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What Members Thought
Madeleine St John was the first Australian woman shortlisted for the Booker Prize, with her short novel The Essence Of The Thing. Although horrified at being labelled Australian, she had closed off her connections to her country of birth, through pain, grief, and willful dismissal. An extraordinary, prickly character of Australian history I had not heard about until this read.
This memoir pieces together the difficult, tumultuous life of Madeleine, from the strained relationship of her parents, a ...more
This memoir pieces together the difficult, tumultuous life of Madeleine, from the strained relationship of her parents, a ...more
It's a rare literary biography that leaves you less inclined to read the subject's works, but this one pulled it off. Trinca is hampered by her subject, Madeleine St John, who comes across as a paranoid, prickly, easily offended person. The writing is workmanlike and occasionally clunky, and it doesn't feel like you get a lot of insight into St John's work from this summary of her life.
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An important book to read, and remind ourselves that a Mother's loss can be a source of great pain but also great inspiration. It can fracture a family but also make us brittle around those we love.
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Incredibly well researched
Mar 30, 2019
Jade
marked it as to-read
Oct 26, 2021
Kim
marked it as to-read
