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A review by tasmanian_bibliophile
Room for a Stranger by Melanie Cheng
4.0
‘There were so many details to be considered.’
Meg Hughes, aged 75, has been living alone since her sister Helen died. She’s living in the home of her childhood, the home she grew up in with her parents and Helen. And now there is just her, and her African grey parrot, Atticus. Meg has become accustomed to being alone, but when her home is broken into by a knife-wielding intruder, she’s afraid.
Andy Chan, aged 22, is a student from Hong Kong. His father has lost his job, and while his parents’ savings cover his tuition, he needs to find cheaper accommodation in order to graduate. Could boarding with Meg solve both their problems?
Andy moves into Meg’s house, into the room that was Helen’s, and into an entirely foreign world. The two seem to have little in common: separated by age and culture, burdened by differing expectations. Andy is carrying the weight of family expectations, while Meg carries burdens from the past.
What I enjoyed most about this novel was the contrast between assumption and experience, the fact that both Andy and Meg were struggling with the roles and expectations each had both of themselves and of each other. The contemporary modern world seems as uncomfortable to Meg as Australia is to Andy.
And the ending? I finished the novel wondering what might happen next.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Meg Hughes, aged 75, has been living alone since her sister Helen died. She’s living in the home of her childhood, the home she grew up in with her parents and Helen. And now there is just her, and her African grey parrot, Atticus. Meg has become accustomed to being alone, but when her home is broken into by a knife-wielding intruder, she’s afraid.
Andy Chan, aged 22, is a student from Hong Kong. His father has lost his job, and while his parents’ savings cover his tuition, he needs to find cheaper accommodation in order to graduate. Could boarding with Meg solve both their problems?
Andy moves into Meg’s house, into the room that was Helen’s, and into an entirely foreign world. The two seem to have little in common: separated by age and culture, burdened by differing expectations. Andy is carrying the weight of family expectations, while Meg carries burdens from the past.
What I enjoyed most about this novel was the contrast between assumption and experience, the fact that both Andy and Meg were struggling with the roles and expectations each had both of themselves and of each other. The contemporary modern world seems as uncomfortable to Meg as Australia is to Andy.
And the ending? I finished the novel wondering what might happen next.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith