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wren_fable's review
1.0
It reads like porn written by someone who thinks she's above writing out and out porn. There was little substance, no real plot, just a bunch of writing tacked together.
Sex is everywhere, throughout. The recurring theme through the book is Harry 'educating' his neighbour's son by way of letters about the physicality of women's bodies and his own sexual experience. It is abusive, even if it isn't intended to be and that is never addressed. Betty just forgives him because she needs his help.
The sex between Michael and Dora is built up to, with Michael being a central character but after it happens he's barely mentioned again.
Casual exposure to a child and bestiality is shrugged off.
For what is supposed to be a tender, romantic conclusion at the end, the sex scene is clumsy and uncomfortable. It's in no way forced and seems consensual but still manages to feel rapey and wrong - echoing the scene with Mues and his sheep.
Just don't bother. It's a quick, easy read but I'm left feeling slightly grubby.
Sex is everywhere, throughout. The recurring theme through the book is Harry 'educating' his neighbour's son by way of letters about the physicality of women's bodies and his own sexual experience. It is abusive, even if it isn't intended to be and that is never addressed. Betty just forgives him because she needs his help.
The sex between Michael and Dora is built up to, with Michael being a central character but after it happens he's barely mentioned again.
Casual exposure to a child and bestiality is shrugged off.
For what is supposed to be a tender, romantic conclusion at the end, the sex scene is clumsy and uncomfortable. It's in no way forced and seems consensual but still manages to feel rapey and wrong - echoing the scene with Mues and his sheep.
Just don't bother. It's a quick, easy read but I'm left feeling slightly grubby.
rodhunt's review
5.0
A great read. A nice mix of the mundane and the magnificent - without judgement. Try it for yourself.
bibliobethreads's review against another edition
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sarahxify's review against another edition
This book was pretty disjointed and just didn't grab me at all - started it a couple of times to no avail.
hannahleila's review
3.0
I have a lot of feelings about this one.
After what was a slow start this really started to grow on me.
At its core this is very raw and uncensored which I love. This book subconsciously addresses the topic of consent in a really confronting and in your face way without ever even broaching the subject.
It is a book about nature. And the things that occur in nature. Between humans. Between birds. Between cows. Both beautiful and ugly and everything in between.
This was never far fetched. I think anyone who's grown up in working class suburban Australia can see a part of their life in this book. It took me back to my grandmother's house in western NSW.
In essence, a well thought out and engaging read, if a little slow in places.
After what was a slow start this really started to grow on me.
At its core this is very raw and uncensored which I love. This book subconsciously addresses the topic of consent in a really confronting and in your face way without ever even broaching the subject.
It is a book about nature. And the things that occur in nature. Between humans. Between birds. Between cows. Both beautiful and ugly and everything in between.
This was never far fetched. I think anyone who's grown up in working class suburban Australia can see a part of their life in this book. It took me back to my grandmother's house in western NSW.
In essence, a well thought out and engaging read, if a little slow in places.
bookpossum's review
2.0
This book really didn’t appeal to me in the way I was expecting it to do. A disappointment.
tasmanian_bibliophile's review
4.0
‘And adults are part of this pretence – they hold one thing in their hand and call it another.’
It’s 1953, and just outside the small country town of Cohuna in adjacent farmhouses live Harry and Betty. Harry is a dairy farmer and keen birdwatcher, tending his cows in accordance with the rhythms of milking and breeding. Harry was once married, but his wife left him for another birdwatcher. He wonders what went wrong. Betty, the woman next door, is bringing up two children on her own. Betty works at the aged-care centre in town, worries about her children (Michael and Hazel) and imagines a physical relationship with Harry. Harry is something of a father figure for Michael and Hazel, and when he realises how confused Michael is about ‘things with girls’ he writes to Michael about the things he wished he’d known at the same age. Perhaps, if Harry had known more about sex, been both less ignorant and less eager, his wife wouldn’t have left him. Perhaps. Unfortunately, Harry hasn’t spoken with Betty before writing these letters for Michael.
‘Time, in Harry’s understanding is measured in the body. It has something to do with the lungs and the taking in and expelling of air.’
Much of this novel is about records: Harry’s bird watching diary; Betty’s record of her children’s illnesses; Hazel’s nature diary and Harry’s letters to Michael. Harry, the pragmatic farmer, is poetic. Hazel is observant and matter of fact, while Michael is walking the difficult path of adolescence. Betty would like more from life, but isn’t quite sure how to proceed.
In this novel, the natural world is both character and backdrop. Beauty and routine, the mundane and the tragic are all part of life experienced by Betty and Harry. Michael is trying to make sense of his own place in a world which always looks different when adolescence kicks in and Hazel is both observant and resilient. The natural world applies to humans as well as to animals and birds. Well of course it does, but it isn’t always as clearly integrated as it is here.
‘What is the fixative that causes one memory to congeal and set, while others dissolve?’
I enjoyed this novel. It is quietly different and beautifully written. It was recently announced (on 17 April 2013) as the inaugural winner of the Stella Prize 2013.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
It’s 1953, and just outside the small country town of Cohuna in adjacent farmhouses live Harry and Betty. Harry is a dairy farmer and keen birdwatcher, tending his cows in accordance with the rhythms of milking and breeding. Harry was once married, but his wife left him for another birdwatcher. He wonders what went wrong. Betty, the woman next door, is bringing up two children on her own. Betty works at the aged-care centre in town, worries about her children (Michael and Hazel) and imagines a physical relationship with Harry. Harry is something of a father figure for Michael and Hazel, and when he realises how confused Michael is about ‘things with girls’ he writes to Michael about the things he wished he’d known at the same age. Perhaps, if Harry had known more about sex, been both less ignorant and less eager, his wife wouldn’t have left him. Perhaps. Unfortunately, Harry hasn’t spoken with Betty before writing these letters for Michael.
‘Time, in Harry’s understanding is measured in the body. It has something to do with the lungs and the taking in and expelling of air.’
Much of this novel is about records: Harry’s bird watching diary; Betty’s record of her children’s illnesses; Hazel’s nature diary and Harry’s letters to Michael. Harry, the pragmatic farmer, is poetic. Hazel is observant and matter of fact, while Michael is walking the difficult path of adolescence. Betty would like more from life, but isn’t quite sure how to proceed.
In this novel, the natural world is both character and backdrop. Beauty and routine, the mundane and the tragic are all part of life experienced by Betty and Harry. Michael is trying to make sense of his own place in a world which always looks different when adolescence kicks in and Hazel is both observant and resilient. The natural world applies to humans as well as to animals and birds. Well of course it does, but it isn’t always as clearly integrated as it is here.
‘What is the fixative that causes one memory to congeal and set, while others dissolve?’
I enjoyed this novel. It is quietly different and beautifully written. It was recently announced (on 17 April 2013) as the inaugural winner of the Stella Prize 2013.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
jocelyn_sp's review
4.0
This is beautifully written, with interesting, believable characters, although they are given as sketches or impressions, rather than detailed portraits. I loved the parallel nature diaries. I found the central secret disturbing. Partly because of its potentially disastrous inappropriateness, which gave a good tension to the book but I found it hard to believe the character would go so far, and partly because it was sometimes so erotic - it made me uncomfortable, feeling that it verged on pornographic, that a man reading would be aroused. At the same time the man's theories about sex and women were sometimes funny.
I just re-read this book. This was strange because I had almost completely forgotten the book, and liked it much less than I did when I read it the first time.
I just re-read this book. This was strange because I had almost completely forgotten the book, and liked it much less than I did when I read it the first time.