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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read Lili's story first and I enjoyed it over Lyle's. I really enjoyed the style and the flawed characters, and how none of the stories were ever really over. Very enjoyable! I really wonder what it would be like reading Lili's story second, knowing that she'll be murdered by the serial killer, all those paranoid moments would have seemed much scarier!
Scary Monsters is a book that has two front covers, and comprises two stories. The cherry side is called Lili and set in 1980/81. The cherry blossom side is Lyle and set in the near future. Together they confront a whole lot of scary monsters from racism and misogyny to ageism and more. (the title is also a reference to David Bowie)
Lili is a young Australian whose family migrated to Sydney from Asia when she was young. In 1980 she is living and working in Montpellier in the south of France. Much of this section has literary references from Simone de Beauvoir, John Berger and Camus. The treatment of Algerians, and the contemporary murders of women (the Yorkshire ripper, the French philosopher Althusser’s murder of his wife), the safety of single women. It all sounds heavy, but the tone is light and the writing clever, the points are made well.
The Lyle section is brilliant, funny, biting satire. Set in a post pandemic, authoritarian Australia Lyle and his wife, Chanel migrated from Asia but are definitely not Muslim(Islam is banned!). They've anglicised their names all the better to fit in. Lyle’s mother, Ivy lives with them in their house on Spumante Court. They have two adult children, Mel studying in the US and Sydney who has one year to go on his PhD. Lyle works for a government department who’s job is all about finding people who need to be investigated for not fitting in and if possible deporting(a grandparent born overseas is enough). Chanel is a senior woman at the Corporation. There’s a PFZ (Permanent Fire Zone), constant bushfires polluting the air, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, they're waiting for The Next One (ie next pandemic), the Remains of the Great Barrier Reef Mausoleum, and along with Australia’s climate no-policy there’s a Minister for Fossil Fuels. There’s also the Amendment which allows for easy euthanasia of people over 75. Oh yes it’s dark and very funny.
Lili is a young Australian whose family migrated to Sydney from Asia when she was young. In 1980 she is living and working in Montpellier in the south of France. Much of this section has literary references from Simone de Beauvoir, John Berger and Camus. The treatment of Algerians, and the contemporary murders of women (the Yorkshire ripper, the French philosopher Althusser’s murder of his wife), the safety of single women. It all sounds heavy, but the tone is light and the writing clever, the points are made well.
The Lyle section is brilliant, funny, biting satire. Set in a post pandemic, authoritarian Australia Lyle and his wife, Chanel migrated from Asia but are definitely not Muslim(Islam is banned!). They've anglicised their names all the better to fit in. Lyle’s mother, Ivy lives with them in their house on Spumante Court. They have two adult children, Mel studying in the US and Sydney who has one year to go on his PhD. Lyle works for a government department who’s job is all about finding people who need to be investigated for not fitting in and if possible deporting(a grandparent born overseas is enough). Chanel is a senior woman at the Corporation. There’s a PFZ (Permanent Fire Zone), constant bushfires polluting the air, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, they're waiting for The Next One (ie next pandemic), the Remains of the Great Barrier Reef Mausoleum, and along with Australia’s climate no-policy there’s a Minister for Fossil Fuels. There’s also the Amendment which allows for easy euthanasia of people over 75. Oh yes it’s dark and very funny.
challenging
dark
medium-paced
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I recently watched the announcement video of the 2022 Miles Franklin Award, which went through all the books shortlisted, and thought I'd give a few of them a go. I started with this one, which was immediately available to borrow from my library. It's split into 2 novellas following Lili and Lyle. I thought Lili's was OK, but was utterly transfixed by Lyle's story. (ie. probably a 3 for Lili and 4.5/5 for Lyle, if I could rate them separately) The scariest part of Lyle's story, set in a future Melbourne, is that... It is not completely implausible which terrifies me, but also makes for fascinating reading, especially when it's told in de Kretser's rich and wonderful prose. I will have to get my hands on more of her books as soon as I can!
I'd highly recommend this one if you've read the blurb and any part of it sounds even REMOTELY interesting to you.
I'd highly recommend this one if you've read the blurb and any part of it sounds even REMOTELY interesting to you.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I listened to the book on audio, so I didn’t get to choose which story to begin with as I would have done if I had a hard copy of the book - the gimmick is that there are two front covers and two stories that you choose between to start first - one set in the past and one in the future. The audiobook begins with Lily’s story set in the 1980s. When we flip over to Lyle’s story set in the near future, the audiobook narrator changes. I would say that Lily’s story reads better than Lyle’s and she’s a more likeable character. Throughout Lyle’s story all I could think was ‘grow a spine’! That said, there were also some cheap references to music and pop culture that sound like they’re written by an old person, and it was hard to see the connecting threads between these stories, other than them both being about the Asian immigrant experience and a sense of belonging. I’m sure if I read it over I’d pick up more but, to be honest, I’m not going to. I enjoyed listening to the audiobook but I think if I had my time over I’d prefer to read it as a physical book so that I could flick back and forth and tab pages to help me process it better.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I liked the two stories, one set in the past one set in the near future. But it was a very slow read and on the boring side for me. Very well written though and an interesting look into immigration life.
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes