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Only Ever Always

by Penni Russon (Goodreads Author)

3.65 of 5 stars 3.65 · rating details · 78 ratings · 23 reviews

Claire lives in an ordinary world where she is broken with grief. The silvery notes of her music box allow her to escape into the dream-world of Clara. In Clara’s world, powerful people are pulling the strings. She ﬁnds broken things to swap at the markets and walks treacherous routes. Claire’s and Clara’s paths are set to collide but which world is real?

180 pages

Published August 2011 by Allen & Unwin

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Jul 31, 2011 ALPHAreader rated it 5 of 5 stars

Claire is an ordinary girl whose world is about to be ripped to shreds. Her uncle Charlie has been in an accident, and no amount of promising from Claire’s mum will guarantee his health. While Claire waits to hear news from the hospital, she thinks about Charlie’s wife, Pia, and the baby on the way – Claire’s little cousin to-be.

In another time and place, Clara is on the wrong side of the river – a slum girl in a desolate world where zones have kings and Clara is torn between her own Andrew, and...more

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Sep 13, 2011 Catherine rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book very much. The story was quite different and the blurb on the back cover does not come close to the sense of otherness that the author creates. The characters were fascinating complex and real - even the ones in the dream world. And what I loved the most were the worlds, by the end the author really has you thinking twice about which is real.

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Jul 31, 2011 Judith rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrensfiction, youngadultfiction

I loved Penni Russon's mysterious, elliptical novel of place, dreams, grief and identity. I was going to add time to that list, but that's not strictly accurate—it's not a time slip novel at all, although it feels very much like one, and reminds me of books like Charlotte Sometimes and even somehow Jill Paton Walsh's Goldengrove Unleaving. (The latter, I think, largely somehow in a shared mood or tone, as well as the non-straightforward narrative, of which, it must be said, I am a fan. It might...more I loved Penni Russon's mysterious, elliptical novel of place, dreams, grief and identity. I was going to add time to that list, but that's not strictly accurate—it's not a time slip novel at all, although it feels very much like one, and reminds me of books like Charlotte Sometimes and even somehow Jill Paton Walsh's Goldengrove Unleaving. (The latter, I think, largely somehow in a shared mood or tone, as well as the non-straightforward narrative, of which, it must be said, I am a fan. It might also have something to do with the melancholia in fairy tales that Penni refers to in her author's note.) I also reckon fans of Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy would find much to be challenged and intrigued by in Only Ever Always—there are echoes of Lyra-like characterisation in Clara in particular. And from there we can also draw a line to 19th century literature, in the somewhat Dickensian overtones to Clara's world (has there ever been a more over-used word in book reviews than Dickensian?!) and the narrative courage of the great Victorian novelists.

There's a lot to say about Penni's narrative choices in Only Ever Always—in particular, the use of the second person narrative voice in certain sections of the novel, which somehow seems to draw in and implicate the reader as a participant, as a third version of Claire/Clara—but that might be best left to my teaching (and personal ruminations). What can I say, I'm a narratology geek (although not as big a one as I'd like!).

With parallel stories, worlds and characters, this is not a novel for a casual reader—it requires close attention, not just from the intellect, but from the heart. It's a book where not having all the answers is the most satisfying and in fact only conclusion—because life isn't always neat and tidy, and open endings suggest adventure and the great wonder of uncertainty—for the brave. If that sounds like a book for you— as it is a book for me—then I whole-heartedly commend Only Ever Always to you.

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Aug 30, 2011 Alexandra rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011

I've always been wary of reviewers who call authors 'ambitious'. It seems like a potentially back-handed compliment; like, ambitious but didn't succeed? Ambitious in the evil stab-you-in-the-back way?

I must call Only Ever Always ambitious. And I mean ambitious in try-anything, why-the-hell-not way. Because this is a novel that combines first, third, AND second-person narratives, and that's pretty ambitious. And outrageous to even suggest. What's awesome is that, although I found the first few sh...more I've always been wary of reviewers who call authors 'ambitious'. It seems like a potentially back-handed compliment; like, ambitious but didn't succeed? Ambitious in the evil stab-you-in-the-back way?

