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A review by bianca89279
Everywhere I Look by Helen Garner
4.0
A very high 4 stars
I've been meaning to read Helen Garner's Everywhere I Look since it came out and I read an excerpt about the "indignities of old age". While I'm still middle-aged, I was really taken with that story and thought that it was about time we read about women past their reproductive years.
I'm glad that I finally got to delve into this collection. Although I bought the ebook, I listened to Garner herself read her own book, which made it a little bit more special, as it's so personal.
I found it quite interesting, so much so I finished listening to the whole thing in less than a day.
Garner's writing style is accessible, without many embellishments or other literary excesses. She's not a show-off. The stories, essays, recollections, journal entries were varied, ranging from moving house - which she did countless times to living abroad, looking after grandchildren, writing, movies, books, friendships, including her decades-long friendship with Tim Winton. Now in her seventies, it makes sense that many of her stories, touch on getting old, on the indignities of getting old, on loneliness, on dying etc.
Garner mentions her three marriages, but we never heard any details about her husbands. I guess it's her right to keep things private, besides she's got kids with one or two of those men and they're probably still alive.
But as far as I'm concerned, I spent a few hours in the company of a woman who's had an interesting life, who's intelligent and an excellent writer and astute observer.
Recommended
I've read this to go towards the Aussie Author Challenge hosted by Book Lover Book Reviews at http://bookloverbookreviews.com/reading-challenges/aussie-author-challenge-2017
I've been meaning to read Helen Garner's Everywhere I Look since it came out and I read an excerpt about the "indignities of old age". While I'm still middle-aged, I was really taken with that story and thought that it was about time we read about women past their reproductive years.
I'm glad that I finally got to delve into this collection. Although I bought the ebook, I listened to Garner herself read her own book, which made it a little bit more special, as it's so personal.
I found it quite interesting, so much so I finished listening to the whole thing in less than a day.
Garner's writing style is accessible, without many embellishments or other literary excesses. She's not a show-off. The stories, essays, recollections, journal entries were varied, ranging from moving house - which she did countless times to living abroad, looking after grandchildren, writing, movies, books, friendships, including her decades-long friendship with Tim Winton. Now in her seventies, it makes sense that many of her stories, touch on getting old, on the indignities of getting old, on loneliness, on dying etc.
Garner mentions her three marriages, but we never heard any details about her husbands. I guess it's her right to keep things private, besides she's got kids with one or two of those men and they're probably still alive.
But as far as I'm concerned, I spent a few hours in the company of a woman who's had an interesting life, who's intelligent and an excellent writer and astute observer.
Recommended
I've read this to go towards the Aussie Author Challenge hosted by Book Lover Book Reviews at http://bookloverbookreviews.com/reading-challenges/aussie-author-challenge-2017