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kcfromaustcrime's review against another edition
5.0
SMALL MERCIES by Richard Anderson is one of those books that should be mandatory reading for all Australians. I certainly hope somebody in education circles SERIOUSLY contemplates putting it into English syllabuses as I don't think most city based Australian's have a clue about the mind games that drought inflicts on people and places.
I also hope there's not many rural dwellers in Australia who don't love the place that they live, and feel some responsibility for it's health and welfare. It's hard to explain to anybody who hasn't experienced the feeling - but the impact of living in drought - something that's totally uncontrollable - does weird things to your brain, and the more frequent it becomes the worse the pressure. There's such an overwhelming sense of responsibility for stock, crops, your family's personal welfare and survival, and in most cases, the natural environment around you. You live up close and in daily direct contact with that environment when you live in rural locations - even if you don't articulate or acknowledge the closeness it's always there. Seasons, and weather changes are obvious, the limits on resources like water on a daily basis, and the constant need to manage all resources carefully is never ending. You see the changing treescapes, the erosion and the sheer lack of water in the world. You can't avoid the way the soil around you dries, cracks, turns to concrete, and the way that bare soil inevitably becomes airborne dust. That dust in everything, on everything, that constant sense of dry choking, dirty, dusty, exhausted air. The constant wariness of fire, the myriad of daily decisions, the awful sense of your responsibility over what lives and what is moved on, or dies. Every. Single. Day.
SMALL MERCIES expresses so much of the effect that sort of living has on people. The damage that having to live a life on hold causes, the consequences of stress on a property and a farming couple, which up until reading this book, I hadn't considered as a form of PTSD. People living in that sort of constant tension make odd decisions, do odd things, react poorly, and sadly, often times pull away from each other, or, if they are luckier, smarter or just more bloody-minded, find a way to adapt and come together.
Set around the personal stories of Dimple and Ruthie, a couple struggling to keep the family farm going in the midst of ongoing, never-ending drought, it's heartening to see them get their backs up when a wealthy landowner pontificates that small farmers like them are doomed, and they should just go away, and leave agriculture to the large operators like him. Their backs are up enough to send them off on a physical journey to confront him about that statement, but it's the emotional journey that this triggers that is the important bit.
For a novel that covers a lot of territory (physical and emotional) in a pretty short space of time, SMALL MERCIES isn't heavy going though. Anderson writes in an engaging manner, with just enough humour to lift the black to grey, without attempting in anyway to gloss over the seriousness of the subject matter. He even manages to weave in a very realistic love story, of two people who, when the chips are down, find out that they do really need each other.
Moving, perceptive and very readable SMALL MERCIES is populated by real and accessible characters, set in the topical landscape of drought-ravaged rural Australia. Recently I've heard tell of a Canberra Parliamentary Bookclub. I'd suggest we all start recommending this as an entry they should be reading.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/small-mercies-richard-anderson
I also hope there's not many rural dwellers in Australia who don't love the place that they live, and feel some responsibility for it's health and welfare. It's hard to explain to anybody who hasn't experienced the feeling - but the impact of living in drought - something that's totally uncontrollable - does weird things to your brain, and the more frequent it becomes the worse the pressure. There's such an overwhelming sense of responsibility for stock, crops, your family's personal welfare and survival, and in most cases, the natural environment around you. You live up close and in daily direct contact with that environment when you live in rural locations - even if you don't articulate or acknowledge the closeness it's always there. Seasons, and weather changes are obvious, the limits on resources like water on a daily basis, and the constant need to manage all resources carefully is never ending. You see the changing treescapes, the erosion and the sheer lack of water in the world. You can't avoid the way the soil around you dries, cracks, turns to concrete, and the way that bare soil inevitably becomes airborne dust. That dust in everything, on everything, that constant sense of dry choking, dirty, dusty, exhausted air. The constant wariness of fire, the myriad of daily decisions, the awful sense of your responsibility over what lives and what is moved on, or dies. Every. Single. Day.
SMALL MERCIES expresses so much of the effect that sort of living has on people. The damage that having to live a life on hold causes, the consequences of stress on a property and a farming couple, which up until reading this book, I hadn't considered as a form of PTSD. People living in that sort of constant tension make odd decisions, do odd things, react poorly, and sadly, often times pull away from each other, or, if they are luckier, smarter or just more bloody-minded, find a way to adapt and come together.
