COVER NOTES
The Sunday Age
Sunday March 21, 2010
THE OTHER FAMILYJoanna TrollopeDoubleday, $32.95There are two great English novelists called Trollope: Victorians Anthony and his mother, Frances. Joanna, a distant relation, is increasingly proving to be the third. In this novel, a North and South for the new millennium, London is pitted against Newcastle. Richie Rossiter, a popular singer, has two families, one northern, one southern. When he dies suddenly, his long-estranged wife and son have to contend with his girlfriend and three teenage daughters. The two families initially have nothing in common except grief. Ultimately, it will draw them together, despite their resentments and reluctance, through the bequest of a piano to son Scott. The Other Family is an example of the English social novel with its focus on women, but it draws men with equal sympathy. Trollope does not use the cliches of bereavement counselling, but shows people moving on, de-cluttering, making changes to their lives. They may not like being forced into action but they are all the better for it. Despite an ending that is a little too rosy, the novel also contains much good sense.ALL THAT FOLLOWSJim CracePicador, $32.99All That Follows is a work whose concerns seem somewhat at odds with its time and place. The settings are England, 2024, and Bush's Texas in the early years of this decade. A dystopia, or a study of the raving right? No, the characters are leftist activists, with a leaning towards terrorism. They recall the 1970s, as if the Baader-Meinhof gang had flagged down a passing time machine. And 2024 does not seem very different from our present, despite the speed of technological change. The novel begins with hero Lennie, a jazz performer of middling success, in the rut of middle-age. Suddenly, on television, he sees an old associate, Maxie, now a taker of hostages. Lennie knows he should act but his bourgeois habit is to be passive. The novel shows youthful sound and fury versus the resignation of the older and sadder. It is an interesting but problematic read.CRIME BOSSESJohn KerrWilkinson, $9.95True crime is of continual interest and has been since the days of public executions. The peculiarly Australian variety (Underbelly, Chopper) has gained international attention. Kerr's contribution is to provide a series of small, inexpensive books on such topics as biker gangs and crooked cops. Crime Bosses concerns well-known figures such as Robert Trimbole, and some less famous, such as Sydney's Tri Minh Tran. It might be thought that every available juicy detail has been squeezed out of tales like Carl Williams', but Kerr has new informants. His tone is racy €” Abe Saffron issued writs like he had a "dunny roll" of them €” but not voyeuristic. The publication is aimed at public transport commuters and should get the reader through the inevitable cancellations and delays.
© 2010 The Sunday Age
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