Review of ‘Golden boys’ by Sonya Hartnett

—BUS RIDING BOOKS—
‘Golden boys’ by Sonya Hartnett
Here is my review of the book…

This book deserves your attention because it deals with children, the future of our planet. It shows how kids can be strong, yet vulnerable at times and as a dad, I needed to have more insight into how the brain of a child functions and reacts to things.

The story is set in an outer Melbourne suburb around Christmas time, in the middle of the austral summer. But the underlying darkness of the book clouds the glaring sunlight that characterises Australia. Let me explain. We are given to see the life of two families — one with too many kids, too little money and a failing marriage marred with domestic violence (the Kiley's); the other with two kids, mountains of unopened toys' boxes, a swimming pool and seemingly happy parents (the Jenson's). Declan is one of the Kiley’s sons and hates nothing more than to see others being hurt or in difficulty so he takes punches for others to save them from being hit. This is the key premise of that book: sacrificing oneself for others, tying to make things right one way or another, sometimes with a "wrong".

This is what stayed with me after putting this book down: a great lesson of courage. It tells us that of course it's not easy raising children, but it's no reason for lowering one's standards in any way. It reminds us that the smooth veneer of a happy family can sometimes hide something that's not smooth at all. One minute we see the Jenson's dad come with a first aid box to help cauterise the wounds of a kid. The next we see him invite the Kiley's kids to play with his two sons and toys, later finding out that maybe, just maybe, he might have groped some of them. Last but not least, we also learn that he's not really taking care of his own children other than by giving them expensive toys such as cool bikes, skateboards, and all the rest of it.

So that's it? It's just the story of a bad dad who also happen to be a pretty bad husband? Well, yes but no but. The last sentence is what summed it all up: "Tomorrow if the weather is fine, he would run, swim, ride", talking about Declan after he got beaten up badly by the local school bully Garrick. To me, this means “Keep calm and carry on”: probably the best advice of all in the aftermath of the atrocities that struck Paris on Friday 13th November.

O.V.