I must call Only Ever Always ambitious. And I mean ambitious in try-anything, why-the-hell-not way. Because this is a novel that combines first, third, AND second-person narratives, and that's pretty ambitious. And outrageous to even suggest. What's awesome is that, although I found the first few shifts in perspectives a bit disconcerting, it most definitely works.

Russon gives us two different worlds, two sides of the same coin in many ways, where - to push the analogy perhaps too far - one side has been subjected to normal wear and tear, but the other side has been used much, much harder. In the first world is Claire, living a very recognisable life with recognisable griefs - no less grief for being recognisable, of course. In the second is Clara, living in a world where medicine is hard to find and four walls for one room is unusual, but still with its recognisable elements: powerful people pulling strings, and small people getting stuffed around. Somehow, Claire's and Clara's paths come within reach of each other... and things change.

The narrative structure is one of the most striking things about this book; it's only 157 pages long, but those changes in POV are dramatic and confronting and, well, striking. And effective; to be in the position of a character and telling the story one moment, to having your story told at you, to then being only an observer - it works, at this length anyway, to make the characters and their stories all the more enticing and compelling. This would probably have been the case anyway, because setting Claire's grief against Clara's struggle to survive and the conjunctions between their worlds makes for a really engaging plot. And the character of the two girls - their similarities and differences - made them very engaging characters, too; Claire in particular was believable, with her attitudes towards her family and beloved objects.

Finally, let me say that this is a really interesting cross-over of fantasy and science fiction. The multiple-worlds thing can be either a fantasy or SF trope. The dystopic world that Clara inhabits makes this, I think, more of a science fiction than a fantasy, but really that's splitting hairs. It could be read as either. And it's brilliant either way. (less)

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Sep 25, 2012 Watermelon Daisy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Only Ever Always stunned me by being a fantasy book.

In fact, I was ready to put it down, for I’ve read enough horribly-written fantasy books to put me off reading forever. But for some reason or another, I continued reading it. Maybe it was how the fantasy plot wasn’t completely set in another world, and was a dream instead. However, it doesn’t change the fact I’m happy to read it.

The book is beautiful, to say the least. I also like how Claire and Clara had similar names. Although that made it a...more

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Jan 01, 2012 Steve lovell rated it 5 of 5 stars

As a contributor to the excellent ‘Girlfriend’ series of novels, Russon knows what it takes to appeal to the average teenage reader, particularly of the feminine variety, in mass market form. There is the required quality writing, but to a fabric of formula. It is a pity the publisher saw fit to cease their production as they gave work to some fine established, as well as up-and-coming, Australian writers. Russon probably fits in the former category now, especially with the release of ‘Only, Eve...more

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Oct 18, 2011 Skye rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: aussie-ya, own

This review is also posted on my blog, In The Good Books.

Claire and Clara are one and the same, but of two very different worlds. Dire circumstances and eerie parallel music boxes will lead them to the other, but there's no balance to be found with them where they don't belong. Eventually, the question becomes, which is the dream and which is the dreamer? How much is real?

A lesser question: how little justice will I do this magical book?

Only Ever Always has the atmosphere of a fairy tale -- not...more This review is also posted on my blog, In The Good Books.

Claire and Clara are one and the same, but of two very different worlds. Dire circumstances and eerie parallel music boxes will lead them to the other, but there's no balance to be found with them where they don't belong. Eventually, the question becomes, which is the dream and which is the dreamer? How much is real?

A lesser question: how little justice will I do this magical book?

Only Ever Always has the atmosphere of a fairy tale -- not the Disney kind, but of the original you find out years later to be vastly different. It was eerie and vivid and oddly hypnotic, the setting reminiscent of that of This Is Shyness. Clara's world is just a decayed parallel of Claire's, but it has this intoxicating otherworldly vibe to it that feels separate.