Set around the personal stories of Dimple and Ruthie, a couple struggling to keep the family farm going in the midst of ongoing, never-ending drought, it's heartening to see them get their backs up when a wealthy landowner pontificates that small farmers like them are doomed, and they should just go away, and leave agriculture to the large operators like him. Their backs are up enough to send them off on a physical journey to confront him about that statement, but it's the emotional journey that this triggers that is the important bit.
For a novel that covers a lot of territory (physical and emotional) in a pretty short space of time, SMALL MERCIES isn't heavy going though. Anderson writes in an engaging manner, with just enough humour to lift the black to grey, without attempting in anyway to gloss over the seriousness of the subject matter. He even manages to weave in a very realistic love story, of two people who, when the chips are down, find out that they do really need each other.
Moving, perceptive and very readable SMALL MERCIES is populated by real and accessible characters, set in the topical landscape of drought-ravaged rural Australia. Recently I've heard tell of a Canberra Parliamentary Bookclub. I'd suggest we all start recommending this as an entry they should be reading.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/small-mercies-richard-anderson
tasmanian_bibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
‘Farming was a business: a cutthroat business masquerading as a community project.’
‘Dimple’ (Dillon) and Ruth Travers run a mixed property in New South Wales: crops and cattle. The property is severely drought affected; the future is uncertain. Their two sons, J and Finnie are grown, have left home and live in the city. One day Finnie might like to return to the farm. Ruthie and Dimple have a routine which governs their lives, provides structure and predictability even as they struggle to obtain enough feed for their remaining cattle and to make planting decisions.
And then, two things happen. While helping one of his cows, Dimple hears a wealthy landowner on the radio. Wally Oliver it is. Dimple knew his father. Wally has a message for small farmers like Ruthie and Dimple:
‘.. that drought could be a good thing because it removed the bottom rung of farmers.’
Ruthie receives a letter. She needs treatment. She decides that waiting a couple of days won’t matter. She doesn’t tell Dimple straightaway: she wants time to think.
Ruthie and Dimple decide to take a brief break from the farm. They are going to confront Wally Oliver: someone has to tell him that he is wrong.
Ruthie and Dimple set off on what becomes a two-night trip, a journey to see Wally Oliver. This is a journey which tests them as all the routines that simultaneously shield and occupy their marriage are put to one side. They talk, they share their feelings.
We travel with Ruthie and Dimple, as they revisit the past and make plans. They talk about life off the farm, and make a decision seems right (after all, change may be necessary) but then regret.
I really enjoyed this novel. Both Dimple and Ruthie are finely drawn characters. Theirs is a long-standing marriage, with routines largely dictated by the farm, where self becomes subjugated by responsibility, where the uncertainties of the future can become overwhelming. And absent of routine, opportunities arise to explore the possibility of change. Restlessness is not confined to the young.
Highly recommended.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
‘Dimple’ (Dillon) and Ruth Travers run a mixed property in New South Wales: crops and cattle. The property is severely drought affected; the future is uncertain. Their two sons, J and Finnie are grown, have left home and live in the city. One day Finnie might like to return to the farm. Ruthie and Dimple have a routine which governs their lives, provides structure and predictability even as they struggle to obtain enough feed for their remaining cattle and to make planting decisions.
And then, two things happen. While helping one of his cows, Dimple hears a wealthy landowner on the radio. Wally Oliver it is. Dimple knew his father. Wally has a message for small farmers like Ruthie and Dimple:
‘.. that drought could be a good thing because it removed the bottom rung of farmers.’
Ruthie receives a letter. She needs treatment. She decides that waiting a couple of days won’t matter. She doesn’t tell Dimple straightaway: she wants time to think.
Ruthie and Dimple decide to take a brief break from the farm. They are going to confront Wally Oliver: someone has to tell him that he is wrong.
Ruthie and Dimple set off on what becomes a two-night trip, a journey to see Wally Oliver. This is a journey which tests them as all the routines that simultaneously shield and occupy their marriage are put to one side. They talk, they share their feelings.
We travel with Ruthie and Dimple, as they revisit the past and make plans. They talk about life off the farm, and make a decision seems right (after all, change may be necessary) but then regret.
I really enjoyed this novel. Both Dimple and Ruthie are finely drawn characters. Theirs is a long-standing marriage, with routines largely dictated by the farm, where self becomes subjugated by responsibility, where the uncertainties of the future can become overwhelming. And absent of routine, opportunities arise to explore the possibility of change. Restlessness is not confined to the young.
