The Harp in the South

http://shawjonathan.wordpress.com/2011/02/10/the-book-groups-harp-in-the-south/

This book was written with the passionate aim of calling attention to the lives of the poor in Sydney’s inner suburbs. That documentary impulse means that 60+ years later it’s full of fascinating historical detail: the shape of Australian coins in the 1940s, the way garbage was collected in Surry Hills (dumped from household rubbish bins onto a big sheet of hessian laid out in the street), how the poor celebrated New Year’s Eve (with a bonfire built from the neighbourhood’s rubbish), ways of thinking about sexual morality, sexual politics, Aboriginality, cultural diversity (yes, in the 1940s that we’re always being told were totally monocultural). show more Ruth Park knew how to create solid human characters and spin a gripping yarn. In the late 1940s the book caused upset by insisting that its slum-dwelling characters be taken seriously, and that unpalatable facts of life such as abortion be acknowledged. The subject matter is no longer shocking, but some of the characters’ resigned acceptance of, say, a touch of domestic violence or callous racism can still wring a reader’s withers. show less

The Harp in the South was Ruth Park's first published book; it won the £2000 first prize for best novel in a 1946 literary competition sponsored by the Sydney Morning Herald. While many readers found it unpleasantly sordid, as it depicts grim poverty in Surry Hills, Sydney, more readers (based on the Herald's report of letters it received) supported it. I thought it was wonderful. Yes, we see grime, bugs, ignorance, cheap alcohol, and death; but we also see love, growing up, joy, and optimism. (Just a couple of warnings: one brief scene involves animal cruelty, and unpleasant racial epithets are used.)

As soon as I started reading, I realised, yes, I have read these words before. It did not matter because this book is a wonderful look at Australian life.
The Darcy family are the epitome of the Aussie battler as they are poor with little prospect of improving their position in life. They live in the slums of Sydney during the 1940s when sly grog houses, prostitution, razor gangs and drugs where a way of life. You are drawn into this world as the Darcy's face each day with a decision about how to survive. There is a wonderful sense of family and community in this story and you love each and every character in the book.
The issues of family life are tackled from Hugh's drinking, Roe's unwanted pregnancy, Grandma's slip into Alzheimer’s show more and the loss of their son, Thady. It is the story of Thady that is the most heart wrenching as you feel the pain of a mother continuing looking for a child that disappeared. The supporting characters are well rounded and bring additional life to the story.
What makes this book amazing is that they do not moan or groan about their lot but they manage to face each day with hope. Even when the day is at the blackest the family rallies together and finds the strength to continue on. show less

Oh I absolutely LOVED this book, set in the slums of Sydney, Australia.
It tells the tale of Hugh and Margaret Darcy, how they came together and raised their children, Roie, Dolour and Thady, in abject poverty, with dirt around their feet and apathy in every bone of their bodies. But they stuck together somehow, goodness only knows how, and we hear their story.
The heartache, the cruelty and drunkeness all around, of the life in the awful slums of the big city, with a father (Hugh) that turned to the bottle whenever possible and bemoaned his fate in life.
The writing is beautiful and I was just swept away with this family. I can't wait to read the next two books in the series, to see if things change for them.
If you enjoyed Cloudstreet show more you will also enjoy this.
You just have to read it, soooo good!! show less

I think I was about eleven when I first read this Australian classic and I decided to reread this year it to fulfil my Eclectic Reader challenge requirements after it was named in the First Tuesday Book Club's Top Ten Books to Read Before You Die.

The Harp in the South is a glimpse into the everyday life of inner Sydney's poorest post war community and introduces the Darcy family who live in Sydney's slums at Twelve-and-a-Half Plymouth Street, Surry Hills. The Irish Catholic Darcy's are an average family in their neighborhood, working class battlers struggling to survive in their damp, flea infested home. Mumma does the best she can with the little she has while her feckless husband Hughie drinks away much of what he earns. Sweet natured show more and naive eldest daughter Roie longs for romance while quick witted Dolour dreams of escape.
To supplement their meagre income the Darcy's rent rooms to the irascible Miss Sheily and her illegitimate disabled son, and Mr Patrick Diamond, a protestant who baits the family each St Patrick's Day. They take in Grandma when she needs extra care, a lively character who knows her own mind. They are neighboured by a Chinese grocer, Mr Lick, financially assisted by the local madam in time of need and attend church in their Sunday best.

The Darcy's are resigned to the grinding poverty and immune to the violence, finding joy where are able - a New Year's bonfire, a school trip to the seaside. They face heartbreak with stoicism and though their home is often chaotic, there is plenty of love within it's peeling walls.

Though perhaps more properly a series of vignettes rather than a cohesive narrative, following the Darcy's over a period of about a year, the story is well written. Park has an eye for authentic detail, character and dialogue- not surprising really since she lived in Surrey Hills with her husband at the time. The Harp in the South is a social commentary and brutally honest examination

Later followed by Poor Man's Orange and Missus, tracing the Darcy family's past and future
The Harp In The South is an engaging tale of the triumphs and tragedies amongst the poor working class in Australian cities. A must read for her every Australian who needs reminding just how lucky they are. show less

Wandering semi-aimlessly at Perth airport, waiting for my flight to Sydney for a three-week holiday, I realised I was in need of a book to read on the flight. The Harp in the South leapt to my attention, being a book I've always meant to read and being set in Sydney.

Do you know, I was discussing this with a friend who said she found it very depressing. Strange to say, despite the sadness of many of the events portrayed, I had a very different response. There's a tenderness and humour to this depiction of family and community life in the slums of late-1940s Surrey Hills that gives it a quiet loveliness..

Until fairly recently, Ruth Park was one of those authors I just hadn't got around to for no particular reason. Having now highly show more enjoyed the first two I've laid my hands on, I'm putting her up top of my list of authors to read at all costs. show less

A wonderfully evocative tale of Margaret and Hughie Darcy and family set in the slums of Sydney. Superb in its description of characters and place. I am keen to read the others in the trilogy.