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The Place on Dalhousie
'You look the type to break your father’s heart.'
'Yeah, but he broke mine first.’
When Rosie Gennaro first meets Jimmy Hailler, she has walked away from life in Sydney, leaving behind the place on Dalhousie that her father, Seb, painstakingly rebuilt for his family but never saw completed. Two years later, Rosie returns to the house and living there is Martha, whom Seb Gennaro married less than a year after the death of Rosie’s mother. Martha is struggling to fulfil Seb’s dream, while Rosie is coming to terms with new responsibilities. And so begins a stand-off between two women who refuse to move out of the home they both lay claim to.
As the battle lines are drawn, Jimmy Hailler re-enters Rosie’s life. Having always watched other families from the perimeters, he’s now grappling, heartbreakingly, with forming one of his own . . .
An unforgettable story about losing love and finding love; about the interconnectedness of lives and the true nature of belonging, from one of our most acclaimed writers.
'Yeah, but he broke mine first.’
When Rosie Gennaro first meets Jimmy Hailler, she has walked away from life in Sydney, leaving behind the place on Dalhousie that her father, Seb, painstakingly rebuilt for his family but never saw completed. Two years later, Rosie returns to the house and living there is Martha, whom Seb Gennaro married less than a year after the death of Rosie’s mother. Martha is struggling to fulfil Seb’s dream, while Rosie is coming to terms with new responsibilities. And so begins a stand-off between two women who refuse to move out of the home they both lay claim to.
As the battle lines are drawn, Jimmy Hailler re-enters Rosie’s life. Having always watched other families from the perimeters, he’s now grappling, heartbreakingly, with forming one of his own . . .
An unforgettable story about losing love and finding love; about the interconnectedness of lives and the true nature of belonging, from one of our most acclaimed writers.
279 pages, Unknown Binding
First published April 2, 2019
136 people are currently reading
7503 people want to read
About the author
Melina Marchetta
37 books7,602 followersMelina Marchetta was born in Sydney Australia. Her first novel, Looking For Alibrandi was awarded the Children's Book Council of Australia award in 1993 and her second novel, Saving Francesca won the same award in 2004. Looking For Alibrandi was made into a major film in 2000 and won the Australian Film Institute Award for best Film and best adapted screen play, also written by the author. On the Jellicoe Road was released in 2006 and won the US Printz Medal in 2009 for excellence in YA literature. This was followed up by Finnikin of the Rock in 2008 which won the Aurealis Award for YA fantasy, The Piper's Son in 2010 which was shortlisted for the Qld Premier's Lit Award, NSW Premier's Lit Award, Prime Minister's Literary Awards, CBC awards and longlisted for the Miles Franklin Award. Her follow up to Finnikin, Froi of the Exiles and Quintana of Charyn were released in 2012 and 2013. Her latest novel Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil is an adult crime novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 648 reviews
May 3, 2019
“Guilt is a burden, so forgive yourself for the mistakes.”
Reading this book felt like coming home.
It's been eight years for me - far longer for others - since I first encountered these characters in Saving Francesca, and I feel as if I have grown up alongside them. Melina Marchetta was one of the first authors I discovered through Goodreads, thanks to Tatiana, and these books have such a special place in my heart.
The Place on Dalhousie - just like the two companion books that came before it - is what happens when someone who is smart and intuitive about human nature and the nuances of relationships also happens to be an amazing writer. Marchetta just knows how to get under your skin, how to elicit emotions without being over-sentimental or trite. She writes deep painful emotions, creates a sharp sense of loneliness, out of the most simple of encounters and interactions. Nothing so basic as "someone dies, this is sad". Marchetta is too good for that.
I don't think this is a depressing book, though. It is very emotional - quite cathartic, honestly - but it is filled with so much warmth, so many shining brilliant characters, that it never brought me lower than I could handle. I get the sense that after sixteen years, Marchetta herself really loves and cares for Jimmy, Tom, Tara, Frankie, Justine and Siobhan, and that comes across in her handling of their stories.
This is Jimmy Hailler's story. He's trying to build his own family out of an accident that may turn out to be exactly what he needed. Marchetta is one of the best writers I know when it comes to family drama. Not only does she capture Jimmy and his state of mind entirely, but she explores new characters in depth. Rosie and Martha were fascinating, and I love how Marchetta understands that no one is simply the bad guy.
The Place on Dalhousie, Saving Francesca and The Piper's Son are about life. The complex connections between people, the conversations between old friends, and finding and allowing yourself to love. I'm not sad, exactly, but I am totally crying.
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April 3, 2019
The journey that began in Year 11 at St. Sebastian's...
That took us to East Timor and London with Anabel's brother...
This was the final piece, the missing piece, Jimmy's piece.
All I can say is, Thank you, Melina.
That took us to East Timor and London with Anabel's brother...
This was the final piece, the missing piece, Jimmy's piece.
All I can say is, Thank you, Melina.
April 25, 2019
Welcome back, Melina!
Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil did nothing for me, but The Place on Dalhousie immediately got me to the emotional state I expect to be in reading a Marchetta book:
So, a big THANK YOU!
The Place on Dalhousie is a return to Marchetta's signature heart wrenching family drama a la The Piper's Son. Once again you get a novel about building a family and healing after the past tragedies. Jimmy Hailler is at the center of this story - it's about his coming home and finally making his own home, something he's never had. But even more, it is about Rosie, the mother of his child, and Rosie's relationship with her (evil) stepmother, and a family house that they need to figure out how to divide.
I probably have said this many times before, but nobody writes quite like Melina Marchetta - with so much empathy and heart. She doesn't just tell wonderful stories, she builds communities of wonderful people, people whom you all are guaranteed to love. And her dialog is simply THE BEST. Only her writing skill can keep me reading about the subjects I nowadays actively avoid (like cancer, babies, pregnancy, PPD) and come out of reading it cleansed by an obscene amount of tears.
If you've never heard of Melina Marchetta (pity), start with Saving Francesca and, hopefully, join the club!
I got my copy of The Place on Dalhousie on https://www.bookdepository.com/Place-...
P.S. It will be only fair if we get a book about Shiobhan and Justine next.
P.P.S. I keep reading about these wondrous things that people get to have in countries other than the US - long service leave (you are literally entitled to MONTHS of additional paid leave after you've been with a company for an extended period of 7+ years); family centers where you can stay for days if you have trouble coping with new motherhood. @.@ Is this real?
Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil did nothing for me, but The Place on Dalhousie immediately got me to the emotional state I expect to be in reading a Marchetta book:
So, a big THANK YOU!
The Place on Dalhousie is a return to Marchetta's signature heart wrenching family drama a la The Piper's Son. Once again you get a novel about building a family and healing after the past tragedies. Jimmy Hailler is at the center of this story - it's about his coming home and finally making his own home, something he's never had. But even more, it is about Rosie, the mother of his child, and Rosie's relationship with her (evil) stepmother, and a family house that they need to figure out how to divide.
