arts&entertainment
This Gruen transfer needs a leap of faith It’s true that Anh Do, who would become one of Australia’s favourite comedians (and his brother Khoa, a Young Australian of the Year) , Robert Macklin did not actually arrive on Australia’s shores on a leaky boat from his native Vietnam. But that’s sense, we humans seem to be an amalgam of partly because after two attacks by pirates they both our chimpanzee and our bonobo cousins, were rescued on the high seas and taken to a the male and female principles perhaps, refugee camp in Malaysia. confrontation versus compromise. No doubt the Nor, I have to say, were there any people world would be a better place if there was less smugglers involved. Anh Do’s family bought of the former and more of the latter. the nine-by-two-and-a-half-metre boat and Then of course there’s the sex. Some would his father captained it as 40 Do relatives piled say – like the bonobos – the more the better. in. But the principle is the same: “Boat people” And who could argue with that?! is not a phrase of condemnation except in the mouths of the ignorant. However, Anh Do’s memoir is not a political book. It’s full of joy, heart, struggle and triumph. It made me laugh and cry. In fact, it reminded me again and again of a minor Australian classic – John O’Grady’s “They’re A Weird Mob”. “The Happiest Refugee” There’s the same sense of wonder at By Anh Do, Allen & Unwin (rrp $32.99) discovering the oddities and privilege of living I WISH this book had come out before the in Australia where, if you work hard, anything is election campaign. It’s a wonderful antidote to possible. But the real delight for this reader was all that grubby nonsense about “stopping the in sharing Anh Do’s tumultuous family life. boats”. Read it and you will never forget it.
books
“Ape House” By Sara Gruen, Allen & Unwin (rrp $32.99) IT’S hardly surprising that bonobos with their matriarchal and sexually demonstrative ways should attract the attention of a female novelist, particularly one who came to prominence with an earlier book on animals, the best-selling “Water for Elephants”. And Sara Gruen, it seems, was determined to portray these close cousins of ours with as much accuracy as she could manage after immersing herself, we are told, with a group held at an American institution. There, she says, she communicated directly with them over some months (via sign language and verbal linguistics) before writing her book. The result is an intriguing and engaging read. It does require a leap of faith. I was not entirely convinced that the characters in “Ape House” – both human and bonobo – really understood the complexities of each other’s words and gestures. And the plotting of the story with its several related strands tends to detract from the central theme. But my wife and I enjoyed it – she more than me – and I guess that’s not surprising. In a
Joy with a sense of wonder
When lost in words “Puzzled” By David Astle, Allen & Unwin (rrp $29.99) IF you like playing with words, you’ll love this book. If “Object in the night (5)”* is the kind of clue that drives you to screaming point, “Puzzled” has the answer. If you want to know how to do cryptic crosswords or how to get better at it, “Puzzled” will become your bible. Astle is a word-nerd and “Puzzled” is not only instructional, it’s the engrossing memoir of a life lost in words from a very early age. He is considered Australia’s pre-eminent puzzle maker. The author was an amazing kid. He could look at an ETA mayonnaise jar on the kitchen table and see that it held the sentence “I annoy a mate” in reverse. On anagrams he is unsurpassed with astonishing revelations throughout the book, like the two boys’ names in MACKINTOSH. Anagrams are an important part of cryptic crosswords but are not the most difficult clues. The author tackles these brainteasers with lots of examples and exercises and complete crosswords (with answers) to improve your skills. For light relief, there are stories about the author’s experiences and you can learn about the (mostly anonymous) great puzzlers of the past and present. Here’s one for aficionados: “GSGE (9,4)” is? Answer: Scrambled Eggs *Object in the night: “Thing”
The power of painted flowers DON’T even think of missing the Drill Hall gallery’s exhibition “Elisabeth Kruger: On Beauty”, on show until November 7. Kruger, one of our most reclusive artists, won the Moët et Chandon Fellowship in 1989, and later carried out some exceptional commissions, including the painting of a ceiling fresco of the late Cardinal Mannix’s home in Melbourne. In recent decades she has focused on painting, in ravishing detail, flowers from her own garden. FORMER arts bureaucrat John Stanwell has emailed from Melbourne to say that he’s on the board of Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre. Its hit play “Red Sky Morning”, by Tom Holloway, is coming to the Q in Queanbeyan on October 16 and 17. David Whiteley, actor and artistic director of Red Stitch, is the brother of Queanbeyan’s Richard Whiteley, head of glass at the ANU School of Art. I’M told that Nina Stevenson’s kids’ production of “Wonder in Aliceland”, at Tuggeranong Community Arts Centre Theatre until October 10, is a lot of fun. With a lively cast aged 16 to 19, it even has two Alices. Visit www.pied-piper.com.au
arts in the city Helen Musa
SIX local musicians will perform at the Canberra heat of the “Telstra Road to Tamworth” in Commonwealth Park from noon on Sunday, October 10, featuring performances by 2010 Country Music Awards of Australia Female Artist of the Year Felicity Urquhart and supported by other country musicians Tenielle, Amber Lawrence and New Zealander Cameron Clayton. IN a salute to Floriade, Paintbox Fine Art in Braddon is featuring “Floribunda”, the work of SA artist Stephen Trebilcock, the winner of the painting category of the 2009 SA Museum’s fabulous Waterhouse Prize. It’s up until October 17. Meantime, the ACT highest-awarded photographic prints from the 2010 Canon Australian Professional Photography Awards will be on display display at Floriade until October 10. THE US Embassy and the Wesley Music Foundation will jointly present Trio Chicago
Elisabeth Kruger’s “Spill 2007”, oil on linen, 122cm x 122 cm. and Friends, led by top violinist Elliott Golub, concertmaster of Music of the Baroque, to perform American popular classics, including works by Scott Joplin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein at the centre at 7pm on October 12. Booking is essential to canberra-pas@state.gov or call 6214 5784.
CityNews October 7-13 17