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Book reviews Life’s Rich Pattern
A BOOK LOVER’S REVIEW BY JACQUI SERAFIM
When All is Said
BY ANNE GRIFFIN
This debut novel by award-winning short story writer, Anne Griffin, takes place one night in a bar in the Rainsford Hotel in County Meath in Ireland.
‘I’m here to remember – all that I have been and all that I will never be again’: Eighty-four-year-old Maurice Hannigan knows his purpose as he takes a seat at the bar to tell his story. It’s an internal monologue through five toasts dedicated to people central his life and whom he most loved. Each toast reveals events that shaped Maurice’s journey and character. The toasts open windows through which we observe Maurice, first as a little boy starting school, then as a teenage farm labourer, a charming young suitor, and a successful farmer. We witness the joys and sorrows of his marriage and family life, his struggles with parenthood and adjustment to ageing and loss.
The narrative is addressed to Maurice’s absent son, Kevin, a successful journalist living in the U.S. with his young family. As he toasts, this reserved, taciturn father, unleashes all the joy, pain and regrets in a way he was never able to do in person – to his son nor anyone else. We are soon captivated by Maurice’s humour, his raw emotions and his brutal self-assessment. Maurice’s story is intertwined with the story of a celebrated collector’s item – a valuable coin reverses the dwindling fortunes of local landowners, the Dollards. This family, for whom Maurice worked as a young farm labourer, is cruel, violent and exploitative. When Maurice comes upon the coin by accident, he impulsively pockets it. “If I’d known back then how that decision of mine ruined the lives inside that house for generations to come,” he recalls, “I wonder would I have walked on, stepping over its pull, its power? But all I knew then was revenge.” The hidden coin links these two families and reveals another facet of Maurice’s character as he becomes a more successful farmer and landowner while the Dollards are gradually ruined. In Maurice, Griffin has created an engaging storyteller: a memorable, essentially Irish character – complex and convincing – born into poverty and into a generation wholly tongue-tied about emotional subjects. He’s well aware of the way he appears to others yet consciously refuses to change the habits of a lifetime, disguising emotion with gruff humour and sharp words. Maurice’s outpouring of love for his family and his regrets at the ways he feels he’s failed them make him a truly sympathetic, lovable and flawed character. This novel does not address big, sweeping social issues but is a well-told story of the heart and the essential experiences of humanity: love and loss.
RICH PATTERN
Love thy neighbour
We all like to think of ourselves as peaceable and considerate neighbours, yet some of us are less so. By Liz Foster
There’s a spectrum in every neighbourhood, with the crazy and those totally lacking respect for others (think Bondi hoarder) at one end and that constantly carping Neighbourhood Watch guy at the other. You sit somewhere in the middle, right? At that perfect point of total reason and neighbourly harmony. Sure, there’s a zone around you where you’re prepared to give a little. Not everyone’s the same, and different things are important to different residents. If you live within earshot of any neighbour, there’s a bit of give and take. Everyone has their thing though. Personally I couldn’t care less if people load up my bins on bin night – it’s garbage, knock yourself out. My thing is when people leave boats or trailers permanently parked on the street. Especially if it’s a small street, and most especially if there’s no off-street parking. For a few days, sure, you don’t ‘own’ the space outside your house, the unspoken rule is that it’s all up for grabs. It’s no different to putting cones out. In my humble opinion.
The trick is not to rise to the guy who’s your polar opposite (the one who has music blasting but complains about your dog barking). Easier said than done of course. If something really ticks you off, eventually it might tip you over. But be careful – just raising an issue can push people’s buttons. We’re not at the shooting-them-in-the-face level (a common dispute-resolution method in America). But it’s hard not to want petty revenge when your begonias are constantly trampled by next door’s kids. There was the case of two brothers who both farmed thousands of acres of adjoining land and fell out over the boundary fencing. After years of fighting, one of them finally put the fence up 100 metres inside his property. And when his brother’s cattle strayed into his land, he legally nabbed them. These days we all live in a giant virtual neighbourhood, thanks to engaged local forums like In the Cove and Willoughby Living. But beware of cyber-bullying and those passive-aggressive posts about cleaning up dog mess or parking. Our little street of thirty-five houses has its own Facebook page which is super-useful for pinging requests like selling heavy stuff and then getting help with moving it. Or if you’re in the middle of dinner and need an onion. Or nabbing any empty green bins for your overflowing grass clippings. We have an annual street party which is a real-life, cheery get together. It’s brilliant fun, without so much as a single cross word. The only drawback about getting on with your neighbours is the inevitable woolly head the next day. For more of Life’s Rich Pattern, see www.lizfosterwriter.com