The prose was effortlessly descriptive and gave a vivid picture of the unique world Russon built. She has a definite talent for writing, invoking so much emotion and weaving spare phrases that resonated. Her partial second person narration was pulled off brilliantly and helped us to feel deeply involved.

It would have been difficult to not become invested in the characters of Only Ever Always. Clara and Claire had this connection before they even met, united by their oddly poignant music box and like wistful voices. The relationships they held with others defined them as well. The story opens with Clara and Andrew talking of adventures, before we knew anything about them, and as their dynamic shifted, I was always thinking back to that initial place.

Penni Russon did so much in so little pages. Reading the author's note afterwards in which she tells about what led her to write Only Ever Always gave us insight into how much the initial idea developed since conception. By the end I was just holding the tiny book amazed at how much I was affected by it. Russon is a master storyteller.

Reading Only Ever Always felt like an effort, in a best way. It isn't a smooth, soft read, but rather dark and difficult, and beautifully touching.

I give Only Ever Always a 6 out of 5.(less)

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Aug 09, 2011 Shirley Marr rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: aussie-ya

This is a story about two girls - first there is Claire, who early on in the novel suffers a trauma in her otherwise ordinary world and she disappears into her dreams to sleep it off. Then there is Clara, the girl from the strange broken and parallel dream world inside Claire's head. But is this Clara simply a dream version of herself? Because after all we meet Clara first, before Claire even has an inkling about the dream which is to unfold. Who is to say that one world is more real than the ot...more This is a story about two girls - first there is Claire, who early on in the novel suffers a trauma in her otherwise ordinary world and she disappears into her dreams to sleep it off. Then there is Clara, the girl from the strange broken and parallel dream world inside Claire's head. But is this Clara simply a dream version of herself? Because after all we meet Clara first, before Claire even has an inkling about the dream which is to unfold. Who is to say that one world is more real than the other? And how will both worlds survive when they crash together?

I have to say that this is the most unusual novel I have read this year, if not ever. At no point in this novel could I guess what was going to happen next. I expected it to be a dual narrative - Claire and Clara, but the novel doesn't stick to this formula, the ink literally runs off the pages and there was nothing I could do but ask myself to just surrender and follow where it took me.

From the very first page, the reader is thrown headfirst down the rabbit hole and has to work very hard in order to make sense of the world (or two worlds) within the pages. We see through Clara's eyes, then we awake as Claire, the two worlds blend and merge together. Through some passages, the reader is invited (through second person POV) to become Claire the dreamer. The best metaphor I can use to describe this novel is to say it's like being given an old glass gem, cracked and yellowed from time and getting to observe its strange beauty at all angles.

What I loved best about this novel is its ambiguity. We are not told the rules of Clara's world and what I hate most about the Fantasy genre is it's tendency to "data-dump" sometimes (ie: okay this is dystopian, this is how the world is divided, the poor are called this, the rich this etc etc). Instead Penni Russon builds it all into her exposition and tells us what we need. In the end we don't necessarily piece together everything. Who exactly Clara's guardian "Andrew" is and what her would-be-boyfriend "Groom" did for a living remains elusive. But I like this quality. It's like waking from a dream and not being able to comprehend everything, but enough to know and feel the impression made.

This novel really reminds me of my favourite childhood movie Labyrinth, where dream worlds are dirty grubby places, constantly changing and the main themes are of possession - the dreamers desperate need to cling onto the dream and not wake up; the dreamland denizens are obsessed with owning each other's hearts and bodies. And an Overlord (here, a woman much like The Labyrinth's Goblin King) who wishes to collect the dreamer and trap them forever.

The only creative criticism I could apply to this is that I believe that the dream world is stronger of the two. I would have liked to see both worlds equally balanced so there was more push and pull... I didn't feel Real World Claire's trauma, I could only take from the novel that she was suffering... whereas I was emotionally invested in Clara in all respects.

Overall, I completely applaud Penni Russon's decision to write a book like this and her publishing company for having the guts to put out something like this, that is arty and brainy and not just another piece of easily digestible YA Junk Food.

