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A review by dreesreads
No More Boats by Felicity Castagna
3.0
I picked this book up from the library's New Fiction shelf, I could not resist a Europa Edition.
This novel takes place in Australia--and Castagna is Australian--but it could just as easily be set in the US. Antonio Martone, who immigrated to Australia in 1961 as a young man, after the deaths of his parents. He knew his older brother, who did not want to farm, would inherit the olive and bergamot orchard. His father had told him this. So he left for Australia. And now his best friend has died in a construction site accident, and he himself was permanently injured and forced to retire. With nothing to do all day, and unable to ten his own large garden, he watches TV and gets angry. He blames the immigrants for everything--the accident (he also carries a lot of guilt), the ugly apartment building going up next door to the house he built, crowds, noise, everything. And he gets wrapped up with a local skinhead/anti-immigrant group (run by the son of a Syrian immigrant). He thinks of his parents and brother he has never communicated with, and the orchard he loved but left behind.
Meanwhile, his wife Rose, who had a difficult and sad upbringing by a single mom, does not know why he is so angry or why he is anti-immigrant, being one himself. 30-ish daughter Clare switched jobs over a year earlier but never told her family for fear of disappointing them. 23-year-old Francis works with dad on the constructions site until his dad's injury. He is lost and doesn't know what to do with his life.
I liked this book and had to look up a bunch of Australian words, looked at maps, and so on. It is very interesting and the parallels to what is going on in the US are disturbing. But I also wanted more--what happens to these characters? Do they try to talking to each other? Why does no one try talking about Antonio's issues with his doctor?
This novel takes place in Australia--and Castagna is Australian--but it could just as easily be set in the US. Antonio Martone, who immigrated to Australia in 1961 as a young man, after the deaths of his parents. He knew his older brother, who did not want to farm, would inherit the olive and bergamot orchard. His father had told him this. So he left for Australia. And now his best friend has died in a construction site accident, and he himself was permanently injured and forced to retire. With nothing to do all day, and unable to ten his own large garden, he watches TV and gets angry. He blames the immigrants for everything--the accident (he also carries a lot of guilt), the ugly apartment building going up next door to the house he built, crowds, noise, everything. And he gets wrapped up with a local skinhead/anti-immigrant group (run by the son of a Syrian immigrant). He thinks of his parents and brother he has never communicated with, and the orchard he loved but left behind.
Meanwhile, his wife Rose, who had a difficult and sad upbringing by a single mom, does not know why he is so angry or why he is anti-immigrant, being one himself. 30-ish daughter Clare switched jobs over a year earlier but never told her family for fear of disappointing them. 23-year-old Francis works with dad on the constructions site until his dad's injury. He is lost and doesn't know what to do with his life.
I liked this book and had to look up a bunch of Australian words, looked at maps, and so on. It is very interesting and the parallels to what is going on in the US are disturbing. But I also wanted more--what happens to these characters? Do they try to talking to each other? Why does no one try talking about Antonio's issues with his doctor?