they had everything. Some thought it was all the boys as they were all potential 'gold' for the kingly paedophile Rex. Some thought it was Declan, the gallant and Colt the athlete who were the 'Golden Boys' as they were so gifted. There was that flood of ambiguity again!
Several readers raced through the book while others were unable to face its confronting content or had to make several efforts to get through it. Some readers commented on how clever the names of the characters were as their names amplified their roles in the story. Some of our readers found the subject matter just too confronting to read. Other readers found the story, while confronting, so engrossing they could not put it down.
Our readers were divided as the ending; some firmly believed Colt survived while others were convinced he died as a result of the beating. Sonya Hartnett is obviously at her ambiguous best.
Generally our readers thought the novel was well written but many found the subject too confronting for their taste. Sonya Hartnett's foray into adult literature has not strayed too far from her Young Adult speciality as it is the young adults in the story who bear the brunt of the sins of the adults and who reveal the truth. The adults generally are seen to be lacking in their ability to make positive adult decisions and appear completely incapable of keeping their children safe, a worrying judgement of our society.
Our book clubbers were looking to having a more uplifting read for our next book club, but unfortunately it is Sophie Laguna's The Eye of the Sheep, winner of the 2015 Miles Franklin Literary Award which is our next selection. I do think The Eye of the Sheep leaves one slightly more optimistic than Golden Boys.
Looking forward to hearing about your experience of this prize-winning Australian novel.
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