The bubble theme found on the cover and through the book is perfect in illustrating the feel of this book. Beautiful, shimmering, strange, wonderful... and if you look close enough, you might be fooled to think an upside down world resides within.

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Sep 18, 2012 Jen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, teenage, australian

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 29, 2012 Christine Bongers rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: aussie-ya

Four-and-a-half stars for this eerie and unorthodox YA novel that tracks the pain of loss and leaving childhood behind across parallel lives. Claire's world is commonplace and familiar; Clara's, post-apocalyptic and dangerous. A music box provides the key to their worlds colliding in a shared dreamscape. Fascinating and adventurous in its writing, "Only Ever Always" is for those who love reading to be both challenging and mesmerising.

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Oct 10, 2011 Amra Pajalic rated it 4 of 5 stars

Only Ever Always is unlike anything I've read. It's like being in a dream and you're visiting a world you know you've been to before. Evereything is familiar and strange at the same time. It's a book that doesn't leave you when you've finished but permeates it's way through your mind. A hard book to describe, but a worthwhile read.

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Aug 25, 2011 Pam Saunders rated it 5 of 5 stars

One of the few books this year I will consider re-reading. Not for a wide audience, adult readers of teen fiction will enjoy it and some selective teens. I think they struggled with the cover and it has ended up a bit bland.

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Sep 02, 2012 Brooke rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: didnt-finish

I didn't actually finish this it just wasnt the kinda book I found intresting but the way it's written is quite intresting and enjoyable to read . However after a while I just lost intrest and decided not to finish it because I really hate finishing a book just because I feel I have to. I still think that others might enjoy it it just wasnt my kinda book .

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Jun 28, 2012 Chantal rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopian-ya, family-and-friendship

Unusual, challenging, unique...not an easy read, given the language, time/dream sequences.

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Jul 14, 2012 Hallie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, ya

I've put off writing this for far too long, as it's just not the kind of book that's easily summarized in order to start. Roz sent it to me, very kindly, and I was really glad to get the chance to read it. Very elliptical parallel worlds set up, that leaves you wondering if there really is one 'real world' and one dream one, or if it's something slightly less straightforward even than that. But by the time it comes together at the end, it doesn't really matter - what stays with you is how effect...more

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May 17, 2013 Sandi Jones rated it 4 of 5 stars

Review coming in LMC.

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Aug 15, 2011 Kate Gordon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Breathlessly incredible.

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Sep 04, 2011 Lauredhel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wow.

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Apr 18, 2012 Helen Merrick rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: aww2012

I thought I would love this book and was really looking forward to reading it. Maybe its just the strange head-space I'm in but it just didn't grab me. The writing is beautiful, the concept is gorgeous, the world is intriguing, the characters bizarre, and yet it just didn't click for me.

That said, I am certainly keen to follow up some more of Russon's work. (Her blog is rather awesome too!)

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Feb 24, 2012 Ben Payne rated it 5 of 5 stars

Beautifully written, the kind of book what reminds you what writing is for, after all.

Magic and a strange post-apocalyptic-ish worldscape, characters who are damaged but full of heart, and a story that is both realistic and tender. Not a word is wasted, and the writing is poetic and evocative.

Read it if you like to read good things.

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Jan 30, 2013 Mary rated it 1 of 5 stars

I've definitely read better.

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Dec 01, 2011 Sharkcrow rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: australian, ya, read2011

Once I got used to a) the story being partly told in 2nd person and b) the dialect spoken in the other world, I quite enjoyed this novel. I love the premise, the characters were deep and vivid, it was only the techniques used that made this a tougher than I expected read.

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Jun 17, 2013 Adete Bhasin marked it as to-read

Jun 15, 2013 Sandra marked it as to-read

Jun 07, 2013 Jenny marked it as to-read

Jun 07, 2013 Krystianna marked it as to-read

Jun 04, 2013 Joely Badger is currently reading it

Jun 01, 2013 Myonna marked it as to-read

May 31, 2013 Britney Campbell rated it 3 of 5 stars

May 30, 2013 Danica Prinsloo marked it as to-read

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