Highly recommended.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
busyreading's review against another edition
3.0
Months of severe drought weighed heavily upon Dimple and Ruthie. Living on the land certainly always has its challenges which the couple knows only too well. While they felt that things could not get worse, Ruthie receives news that no woman wants to receive.
Small Mercies by Aussie author Richard Anderson is a well written story of the everyday struggles farmers are faced with from year to year and how these pressures can affect relationships. Recommended.
Small Mercies by Aussie author Richard Anderson is a well written story of the everyday struggles farmers are faced with from year to year and how these pressures can affect relationships. Recommended.
scribepub's review against another edition
A fine-grained study of a marriage and a land in crisis … A wonderful book.
Jock Serong
An undemanding read for those who enjoy human stories with a rural setting, Small Mercies is the tale of a man and a woman who have weathered many trials by taking each other for granted, and who come to realise that familiarity doesn’t necessarily mean they know everything they should about one another.
Lindy Jones, Books+Publishing
This was an engaging and thought-provoking read, storytelling at its best, nuanced and credible.
Carol Seeley, Reading, Writing and Riesling
Wholly engaging — a character-driven novel where the unforgiving Australian climate is an unpredictable character as well … Small Mercies isn’t just a window onto the crisis on the land. It’s the love story of an older couple too, something we don’t often see in fiction.
Lisa Hill, ANZ LitLovers
Small Mercies by Richard Anderson is one of those books that should be mandatory reading for all Australians ... Anderson writes in an engaging manner, with just enough humour to lift the black to grey, without attempting in anyway to gloss over the seriousness of the subject matter ... Moving, perceptive and very readable.
Karen Chisholm, The Blurb
This engaging story ... is one to remember for its credibility and timeliness.
Christopher Bantick, The Weekly Times
This novel is a perceptive study of marriage, of family farming, and of women’s lives, as well as a sombre look at the people in Australian society who have money and power, and at the way they wield those things to their own ends.
The Age
As the novel moves along, the true-to-life conversations of the couple show their relationship is drying out like the land ... We share their shock and feel their fear of longer droughts, hotter temperatures, and how the rich and powerful work the system. .5 STARS
Judith Grace, Good Reading
Anderson’s emotional intelligence is acute. Small Mercies adds literary understanding to the stocks of the Australian rural novel.
Ed Wright, The Australian
Jock Serong
An undemanding read for those who enjoy human stories with a rural setting, Small Mercies is the tale of a man and a woman who have weathered many trials by taking each other for granted, and who come to realise that familiarity doesn’t necessarily mean they know everything they should about one another.
Lindy Jones, Books+Publishing
This was an engaging and thought-provoking read, storytelling at its best, nuanced and credible.
Carol Seeley, Reading, Writing and Riesling
Wholly engaging — a character-driven novel where the unforgiving Australian climate is an unpredictable character as well … Small Mercies isn’t just a window onto the crisis on the land. It’s the love story of an older couple too, something we don’t often see in fiction.
Lisa Hill, ANZ LitLovers
Small Mercies by Richard Anderson is one of those books that should be mandatory reading for all Australians ... Anderson writes in an engaging manner, with just enough humour to lift the black to grey, without attempting in anyway to gloss over the seriousness of the subject matter ... Moving, perceptive and very readable.
Karen Chisholm, The Blurb
This engaging story ... is one to remember for its credibility and timeliness.
Christopher Bantick, The Weekly Times
This novel is a perceptive study of marriage, of family farming, and of women’s lives, as well as a sombre look at the people in Australian society who have money and power, and at the way they wield those things to their own ends.
The Age
As the novel moves along, the true-to-life conversations of the couple show their relationship is drying out like the land ... We share their shock and feel their fear of longer droughts, hotter temperatures, and how the rich and powerful work the system. .5 STARS
Judith Grace, Good Reading
Anderson’s emotional intelligence is acute. Small Mercies adds literary understanding to the stocks of the Australian rural novel.
