BOOKS & WORDS
Autumn book reviews by Mark Laurie of South Seas Books, Port Elliot.
original transformative item, a ‘McCubbin’, in a sea of copies and dross. Brought together by need, trust and appreciation grow as Ron and Joseph travel the Trading Post-ordained ‘songlines’ of their profession, finding friendship as they seek transformative wealth. Ultimately it is this friendship which becomes transformative for Joseph, its lessons and meaning unlocking reservoirs of loss and untapped potential alike. It would be easy to describe this story as of people and places on the edges or margins of Australian city life. But to do so, would be unthinking and glib. This mix of poignancy, darkness, humour and the vernacular lies at the centre of our place in this world and time. It reflects the society we have made and existences of a great many. The authenticity of this book stares at us as it entertains.
Chasing the McCubbin by Sandi Scaunich Published by Transit Lounge Publishing ISBN 9781925760590 $29.99 A microcosmic story, set in Melbourne’s outer suburbia during the early 1990s recession memorably described as the one ‘we had to have.’ Joseph, a teenage refugee from domestic violence and an utterly broken home, is crushed by his circumstances and largely disengaged from a world which has offered him so little. By a chance meeting, he is introduced to Ron and his world of antique collectors, a highly competitive and eclectic group making their living by trawling garage sales and hard rubbish piles for unrecognised gems. Here is a social ecosystem populated by a rigid stratum of genuine collectors, ‘tool men’, ‘cord cutters’ and tyre kickers. Prospecting for authenticity, their grail is to find that
90
Falling by T.J. Newman Published by Simon & Schuster ISBN 9781398507258 $29.99 A new author, drawing from her experience as a flight attendant, has followed in the footsteps of Arthur Hailey with a thriller centred around human aviation. The family of the pilot of Flight 416 from Los Angeles to New York are being held hostage as he is ordered to crash the plane, with its 146 souls on board and his closest friend among the crew, in order to save their lives. The action plays out both in the air and on the ground, its novelty and depth lying with the author’s inside knowledge of flight operations and the roles played by its various officers when the chips are well and truly down. There’s nuance too, around the terrorists and their cause, which inspires reflection and dismay. A defiantly American airport novel, there is never any real doubt that the strength, capability, and integrity of those involved will ultimately triumph and they will heroically carry the day. Cometh the hour, cometh the flight attendant! However, at a time when flying has become more a matter of necessity than pleasure for many, an undertaking ridden with a new invisible risk, perhaps it’s the best time to enjoy such traditionally structured suspense, cocooned by the capabilities and sense of duty of those on the side of good.
