Sonya Hartnett

I made a strategic reading mistake.

Having finished the Led Zeppelin tome and followed it up with Stewart Copeland’s memoir – and thus feeling at least temporarily bloated with rock’n’roll excess – I thought a nice quiet piece of Australian fiction might be refreshing.

I chose Of a Boy, by Sonya Hartnett.

Mistake.

Thankfully, it’s a short book because I spent most of the time reading it in tears and by the end was sobbing helplessly. It’s beautifully written and utterly show more devastating.

It’s not that my actual childhood experiences were anything like poor Adrian’s – although a few incidents resonated very uncomfortably – it’s more that the book captured all too well my (largely baseless) childhood fears and anxieties, not all of which I’ve outgrown.

I’m tearing up again now just thinking about it.

So I’ve had to give myself the antidote of reading John Birmingham’s consolingly funny and disgusting “He Died with a Falafel in His Hand” to get back on an even keel.

Risky business, this reading caper. show less

Why, yes, I've had the attention span of a gnat lately, and a Beginning Reader book is about my speed.

Picked this up because I love this author and wanted to see what she did with the younger format. Turns out, what she did is exactly what I should have expected--a realistic story that highlights something that's both common and dark; in this case, creating what is essentially a pair of imaginary friends (her hands) through which she can act out her frustrations and vent her childish anger. show more She has particular trouble dealing with her little brother and the attention he gets, so he takes the brunt of Sadie's and Ratz's rage.

It's not my favorite of her books (that's probably either The Ghost's Child or What the Birds See), it still has her usual sense of how things truly are for kids, not how we wish they would be. (I'm reminded of a line from My So-Called Life, about how "the yearbook isn't a book of what really happened; it's a book about what we wish had happened. Because if you made a book of what really happened, it would be a really depressing book." And that's a great way to sum up most of Hartnett's writing.) show less

Oh, this is a special treat – a fairytale feel, with a darkness that is awash in sorrow and longing. There’s a nice sense of unease right from the start of the story, and it is sustained all the way to the final chapters.

Matilda is an elderly lady who is visited by a strange young boy. While we are wondering if he is the ‘ghost’ of the book’s title, Matilda tells her life story – of her search for beauty, for love, for belonging, and for her own sense of self. The theme of show more journeying is reflected in all parts of the story, as Matilda journeys through her life, as well as across the world. Love in all its many forms is another strong theme of the story – Matilda’s love for her father, for her husband, for her ‘fey’, and for herself.

The language of this story is just lovely – though lyrical and full of gorgeous metaphors, it is not a burden to read; it’s a pleasure to be lost in the fable-like elements and the fantastical sea voyage.

Such a beautiful story! I got to the end and marvelled at Sonya’s storytelling craft, and at the beauty of her writing. show less

During WWII people’s lives from both sides of the conflict were turned upside down. In England city children were evacuated to the country for their safety. Jeremy (14) and Cecily (12) were sent to the country, but their evacuation was a bit more comfortable as they went to a large manor house to stay with their uncle Peregrine, and their mother went with them. At the station they decide to offer their home to one of the little evacuees, May (10) and they all head off to Heron Hall – show more with its very own collection of ruins. May meets two young boys hiding in the ruins and it soon becomes apparent that they are not run-away evacuees, but little ghosts who are not moving on.

THE CHILDREN OF THE KING combines two historical events very skillfully. As Uncle Peregrine relates the history of the ruins and how they are linked to Richard III and the missing Princes in the tower; the war arrives in Britain. The descriptions of the bombing of London are among the best I have read and moved me to tears. These scenes star Jeremy who is a wonderful character – a young boy on the cusp of manhood frustrated that he can’t go and fight for his country wanting so badly to make his mark in life. Stopped from doing this by his age and the adults that care for him his life has parallels to Prince Edward – the oldest prince from the tower.

Cecily was a character I found hard to love – an uppity little madam who has been spoiled and cosseted her own life and is only just beginning to realize that life is not all roses. War is about death – there is no getting around it and Cecily is now of an age where she realizes things are serious but just doesn’t want to face facts yet. For the first time in her 12 years of life, things are not falling into place for her. May was picked for Cecily to lord over, and May just didn’t play the game so gradually Cecily comes to find out that sometimes you have to play nicely. I don’t think Cecily is a horrible person, she just hadn’t had to worry about what other people might want.

May was also a lovely little character. Although at 10 she is the youngest of the trio she is wise beyond her years. Her father has gone to France to fight and her mother is working in a factory making parachutes. Cecily scoffs at this activity being important for the war effort until it is pointed out that the soldiers would need parachutes when they jump out of planes to kill the enemy.

The two young boys are of course the princes from the Tower, they appear only briefly yet their story is crucial to the plot. Part ghost story, part coming of age THE CHILDREN OF THE KING is a wonderful read and would make a great discussion book for children in their early teens.
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