I probably have said this many times before, but nobody writes quite like Melina Marchetta - with so much empathy and heart. She doesn't just tell wonderful stories, she builds communities of wonderful people, people whom you all are guaranteed to love. And her dialog is simply THE BEST. Only her writing skill can keep me reading about the subjects I nowadays actively avoid (like cancer, babies, pregnancy, PPD) and come out of reading it cleansed by an obscene amount of tears.
If you've never heard of Melina Marchetta (pity), start with Saving Francesca and, hopefully, join the club!
I got my copy of The Place on Dalhousie on https://www.bookdepository.com/Place-...
P.S. It will be only fair if we get a book about Shiobhan and Justine next.
P.P.S. I keep reading about these wondrous things that people get to have in countries other than the US - long service leave (you are literally entitled to MONTHS of additional paid leave after you've been with a company for an extended period of 7+ years); family centers where you can stay for days if you have trouble coping with new motherhood. @.@ Is this real?
Want to read
January 3, 2019you people knew about this A YEAR AGO???
next time, drop me a line please!
next time, drop me a line please!
March 29, 2019
‘The Place on Dalhousie’ is the new contemporary fiction novel from Australian author Melina Marchetta. It can be read as a sequel-of-sorts, to where many of the characters within first appeared; in 'Saving Francesca' as teenagers in 2003, and then again in 2010 with 'The Piper’s Son' as young adults. But 'Dalhousie' can also be read and enjoyed as a stand-alone for newcomers to Marchetta’s writing.
Avid readers though, will also be pleased to learn that two teasing shorts Melina wrote in the lead-up to this story being told, do appear within; ‘When Rosie Met Jim’ from Review of Australian Fiction, and ‘The Centre’ from the 'Just Between Us' anthology.
But first – a bit of background on the momentousness of this release.
Since 'Francesca' came out in 2003, one name has haunted and delighted devout fans of Melina Marchetta’s books – Jimmy Hailler. He was the weird boy that Francesca Spinelli’s disparate friends and broken family collected and gathered close during the events of that book. He is a character that Melina has spoken lovingly about at book events, as being inspired by the students she met during her teaching at an all-boys school. In the beginning of Saving Francesca there appeared to be something a bit “off” about Jimmy – like maybe he was just the bully, one to steer away from. But over the course of that story his decency shone through; he was still quirky and with a lonely broken family, but it became apparent that he was fiercely loyal and caring too.
Jimmy’s absence from 2010 follow-up book 'The Piper’s Son' was deeply felt – not just by the characters, but the readers too – as it’s revealed after some loss and heartbreak again in his life, Jimmy had taken off to God knows where during the events of that book … in the interim after 'The Piper’s Son' and every time I attended a Melina event, or read an interview with her – the question of Jimmy would inevitably come up. Much like his friends Frankie, Tara, Tom, Justine, Siobhan and their collective families – readers were worried about him, and wanted to know if he was okay. More importantly – they wanted to know if Melina would ever write his story (which is the same thing, in a way.)
Much as there’s always been something innately lonely about Jimmy, he struck me as a character who best thrived from contact and the collective – so it didn’t surprise me in the least, when I first learned that when she told it, Jimmy’s story wouldn’t be his alone … rather 'The Place on Dalhousie' is Jimmy’s story, and that of the girl that disaster and chance place into his life, as well as that girl’s stepmother whom she has a fraught relationship with.
Jimmy seemed to shine brightest when he was surrounded, nurtured, and uplifted by the women in his life – Mia Spinelli, Frankie, Tara, Justine, and Siobhan – so it feels utterly right and natural that in 'Dalhousie' we get three points of view of not only Jimmy, but Rosie (the girl) and her stepmother (Martha) too.
Jimmy and Rosie meet in a Queensland flood in 2010, and then have to reconnect 15-months later in Sydney, when Rosie moves back into her childhood home. The home that her father, Seb, built for her and her mother Loredana – who died of cancer when Rosie was 15, and before the house was finished. Seb married Martha 11 months after her mother died, and Rosie never forgave him – not really – and not even after he died just before she turned 18.
What Jimmy walks into is a house divided – literally – and about to be finished for the first time since Seb conceived it. Rosie is living upstairs, Martha downstairs at Dalhousie Street, neither of them willing to give ground or back down – Martha wants to sell the place and split the money with Rosie, Rosie just wants Martha gone.
And this is the fraught setting of the story – at the heart of a family. It’s a book of divisions; not just of the upstairs/downstairs nature of co-existing within the setting, but of divisions within themselves and who they want to be … which sometimes means leaving behind who they were.
And that’s all I’ll say on the story.
I started reading these books when I was 16 – the year 'Saving Francesca' came out. And then when 'The Piper’s Son' released, I was 23. I’m 31 this year, and I continue to be gratefully shocked at the timing of Marchetta’s release for these books and characters, who I’m glad seem to follow me to milestones as they live their fictional own. 'The Place on Dalhousie' slotted into my heart as easily as those first two books, and without giving too much away I’ll only say that … Jimmy’s okay. And that’s all I wanted from this story – but I got it, and so much more.
Melina’s characters have started echoing for me, and I was so glad for those ripples in 'Dalhousie'. It’s not repetition, but foundation that I appreciate – this realisation that one has to come before the other for a story to begin. I felt that about 'Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil'; that read to me like a companion to 'The Piper's Son'. And it’s never more clear to me than in 'Dalhousie' – at the way Melina has written another fiercely complex and messy young woman in Rosie, who I think would get along smashingly with Taylor Markham from 'On The Jellicoe Road', Quintana of Charyn from 'The Lumatere Chronicles' and Violette Zidane from 'Tell the Truth'. I can think of no higher praise for Melina, than saying that she writes young female characters who don’t give a hoot if you like them or not – they’ve been through enough in their life, and trying to be “likeable” and “nice” is low on their list of priorities, and not nearly as important as learning to trust themselves and who to let into their complicated lives. Their flaws make these characters more interesting – not less likeable. Melina makes you work to really know these women, and to love them – but once you do, there’s no going back (as true for readers as other characters).
I could say that Martha reminds me of Georgie from 'The Piper’s Son' – only because Melina continues to write women of a certain age who are otherwise forgotten in fiction (be it books, TV or film) – she continues to give them interesting high-stakes when society tells them they’re out of the game, and never more than in matters of the heart (Georgie and Sam from 'Piper’s' and Trevanion and Beatriss from 'Lumatere' are among my favourite romances of any book – but go back and read any Melina Marchetta novel and see how effortlessly she weaves interesting intergenerational stories for women of all ages.) I especially got goosebumps when Melina touches on this erasure of older women in the form of back-story for Rosie’s Sicilian grandmother, Eugenia. But actually, something of Martha reminds me of Frankie; in the way they are both the hub for their friends and family, maybe without always meaning to be.