Ed Wright, The Australian
shelleyann01's review against another edition
5.0
From the first line I knew I was captivated by a talented and accomplished writer. The characters and setting are so vivid. As you read, you will feel that you too are involved in this struggle. I enjoyed reading this book so much. The vivid descriptions of outback life and farming made the book come alive for me. The story-line could be based on real people’s lives and I found it to be so intriguing and authentic. The relationship between Dimple and Ruthie was so beautiful and palpable but also tension filled. The writing was poetic and the message behind the story was a powerful one.
gretasbookclub's review against another edition
4.0
My Review: This book is the real deal. You can absolutely tell the author of this book is a rural Australian farmer who draws from his own life experiences throughout this book and this is what really makes this book. If you are looking for an authentic account of running a small farm in country Australia, while being threatened by large farming corporations and trying to keep your marriage alive, read this one.
As a city mouse myself, I learnt an unbelievable amount about the nature of farming in Australia. Obviously, you hear stories about the impact of droughts and the harsh weather conditions which farmers are exposed to. But it’s hard to actually understand what is going on beneath the headlines.
This is a good story, well-written, and with characters I liked. Anderson handled the tricky job of getting into both Ruthie and Dimple’s minds and telling it in the third person. Nobody is right and nobody is wrong, but choices are hard when the times are ever changing. One of my favourite aspects of the book was the way in which Ruthie and Dimple communicated with each other (especially one scene where they have an argument which ends with Ruthie yelling “well your feet are too big”). You can tell Anderson draws from his experiences of marriage, as it is all so realistic that it’s humorous!
Do you think you would enjoy this one? Are there any other rural Australian books I should read?
————————————————————————
When To Read: when looking for an incredibly genuine and authentic fiction book which will teach you a lot about being a farmer and living in rural Australia.
As a city mouse myself, I learnt an unbelievable amount about the nature of farming in Australia. Obviously, you hear stories about the impact of droughts and the harsh weather conditions which farmers are exposed to. But it’s hard to actually understand what is going on beneath the headlines.
This is a good story, well-written, and with characters I liked. Anderson handled the tricky job of getting into both Ruthie and Dimple’s minds and telling it in the third person. Nobody is right and nobody is wrong, but choices are hard when the times are ever changing. One of my favourite aspects of the book was the way in which Ruthie and Dimple communicated with each other (especially one scene where they have an argument which ends with Ruthie yelling “well your feet are too big”). You can tell Anderson draws from his experiences of marriage, as it is all so realistic that it’s humorous!
Do you think you would enjoy this one? Are there any other rural Australian books I should read?
————————————————————————
When To Read: when looking for an incredibly genuine and authentic fiction book which will teach you a lot about being a farmer and living in rural Australia.
anjana's review against another edition
4.0
This is a very different work from my usual reads, and for that, it felt like a treat. It is a small book at just about 208 pages and is for a leisure reader. I will elaborate on what exactly that is.
We are taken to a dusty farm in Australia, parched waiting for rain and life is hard. The couple we meet have been married for years, have two sons and have been taking care of the farm. There is a shakeup in the offing, with a medical report which comes in and then they take a trip both mentally and physically. Each reveals more to them about things they have become complacent about and might make or break their lifestyles. There is not much that actually ‘happens’ in the exact sense of that word, but enough is described to keep the reader reeled in. The casual analysis of a long relationship was fascinating to watch unfold. There are sporadic thoughts given to the ethics of living on lands colonized centuries ago juxtaposed with how the richer and bigger people or corporations tale over those who are weaker. There is a lot to savour (although that might be too buoyant a word for this scenario) in this narrative, and I would highly recommend it those who like watching people’s regular lives and listening in to different thought processes. We get to hear both the voices, in turns and something is endearing about both of them, especially since we see into their deepest likes, dislikes, thoughts and fears.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.
We are taken to a dusty farm in Australia, parched waiting for rain and life is hard. The couple we meet have been married for years, have two sons and have been taking care of the farm. There is a shakeup in the offing, with a medical report which comes in and then they take a trip both mentally and physically. Each reveals more to them about things they have become complacent about and might make or break their lifestyles. There is not much that actually ‘happens’ in the exact sense of that word, but enough is described to keep the reader reeled in. The casual analysis of a long relationship was fascinating to watch unfold. There are sporadic thoughts given to the ethics of living on lands colonized centuries ago juxtaposed with how the richer and bigger people or corporations tale over those who are weaker. There is a lot to savour (although that might be too buoyant a word for this scenario) in this narrative, and I would highly recommend it those who like watching people’s regular lives and listening in to different thought processes. We get to hear both the voices, in turns and something is endearing about both of them, especially since we see into their deepest likes, dislikes, thoughts and fears.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.
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