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A review by jaclyn_sixminutesforme
Axiomatic by Maria Tumarkin
4.0
It feels somewhat appropriate to finish this on the final day of #nonfictionnovember - #Axiomatic by Maria Tumarkin @brow_books recently won the Best Writing Award as part of the 2018 Melbourne Prize.
Blurbed as an attempt to reset the nonfiction form in Australia, this unique essay collection certainly is both experimental and immersive in the broad spectrum of topics it covers.
The essays teetered between reflective streams of consciousness and social commentary, and really engaged with hard hitting topics including teen suicide, child abduction, refugee experiences, and Holocaust narratives. The author had a really personal connection with her subject matter, and the essays often read like a behind the scenes glimpse into some of her other nonfiction writing. With the exception perhaps of the very last in the collection, I found the essays really engaged me as a reader and threw me into the author’s thoughts. (Perhaps the more experimental format of that final piece was a little lost on me 🤷🏻♀️).
A particular standout from the collection for me was “Give Me A Child Before The Age of Seven And I Will Show You The Woman” which discusses Nahji Chu and her misschu business, looking at the meaning behind the branding and Nahji’s journey to Australia. (For those outside Australia, misschu is a restaurant selling modern Vietnamese and Asian street food - the branding uses images from the Chu family’s refugee paperwork). Packed into this essay was a discussion about the refugee experience, racism in Australia, and using branding to both educate and confront some of these issues.
I really enjoyed this collection and while it may have more immediacy to Australian readers, I think the universality of the themes covered means it is one that international readers will also readily connect with.
Blurbed as an attempt to reset the nonfiction form in Australia, this unique essay collection certainly is both experimental and immersive in the broad spectrum of topics it covers.
The essays teetered between reflective streams of consciousness and social commentary, and really engaged with hard hitting topics including teen suicide, child abduction, refugee experiences, and Holocaust narratives. The author had a really personal connection with her subject matter, and the essays often read like a behind the scenes glimpse into some of her other nonfiction writing. With the exception perhaps of the very last in the collection, I found the essays really engaged me as a reader and threw me into the author’s thoughts. (Perhaps the more experimental format of that final piece was a little lost on me 🤷🏻♀️).
A particular standout from the collection for me was “Give Me A Child Before The Age of Seven And I Will Show You The Woman” which discusses Nahji Chu and her misschu business, looking at the meaning behind the branding and Nahji’s journey to Australia. (For those outside Australia, misschu is a restaurant selling modern Vietnamese and Asian street food - the branding uses images from the Chu family’s refugee paperwork). Packed into this essay was a discussion about the refugee experience, racism in Australia, and using branding to both educate and confront some of these issues.
I really enjoyed this collection and while it may have more immediacy to Australian readers, I think the universality of the themes covered means it is one that international readers will also readily connect with.