And Jimmy. I have long thought that Jimmy’s fictional familiar was Froi, from 'The Lumatere Chronicles' – and for so long I thought it was their tragedies that echoed for me. But something clicked with Dalhousie, and a line that Froi says in 'Quintana of Charyn,' when he tells another character;
‘One day,’ Froi said, clearing his voice of emotion, ‘I’ll introduce you to my queen and my king and my captain; and Lord August and Lady Abian, who have given me a home; and the Priestking and Perri and Tesadora and my friend Lucian; and then you’ll understand that I would never have met them if you hadn’t journeyed to Sarnak all those years ago, Arjuro. And if the gods were to give me a choice between living a better life, having not met them, or a wretched life with the slightest chance of crossing their path, then I'd pick the wretched life over and over again.’
Ah, that’s Jimmy. That’s his story; ‘And if the gods were to give me a choice between living a better life, having not met them, or a wretched life with the slightest chance of crossing their path, then I'd pick the wretched life over and over again.’
He’s the character who’s had the toughest life of all his friends. He’s the one that we’ve all worried about the most, have waited for Melina to tell us that he’s okay.
But that’s the thing – he would choose the wretched life over and over again, because it lead him here. To Rosie, and Martha. Back to his friends in Sydney (yes, all of them) coming together again like they did when they first started collecting each other in school. And that wretched life leads him to this house and a life, on Dalhousie.
I thought I pitied Jimmy for the longest time, but here I see my true affection for him – for all these characters, really – lies in accepting the good with the bad. Their flaws and imperfections made them real to me, and I love them more for it. And I am going to miss them so terribly, if this book really is the end.
But I do leave them here I think, somewhere in Leichhardt (or Stuttgart, London, a little town in Queensland, walking around Haberfield, about to board a train at Central…) being messy and carrying on their lives – making mistakes and seeing them through, being happy and sad but always together, even when they’re apart.
These characters really do feel like friends, probably because they helped in introducing me to so many in real life (those of us who have grown up around Melina’s stories, and found each other because of them).
My God I am going to miss them, but I cannot thank the universe enough that they crossed my path …
Avid readers though, will also be pleased to learn that two teasing shorts Melina wrote in the lead-up to this story being told, do appear within; ‘When Rosie Met Jim’ from Review of Australian Fiction, and ‘The Centre’ from the 'Just Between Us' anthology.
But first – a bit of background on the momentousness of this release.
Since 'Francesca' came out in 2003, one name has haunted and delighted devout fans of Melina Marchetta’s books – Jimmy Hailler. He was the weird boy that Francesca Spinelli’s disparate friends and broken family collected and gathered close during the events of that book. He is a character that Melina has spoken lovingly about at book events, as being inspired by the students she met during her teaching at an all-boys school. In the beginning of Saving Francesca there appeared to be something a bit “off” about Jimmy – like maybe he was just the bully, one to steer away from. But over the course of that story his decency shone through; he was still quirky and with a lonely broken family, but it became apparent that he was fiercely loyal and caring too.
Jimmy’s absence from 2010 follow-up book 'The Piper’s Son' was deeply felt – not just by the characters, but the readers too – as it’s revealed after some loss and heartbreak again in his life, Jimmy had taken off to God knows where during the events of that book … in the interim after 'The Piper’s Son' and every time I attended a Melina event, or read an interview with her – the question of Jimmy would inevitably come up. Much like his friends Frankie, Tara, Tom, Justine, Siobhan and their collective families – readers were worried about him, and wanted to know if he was okay. More importantly – they wanted to know if Melina would ever write his story (which is the same thing, in a way.)
Much as there’s always been something innately lonely about Jimmy, he struck me as a character who best thrived from contact and the collective – so it didn’t surprise me in the least, when I first learned that when she told it, Jimmy’s story wouldn’t be his alone … rather 'The Place on Dalhousie' is Jimmy’s story, and that of the girl that disaster and chance place into his life, as well as that girl’s stepmother whom she has a fraught relationship with.
Jimmy seemed to shine brightest when he was surrounded, nurtured, and uplifted by the women in his life – Mia Spinelli, Frankie, Tara, Justine, and Siobhan – so it feels utterly right and natural that in 'Dalhousie' we get three points of view of not only Jimmy, but Rosie (the girl) and her stepmother (Martha) too.
Jimmy and Rosie meet in a Queensland flood in 2010, and then have to reconnect 15-months later in Sydney, when Rosie moves back into her childhood home. The home that her father, Seb, built for her and her mother Loredana – who died of cancer when Rosie was 15, and before the house was finished. Seb married Martha 11 months after her mother died, and Rosie never forgave him – not really – and not even after he died just before she turned 18.
What Jimmy walks into is a house divided – literally – and about to be finished for the first time since Seb conceived it. Rosie is living upstairs, Martha downstairs at Dalhousie Street, neither of them willing to give ground or back down – Martha wants to sell the place and split the money with Rosie, Rosie just wants Martha gone.
And this is the fraught setting of the story – at the heart of a family. It’s a book of divisions; not just of the upstairs/downstairs nature of co-existing within the setting, but of divisions within themselves and who they want to be … which sometimes means leaving behind who they were.
And that’s all I’ll say on the story.
I started reading these books when I was 16 – the year 'Saving Francesca' came out. And then when 'The Piper’s Son' released, I was 23. I’m 31 this year, and I continue to be gratefully shocked at the timing of Marchetta’s release for these books and characters, who I’m glad seem to follow me to milestones as they live their fictional own. 'The Place on Dalhousie' slotted into my heart as easily as those first two books, and without giving too much away I’ll only say that … Jimmy’s okay. And that’s all I wanted from this story – but I got it, and so much more.
Melina’s characters have started echoing for me, and I was so glad for those ripples in 'Dalhousie'. It’s not repetition, but foundation that I appreciate – this realisation that one has to come before the other for a story to begin. I felt that about 'Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil'; that read to me like a companion to 'The Piper's Son'. And it’s never more clear to me than in 'Dalhousie' – at the way Melina has written another fiercely complex and messy young woman in Rosie, who I think would get along smashingly with Taylor Markham from 'On The Jellicoe Road', Quintana of Charyn from 'The Lumatere Chronicles' and Violette Zidane from 'Tell the Truth'. I can think of no higher praise for Melina, than saying that she writes young female characters who don’t give a hoot if you like them or not – they’ve been through enough in their life, and trying to be “likeable” and “nice” is low on their list of priorities, and not nearly as important as learning to trust themselves and who to let into their complicated lives. Their flaws make these characters more interesting – not less likeable. Melina makes you work to really know these women, and to love them – but once you do, there’s no going back (as true for readers as other characters).
I could say that Martha reminds me of Georgie from 'The Piper’s Son' – only because Melina continues to write women of a certain age who are otherwise forgotten in fiction (be it books, TV or film) – she continues to give them interesting high-stakes when society tells them they’re out of the game, and never more than in matters of the heart (Georgie and Sam from 'Piper’s' and Trevanion and Beatriss from 'Lumatere' are among my favourite romances of any book – but go back and read any Melina Marchetta novel and see how effortlessly she weaves interesting intergenerational stories for women of all ages.) I especially got goosebumps when Melina touches on this erasure of older women in the form of back-story for Rosie’s Sicilian grandmother, Eugenia. But actually, something of Martha reminds me of Frankie; in the way they are both the hub for their friends and family, maybe without always meaning to be.
