| Getting closer Down Under
Book review
CLOSER APART
by Gayla Reid
Stoddart, 251 pp.
One small phrase on the second page of Gayla Reid's new book sets the tone for the entire tome: "After the funeral...."
Closer Apart is a collection of time- and family-linked stories about melancholy. The author, who grew up in Australia and now lives in Canada, has an enviable ability to write short, salient descriptive phrases, such as "Rose walks down the corridor as if on crumpling legs..." and "The stone fell into the water with a ripe, plump sound." However, it's not enough to overcome the book's faults.
All the action takes place in and around Ardara, a sheep farm in New South Wales where the constant requirement to adapt to the changing environment, both natural and emotional, is complicated by such things as war, religious fervour and personal sacrifice. Such books require a deft hand or they can become cloying – and, unfortunately, the lyrical and intelligent approach of Reid is not able to avoid this.
I cannot believe that Australians are without humour or that their joyous times are so fleeting – even passion is muted, thwarted or sublimated here. Melancholia may be fine as the subject of a short love song, but the continual bombardment of the sadness ingrained in all the characters in this book left me with a feeling of dissatisfaction with the writer.
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