A review by boyblue
The Harp in the South by Ruth Park

5.0

Told across several generations of the Darcy family. This novel brings Surry Hills to life, in all its boisterous glory. It was a markedly different place from now but Park's incredible descriptive ability will make you feel like you know it better than the Sydney you currently live in. Not just telling you but planting you right there on the kerbside, in the gutter, meeting real people with real flaws and foibles, seeing love blossom, and hearing laughter echo through the cramped terraced houses. There is no better writer of the Eastern Australian city scape (ironic that it took a Kiwi to do that). What sticks out the most though are the characters and Ruth Park's amazing ear for dialogue, you can just hear the Irish accents thick and heavy. If you live in Sydney, Australia, or indeed anywhere, you have to read this!