And Jimmy. I have long thought that Jimmy’s fictional familiar was Froi, from 'The Lumatere Chronicles' – and for so long I thought it was their tragedies that echoed for me. But something clicked with Dalhousie, and a line that Froi says in 'Quintana of Charyn,' when he tells another character;
‘One day,’ Froi said, clearing his voice of emotion, ‘I’ll introduce you to my queen and my king and my captain; and Lord August and Lady Abian, who have given me a home; and the Priestking and Perri and Tesadora and my friend Lucian; and then you’ll understand that I would never have met them if you hadn’t journeyed to Sarnak all those years ago, Arjuro. And if the gods were to give me a choice between living a better life, having not met them, or a wretched life with the slightest chance of crossing their path, then I'd pick the wretched life over and over again.’
Ah, that’s Jimmy. That’s his story; ‘And if the gods were to give me a choice between living a better life, having not met them, or a wretched life with the slightest chance of crossing their path, then I'd pick the wretched life over and over again.’
He’s the character who’s had the toughest life of all his friends. He’s the one that we’ve all worried about the most, have waited for Melina to tell us that he’s okay.
But that’s the thing – he would choose the wretched life over and over again, because it lead him here. To Rosie, and Martha. Back to his friends in Sydney (yes, all of them) coming together again like they did when they first started collecting each other in school. And that wretched life leads him to this house and a life, on Dalhousie.
I thought I pitied Jimmy for the longest time, but here I see my true affection for him – for all these characters, really – lies in accepting the good with the bad. Their flaws and imperfections made them real to me, and I love them more for it. And I am going to miss them so terribly, if this book really is the end.
But I do leave them here I think, somewhere in Leichhardt (or Stuttgart, London, a little town in Queensland, walking around Haberfield, about to board a train at Central…) being messy and carrying on their lives – making mistakes and seeing them through, being happy and sad but always together, even when they’re apart.
These characters really do feel like friends, probably because they helped in introducing me to so many in real life (those of us who have grown up around Melina’s stories, and found each other because of them).
My God I am going to miss them, but I cannot thank the universe enough that they crossed my path …
October 16, 2019
... and he did.
Why I'm giving The Place on Dalhousie 5 stars, except the obvious (splendid charactrization, there's Tommy Mackee in it, strong women FTW, my god everything rings so true) : I only read 15 minutes of it a day (yes I'm evil) (alright, it was part of a reading project with my students) and Marchetta managed to draw me in EVERY TIME. For someone like me who struggles with attention a LOT???? it's pretty fucking fantastic.
February 2, 2019
I don’t know what I did to deserve a writer like Melina Marchetta in my lifetime. I work with books because of her (Looking for Alibrandi changed my life). What she does so well here is write people. Real, messy, contradictory, beautiful people and I laughed and cried my way through the perfect humanity of it all. She is too good for us.
June 13, 2019
The Place on Dalhousie is the first Marchetta novel I read. Apparently, it ties in with a couple of other novels written many years before, something I wasn't aware of prior to starting it. It's a stand-alone novel, so it shouldn't matter.
This was enjoyable enough- it had family drama, an unexpected pregnancy, friendships, relationships, grief etc, you know, life and living and its many complexities.
It didn't particularly impress me, despite its readability and realistic characters and situations.
This novel goes towards my Aussie Authors Challenge on www.bookloverbookreviews.com
This was enjoyable enough- it had family drama, an unexpected pregnancy, friendships, relationships, grief etc, you know, life and living and its many complexities.
It didn't particularly impress me, despite its readability and realistic characters and situations.
This novel goes towards my Aussie Authors Challenge on www.bookloverbookreviews.com
October 21, 2019
Those who have read Saving Francesca and The Piper's Son will recognise the group of friends in this novel, now in their mid 20s and struggling with careers and relationships. However, it also reads well as a stand alone as it focuses on one of the friends, Jimmy and the young woman, Rosie, who he rescues during heavy floods in Queensland.
Following a brief affair with Jimmy, Rosie heads back to Sydney after the floods have receded to the house that her much loved father built for her and her mother, now occupied by his widow and second wife Martha. More than a year later Jimmy hears that Rosie has had his baby and discovers her living on the top floor of the house, despite her hatred of Martha.
Melina Marchetta writes so well about relationships, communities and the flaws that some people have that prevent them from making friends. Rosie is a prickly character who never got over her mother's death from cancer and hated her father's new wife. She has few friends and with her parents dead, no family to turn to when she finds herself pregnant and is unable to contact Jimmy. But the House in Dalhousie Street in Haberfield is in the heart of the Italian community she grew up in and where she feels safe and most at home with all that is familiar around her even if her step-mother is reluctant to have her in the house.
This is a heart warming story, perhaps one that is not new but is well told and will be enjoyed by Marchetta's many fans.
Following a brief affair with Jimmy, Rosie heads back to Sydney after the floods have receded to the house that her much loved father built for her and her mother, now occupied by his widow and second wife Martha. More than a year later Jimmy hears that Rosie has had his baby and discovers her living on the top floor of the house, despite her hatred of Martha.
Melina Marchetta writes so well about relationships, communities and the flaws that some people have that prevent them from making friends. Rosie is a prickly character who never got over her mother's death from cancer and hated her father's new wife. She has few friends and with her parents dead, no family to turn to when she finds herself pregnant and is unable to contact Jimmy. But the House in Dalhousie Street in Haberfield is in the heart of the Italian community she grew up in and where she feels safe and most at home with all that is familiar around her even if her step-mother is reluctant to have her in the house.
This is a heart warming story, perhaps one that is not new but is well told and will be enjoyed by Marchetta's many fans.
April 29, 2019
'Jimmy feels tenderness beyond anything. He's never used that word in his head to describe the longing for anyone in his life.'
THIS WAS EVERYTHING AND MORE. This is it, this is the Jimmy book we've been waiting for and it is so worth the wait. Definitely more of a slow build-up this time around, but I cried so many times it's not even funny. You don't ever think you'll cry over a fictional fucking car but then Melina 'Hold my beer' Marchetta happens
I like how Rosie is the more practical one and Jimmy can be a crybaby and how they just fit together so well like . Martha and Eugenia were great additions and Toto, whose name I totally Googled how to pronounce after the toe-toe scene LOL, plus everyone instantly being smitten with him was to adorable to read about
So I definitely avoided continuing reading this book for a few days and then when I finally made myself read ahead, Chapter 3 happened and god, I was not prepared for all the feels. Basically, all the callbacks and references and cameos had me bawling and then part 3 fucking slayed me with feels. The best fucking and then the ending is so fitting
Lastly, hilarious that Anabel used to have a crush on Luca but turns out that she's a lesbian. YOU GO, GIRL
'Frankie said the six of them were the loneliest people in the world until they became a group.' — AND WHAT A GLORIOUS FRIENDSHIP
'Fuuuck, it's Hailler in Year Eleven detention,' Mackee says.
'What did I say about swearing?' — ASLKFKSHJFKD
'But you guys fall to pieces and don’t give us another thought.' — 🗣 FUCKING TRUTH, HA
'Mackee is looking unimpressed by the news.' — Still a big fucking mood when it comes to Will Trombal LOL
'Shit, yeah.' — Just, yeah
‘Nothing deep,' Tara says, giving Jimmy a hug. 'Just a personal joke from before we were going out.' — I FUCKING SOBBED, OKAY
---------------
IT'S FINALLY RELEASED, IS THIS REAL LIFE?!!!!!!
---------------
IT HAS A SUNSET VIBES COVER NOW
'You look the type to break your father's heart.'
'Yeah, but he broke mine first.' —WHO ALLOWED MARCHETTA
THE WAIT FOR THE JIMMY BOOK IS VERY MUCH A SLOW-MOTION HEARTBREAK IN THE HISTORY OF HEARTBREAKS
---------------
The Place on Dalhousie, March 2019, goodbye
Also, how Jimmy of Jimmy for not wanting to say I love you because he's afraid it'll come out sounding lame
Source
-----
How cruel do you have to be to drop THAT blurb and no release date?! WHY THIS
THIS WAS EVERYTHING AND MORE. This is it, this is the Jimmy book we've been waiting for and it is so worth the wait. Definitely more of a slow build-up this time around, but I cried so many times it's not even funny. You don't ever think you'll cry over a fictional fucking car but then Melina 'Hold my beer' Marchetta happens
I like how Rosie is the more practical one and Jimmy can be a crybaby and how they just fit together so well like . Martha and Eugenia were great additions and Toto, whose name I totally Googled how to pronounce after the toe-toe scene LOL, plus everyone instantly being smitten with him was to adorable to read about
So I definitely avoided continuing reading this book for a few days and then when I finally made myself read ahead, Chapter 3 happened and god, I was not prepared for all the feels. Basically, all the callbacks and references and cameos had me bawling and then part 3 fucking slayed me with feels. The best fucking and then the ending is so fitting
Lastly, hilarious that Anabel used to have a crush on Luca but turns out that she's a lesbian. YOU GO, GIRL
'Frankie said the six of them were the loneliest people in the world until they became a group.' — AND WHAT A GLORIOUS FRIENDSHIP
'Fuuuck, it's Hailler in Year Eleven detention,' Mackee says.
'What did I say about swearing?' — ASLKFKSHJFKD
'But you guys fall to pieces and don’t give us another thought.' — 🗣 FUCKING TRUTH, HA
'Mackee is looking unimpressed by the news.' — Still a big fucking mood when it comes to Will Trombal LOL
'Shit, yeah.' — Just, yeah
‘Nothing deep,' Tara says, giving Jimmy a hug. 'Just a personal joke from before we were going out.' — I FUCKING SOBBED, OKAY
---------------
IT'S FINALLY RELEASED, IS THIS REAL LIFE?!!!!!!
---------------
IT HAS A SUNSET VIBES COVER NOW
'You look the type to break your father's heart.'
'Yeah, but he broke mine first.' —WHO ALLOWED MARCHETTA
THE WAIT FOR THE JIMMY BOOK IS VERY MUCH A SLOW-MOTION HEARTBREAK IN THE HISTORY OF HEARTBREAKS
---------------
The Place on Dalhousie, March 2019, goodbye
Also, how Jimmy of Jimmy for not wanting to say I love you because he's afraid it'll come out sounding lame
Source
-----
How cruel do you have to be to drop THAT blurb and no release date?! WHY THIS
Want to read
May 17, 2018WHATTTTTTTTT
Queen Marchetta is coming up with another book??? how did I not know about this???
how many of my organs do I need to give away to get my hands on this right now willing to negotiate @ me Marchetta let's talk
Queen Marchetta is coming up with another book??? how did I not know about this???
how many of my organs do I need to give away to get my hands on this right now willing to negotiate @ me Marchetta let's talk
January 8, 2020
Malina Marchetta is a character driven writer who shows you what family IS. Maybe not the biological family that you are born to, although it is some of that, but the one you make for yourself on your journey to adulthood and during it. She is fantastic at capturing humans in all of there beautiful brokenness and shows just how much the people in your life can make to broken parts better or worse.
While this could be read as a standalone I will adamantly state that it really shouldn’t. Please do yourself a favor and read both Saving Francesca and The Piper's Son. This will lend the backdrop to Jimmy and most of the side characters in the story plus they are wonderful and you’ll thank me for it later.
I fell in love with the broken Jimmy in Saving Francesca and loved seeing how his life is turning out. He is a complex person who came from a crap childhood and is making himself into something more.
I loved seeing how he found his family and who they turned out to be. This is a heartwarming/heartwrenching tale of the things that bring people together and tare them apart. I don’t want to say more since the magic is in the journey and Marchetta will make you root for the underdog, for the broken people and show you that perception is everything and everyone can be better than they believe possible when they are surrounded by family.
Another captivating and unputdownable book from Melinda Marchetta that shows just how small the world is and how we are all connected.
While this could be read as a standalone I will adamantly state that it really shouldn’t. Please do yourself a favor and read both Saving Francesca and The Piper's Son. This will lend the backdrop to Jimmy and most of the side characters in the story plus they are wonderful and you’ll thank me for it later.
I fell in love with the broken Jimmy in Saving Francesca and loved seeing how his life is turning out. He is a complex person who came from a crap childhood and is making himself into something more.
“Toto sits up, holding tight to the bar and staring out at the world. He drops a new toy that came with the pram and starts crying. Jimmy picks it up and crouches, looking into his caramel eyes. ‘I’m Jimmy,’ he whispers, ‘and you’re the first thing I’ve ever sort of owned and I don’t want to get this wrong.”
I loved seeing how he found his family and who they turned out to be. This is a heartwarming/heartwrenching tale of the things that bring people together and tare them apart. I don’t want to say more since the magic is in the journey and Marchetta will make you root for the underdog, for the broken people and show you that perception is everything and everyone can be better than they believe possible when they are surrounded by family.
Another captivating and unputdownable book from Melinda Marchetta that shows just how small the world is and how we are all connected.
September 27, 2019
rep: lesbian side characters, Lebanese side character, side characters with anxiety
no one talks to me
i cried thru the whole thing, which we all know is the only way to read a marchetta's novel. no one on earth does found family and real family the way marchetta does
(there's a side lesbian couple and i love them)
no one talks to me
i cried thru the whole thing, which we all know is the only way to read a marchetta's novel. no one on earth does found family and real family the way marchetta does
(there's a side lesbian couple and i love them)
September 5, 2019
I loved it. My expectations were crazy high and this didn't disappoint me.
So here's the thing though - I've read some of the reviews on here and honestly, I think some of them give away a little too much.
If you loved Saving Francesca and The Piper's Son, you'll like this. You'll love this.
That's really all you need to know.
Having the story unfold as you're reading it is the best way to go if you ask me. Especially since you're already so invested in Jimmy, which I KNOW you are if you loved the other 2 books. (Yes, I know he wasn't in The Piper's Son but you can't tell me his absence didn't make you even MORE invested in his character.)
It's not my favorite of the 3, but maybe that's just a result of not enough time and re-reads under my belt.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh. My. God.
Ok, it’s out now. So how do I buy it?????
So here's the thing though - I've read some of the reviews on here and honestly, I think some of them give away a little too much.
If you loved Saving Francesca and The Piper's Son, you'll like this. You'll love this.
That's really all you need to know.
Having the story unfold as you're reading it is the best way to go if you ask me. Especially since you're already so invested in Jimmy, which I KNOW you are if you loved the other 2 books. (Yes, I know he wasn't in The Piper's Son but you can't tell me his absence didn't make you even MORE invested in his character.)
It's not my favorite of the 3, but maybe that's just a result of not enough time and re-reads under my belt.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh. My. God.
Ok, it’s out now. So how do I buy it?????
August 22, 2021
Melina Marchetta's writing was brilliant and this novel was wonderful in so many ways. It was almost five stars but I found Rosie so infuriatingly annoying that she lowered my enjoyment down to four. Still highly recommended, especially because other readers might find her perfectly bearable or may even like her... For me she was one of those characters where I felt a stab of irritation whenever she was present - - and she is one of the most important characters, so she was there most of the time.
April 6, 2024
✰ 4.25 stars ✰
“Guilt is a burden, so forgive yourself for the mistakes.”
A love story of finding the depths of love and seeking acceptance for those you love. A complicated story that deals with complex family dynamics but shows with a nurturing tenderness how to weather that storm. A heartfelt story about overcoming our grief and finding it in our hearts to forgive. A moving story that aided with Marchetta's skillful beautiful prose and effortlessly real characters made The Place on Dalhousie such a joy to read. 🪷 Since that moment in Year 11, when Jimmy hugged Francesca at the bus stop, silently giving her all the warmth and comfort that she so desperately needed at that difficult stage in her life, something struck in me a curiosity about this young boy whose whole life has been marred by so much strife that even being on the receiving end of his care means something. I am a hugger, at heart, always have been - there's something so much more intimate to them than any other sign of affection - so maybe, instinctively I knew that Jimmy's story would be the most emotional one for me. 👏🏻👏🏻
“First chance you get, copy this down on a piece of paper,’ he says.
She knows there’ll never be a reason to ring this number. She’s not a hello, let’s catch-up type of girl. And then his mouth is on hers and a part of Rosie feels desolate.
Except they’re both travelling in opposite directions and she can’t think of anything powerful enough to place them on the same path.”
It is said 'to err is human, to forgive divine'. And the characters have erred - but they are also human to have made those past mistakes. 😢 Whether it is now twenty-five year old Jimmy for the unwitting mistake he made for not being there for Rosie, the girl he gave his time and heart to when she needed him most two years ago - for twenty-one year old Rosie, who is still grieving the loss of her parents and is unable to find it in her heart to accept her stepmother, Martha, the woman she adamantly blames for her parents' loss - and for Martha, who is torn between following her heart in honoring the memory of Rosie's father or helping Rose for her future that ultimately ties all three of their respective lives together. That final reveal - where the pieces fall into place - my heart hurt; yes, it may have been predictable, but gosh, isn't it funny how life comes full circle. 😔
Melina Marchetta has such a gift; I don't know how she skillfully navigated three different perspectives - at an equal pacing that made me cry even happier tears - and made each of them so achingly genuine and painfully honest in their thoughts and emotions. Her stories have such heart to them that show the human complexity of difficult situations, but still manages to capture the realism of how people come together to make ends meet - to make things work. A candidness that was still touched with a tenderness that let me welcome the writing with open arms and allow the feels to envelope me. 🤌🏻🤍🤌🏻🤍 It just washes over you - so much heart to it that I couldn't tear myself away from reading. She writes with such empathy - without favoring one over the other - that it makes you care and feel for all three of them - even when one character pits the other as the enemy. For even the ordinary, she made it feel extraordinary with how much weight there was to any given scene, with dialogue that is so genuine but caring that it felt at times, I was witnessing it first-hand. 👌🏻👌🏻
“I’m Jimmy,’ he whispers, ‘and you’re the first thing I’ve ever sort of owned and I don’t want to get this wrong.”
For there is a lot of drama that defines their lives, but necessarily and believably so. Jimmy and Rosie's story is paved with a love that was kindled over a short time when they met in Queensland to help out during the 2010 floods, but -- left a lasting mark, when they reconnected at home in Sydney nearly two years later. And despite how he failed to be there for her - by no guilty means of his own reasoning - the way he fought to be in her life again - to prove his worth and convince her that he is not one to ever abandon her again - I really felt for him. 🥺🥺 'So you have to make a choice. Accept it and be subject to it for the rest of your life, or walk away.' It shouldn't have left the lasting mark that it did, but he puts his whole heart into loving - showing that he's not the person she thought he was. He's led a tough life - the quiet one - the wanderer - the one who 'no one had ever told Jimmy he was special' that made my heart want to reach out and just hug him. 😥
And it is not only him - the characterization of Rosie and Martha was also so well done that their conflict felt so believable They were both flawed characters in a strained relationship that had them both struggling to make things work - arguing over the smallest of things, adamantly refusing to see eye-to-eye or even connect with how they were both so deeply affected by the grief that tied them together. At first, Martha didn't really grab me - I didn't quite sympathize with her; but her groundness, her silent way of caring eventually thawed me over. 'She hadn’t let herself go, but it was as if the world had let go of her' - in the way that she finally found herself again - the memory of the person that she was before heartbreak and pain consumed her entirely. ❤️🩹❤️🩹 There is a tremendous weight on Rosie's heart - a depression and a grief that she's had such a difficulty channeling that, at times, her perspective was shrouded with a shadow that did not dim. 'She loves broken people who damage her in return.' But, with the guidance of a community that refused to let them drown in their pain, by the hand of friendship that stubbornly denied them the acceptance of the darkness that threatened to swallow them whole - together, they found the light. 🙏🏻💌
“Frankie said the six of them were the loneliest people in the world until they became a group.”
The thing I love about the male characters in these stories is how genuinely good they are, and how real they feel in their interactions of being friends with their female friends even. There is just this warmth of genuine affection and concern that radiates from them - even around Tom and how he openly welcomes Jimmy to stay with him and Tara - never hesitating to show that they are friends - that he should never forget that. I still have such a soft spot for Frankie; she's grown so headstrong and determined to always speak sense, even if it hurts - the glue fighting to keep them as one. Even Will and his dark but sensible reasoning was a welcome balm; it is a shame we never got to have his point of view at any time. 😅 I loved their interactions - they have gone through so much together - but they understand one another better than anyone ever could. ‘You never let go, mate. Never.’ They came to Jimmy's support, and even knew when to favor Rosie over his actions, because they've lived the past and the pain - and they'll do anything to help a friend. 🫂🫂 Their final scene together - I admit, I kinda teared up; it was just so gentle and calming - even on the threshold of their next steps in their lives - they were happy and content. Looking back on what they were when they were young, a warmth of contentment spread through me - not pride - just happy at what they had achieved after all their ups and downs. 🥹
I'm really glad Marchetta for never assigning their stories to any series, rather giving us a glimpse of their growth over intervals - letting us revisit them time and time again. It's one of those rare Young Adult reads that changes into New Adult and still retains all the charm and sensitivity that made it so special to begin with. Starting with Francesca's feelings in 2003, to Tom's troubles in 2010, and now Jimmy's journey in 2019 - there never seemed to be a gap that I feel like I've missed something in their lives; we just ease so seamlessly into it that it feels like no time has passed at all. 👍🏻👍🏻 And with some characters that have yet to have their story told, I wish more than anything their stories will be continued, especially since each installment did come out over a wide span of years, so there's still hope. I want to see them flourishing and prospering - I want to see them happy and well and still together as friends. This motley crew of misfits who developed such a strong bond in Year 11 - a relatable connection that drew them all together - they really feel like a part of me now. 🫶🏻🫶🏻
“Guilt is a burden, so forgive yourself for the mistakes.”
A love story of finding the depths of love and seeking acceptance for those you love. A complicated story that deals with complex family dynamics but shows with a nurturing tenderness how to weather that storm. A heartfelt story about overcoming our grief and finding it in our hearts to forgive. A moving story that aided with Marchetta's skillful beautiful prose and effortlessly real characters made The Place on Dalhousie such a joy to read. 🪷 Since that moment in Year 11, when Jimmy hugged Francesca at the bus stop, silently giving her all the warmth and comfort that she so desperately needed at that difficult stage in her life, something struck in me a curiosity about this young boy whose whole life has been marred by so much strife that even being on the receiving end of his care means something. I am a hugger, at heart, always have been - there's something so much more intimate to them than any other sign of affection - so maybe, instinctively I knew that Jimmy's story would be the most emotional one for me. 👏🏻👏🏻
“First chance you get, copy this down on a piece of paper,’ he says.
She knows there’ll never be a reason to ring this number. She’s not a hello, let’s catch-up type of girl. And then his mouth is on hers and a part of Rosie feels desolate.
Except they’re both travelling in opposite directions and she can’t think of anything powerful enough to place them on the same path.”
It is said 'to err is human, to forgive divine'. And the characters have erred - but they are also human to have made those past mistakes. 😢 Whether it is now twenty-five year old Jimmy for the unwitting mistake he made for not being there for Rosie, the girl he gave his time and heart to when she needed him most two years ago - for twenty-one year old Rosie, who is still grieving the loss of her parents and is unable to find it in her heart to accept her stepmother, Martha, the woman she adamantly blames for her parents' loss - and for Martha, who is torn between following her heart in honoring the memory of Rosie's father or helping Rose for her future that ultimately ties all three of their respective lives together. That final reveal - where the pieces fall into place - my heart hurt; yes, it may have been predictable, but gosh, isn't it funny how life comes full circle. 😔
Melina Marchetta has such a gift; I don't know how she skillfully navigated three different perspectives - at an equal pacing that made me cry even happier tears - and made each of them so achingly genuine and painfully honest in their thoughts and emotions. Her stories have such heart to them that show the human complexity of difficult situations, but still manages to capture the realism of how people come together to make ends meet - to make things work. A candidness that was still touched with a tenderness that let me welcome the writing with open arms and allow the feels to envelope me. 🤌🏻🤍🤌🏻🤍 It just washes over you - so much heart to it that I couldn't tear myself away from reading. She writes with such empathy - without favoring one over the other - that it makes you care and feel for all three of them - even when one character pits the other as the enemy. For even the ordinary, she made it feel extraordinary with how much weight there was to any given scene, with dialogue that is so genuine but caring that it felt at times, I was witnessing it first-hand. 👌🏻👌🏻
“I’m Jimmy,’ he whispers, ‘and you’re the first thing I’ve ever sort of owned and I don’t want to get this wrong.”
For there is a lot of drama that defines their lives, but necessarily and believably so. Jimmy and Rosie's story is paved with a love that was kindled over a short time when they met in Queensland to help out during the 2010 floods, but -- left a lasting mark, when they reconnected at home in Sydney nearly two years later. And despite how he failed to be there for her - by no guilty means of his own reasoning - the way he fought to be in her life again - to prove his worth and convince her that he is not one to ever abandon her again - I really felt for him. 🥺🥺 'So you have to make a choice. Accept it and be subject to it for the rest of your life, or walk away.' It shouldn't have left the lasting mark that it did, but he puts his whole heart into loving - showing that he's not the person she thought he was. He's led a tough life - the quiet one - the wanderer - the one who 'no one had ever told Jimmy he was special' that made my heart want to reach out and just hug him. 😥
And it is not only him - the characterization of Rosie and Martha was also so well done that their conflict felt so believable They were both flawed characters in a strained relationship that had them both struggling to make things work - arguing over the smallest of things, adamantly refusing to see eye-to-eye or even connect with how they were both so deeply affected by the grief that tied them together. At first, Martha didn't really grab me - I didn't quite sympathize with her; but her groundness, her silent way of caring eventually thawed me over. 'She hadn’t let herself go, but it was as if the world had let go of her' - in the way that she finally found herself again - the memory of the person that she was before heartbreak and pain consumed her entirely. ❤️🩹❤️🩹 There is a tremendous weight on Rosie's heart - a depression and a grief that she's had such a difficulty channeling that, at times, her perspective was shrouded with a shadow that did not dim. 'She loves broken people who damage her in return.' But, with the guidance of a community that refused to let them drown in their pain, by the hand of friendship that stubbornly denied them the acceptance of the darkness that threatened to swallow them whole - together, they found the light. 🙏🏻💌
“Frankie said the six of them were the loneliest people in the world until they became a group.”
The thing I love about the male characters in these stories is how genuinely good they are, and how real they feel in their interactions of being friends with their female friends even. There is just this warmth of genuine affection and concern that radiates from them - even around Tom and how he openly welcomes Jimmy to stay with him and Tara - never hesitating to show that they are friends - that he should never forget that. I still have such a soft spot for Frankie; she's grown so headstrong and determined to always speak sense, even if it hurts - the glue fighting to keep them as one. Even Will and his dark but sensible reasoning was a welcome balm; it is a shame we never got to have his point of view at any time. 😅 I loved their interactions - they have gone through so much together - but they understand one another better than anyone ever could. ‘You never let go, mate. Never.’ They came to Jimmy's support, and even knew when to favor Rosie over his actions, because they've lived the past and the pain - and they'll do anything to help a friend. 🫂🫂 Their final scene together - I admit, I kinda teared up; it was just so gentle and calming - even on the threshold of their next steps in their lives - they were happy and content. Looking back on what they were when they were young, a warmth of contentment spread through me - not pride - just happy at what they had achieved after all their ups and downs. 🥹
I'm really glad Marchetta for never assigning their stories to any series, rather giving us a glimpse of their growth over intervals - letting us revisit them time and time again. It's one of those rare Young Adult reads that changes into New Adult and still retains all the charm and sensitivity that made it so special to begin with. Starting with Francesca's feelings in 2003, to Tom's troubles in 2010, and now Jimmy's journey in 2019 - there never seemed to be a gap that I feel like I've missed something in their lives; we just ease so seamlessly into it that it feels like no time has passed at all. 👍🏻👍🏻 And with some characters that have yet to have their story told, I wish more than anything their stories will be continued, especially since each installment did come out over a wide span of years, so there's still hope. I want to see them flourishing and prospering - I want to see them happy and well and still together as friends. This motley crew of misfits who developed such a strong bond in Year 11 - a relatable connection that drew them all together - they really feel like a part of me now. 🫶🏻🫶🏻
April 3, 2019
Reading this book feels like going back home.
(And I haven't been to my parents’ house since 2011, I think. I've seen them of course, they've visited, I just haven't been back to my hometown. I miss it. So I should know.)
I am not sure new readers will appreciate this just as much as the old ones, no matter how they advertise it. The book is infused with so much nostalgia for the past books. There's this aching for the kids they were back then, for their innocence, there's this longing for each other's presence after all those years, this happiness and this sense of belonging when they are not apart. Everything seems to come along nicely and ties from the past are being made through this last book.
Oh, how lovely must it be for the readers who were teenagers when Francesca was published, if you come to think about it they grew up along these characters. Then again, I watched these characters grow too, I felt their anguish, their hopes, their hearts being broken, I've seen them fall in love and make a life for themselves, always one thought away from each other. They are part of me, like every favourite character in the bookish world.
Melina Marchetta said there won't be that much about the old pack of characters, I think it was just her lowering our expectations, because they were part of the story in each and every way, more than in any other companion novel I've ever read (btw, they could finally give it a name as a series, as it dives way deeper into all 3 books for this to be considered a companion). And I absolutely loved that about it!
And then there are the new characters... They are just as achingly imperfect and still perfect for the story, for this ending - with all the open doors.
Everything I've ever written before about Marchetta and her books could be simply copied and pasted here as they always seem to stand. Melina Marchetta is - simply put - incredible! Her prose is stunning and incredibly touching, her words are raw and sincere and powerful. This story is about emotion, about flaws and second chances, about beautiful goose bumps inducing coincidences, about life and death and the messy parts in between.
It's not the first time she writes about parenthood, but she does it in such a sincere way, it's hard for her words not to hit home at times.
Her advices went right to my heart, because I've been there (feeling too young, even though I wasn’t, too helpless, too unprepared, too lonely even), her observations regarding mothers and how they are seen by the others (and each others) are spot on.
I loved Jimmy as a kid and I loved him even more as an adult. I loved that he wanted to be there and to be better for Rosie and Toto. I understood his struggles with balancing two worlds until inevitably they clashed together. He's been looking for home all that time, now he's finally there.
(Btw, did anyone else get a Froi vibe from him from time to time?)
Where Marchetta’s words take you, death follows closely from the shadows, and it's always intertwined with life and happiness and those tiny, beautiful coincidences that give hope even in the most dreadful of times. All her stories are puzzles to be discovered, and when the pieces fit together, when the connections are made, when the last remaining cell within your heart is crushed under the weight of her words, there's nothing you can do, other than falling breathlessly in love with everyone involved.
I'll write some more about this beautiful book after I sleep on it for a while. But I (oh!) so loved it! It's painfully beautiful and I am so sad that it's already over and I'll have for wait for god-knows-how long for a new book from this AMAZING author. I'll never tire of praising her talent. Or her books. I always wonder, you know... how can she infuse her words with so much emotion? *sigh*
NOTE:
PRE-READING THOUGHTS:
April, 2019:
I’ve been waiting for Jimmy’s story since he was a teenager, LOL! And still, what’s left of the waiting is killing me slowly! Gimme gimme gimme!!!
2019:
Is it April yet?!
2018:
Didn't I just tell you that our dreams would come true and we will end up having Jimmy's book in our trembling hands? It was obvious how he wanted to be heard, how the author needed to give him a voice. Oh, Jimmy!
Now let's just play the waiting game without losing our damn minds, because there is no date for the release and we've been all waiting for a long, long time.
Btw, I have no idea why didn't I have this book on my to-read shelf, as I remember well doing a goofy happy dance when I found out all about it :D
(And I haven't been to my parents’ house since 2011, I think. I've seen them of course, they've visited, I just haven't been back to my hometown. I miss it. So I should know.)
I am not sure new readers will appreciate this just as much as the old ones, no matter how they advertise it. The book is infused with so much nostalgia for the past books. There's this aching for the kids they were back then, for their innocence, there's this longing for each other's presence after all those years, this happiness and this sense of belonging when they are not apart. Everything seems to come along nicely and ties from the past are being made through this last book.
“And like always, Jimmy is amazed by the kindness of strangers. By the coincidences in life.”
Oh, how lovely must it be for the readers who were teenagers when Francesca was published, if you come to think about it they grew up along these characters. Then again, I watched these characters grow too, I felt their anguish, their hopes, their hearts being broken, I've seen them fall in love and make a life for themselves, always one thought away from each other. They are part of me, like every favourite character in the bookish world.
Melina Marchetta said there won't be that much about the old pack of characters, I think it was just her lowering our expectations, because they were part of the story in each and every way, more than in any other companion novel I've ever read (btw, they could finally give it a name as a series, as it dives way deeper into all 3 books for this to be considered a companion). And I absolutely loved that about it!
And then there are the new characters... They are just as achingly imperfect and still perfect for the story, for this ending - with all the open doors.
Everything I've ever written before about Marchetta and her books could be simply copied and pasted here as they always seem to stand. Melina Marchetta is - simply put - incredible! Her prose is stunning and incredibly touching, her words are raw and sincere and powerful. This story is about emotion, about flaws and second chances, about beautiful goose bumps inducing coincidences, about life and death and the messy parts in between.
‘You feel lonely sometimes?’ Always, she wants to say. Worse is when she feels lonely in the company of others.
It's not the first time she writes about parenthood, but she does it in such a sincere way, it's hard for her words not to hit home at times.
Her advices went right to my heart, because I've been there (feeling too young, even though I wasn’t, too helpless, too unprepared, too lonely even), her observations regarding mothers and how they are seen by the others (and each others) are spot on.
I loved Jimmy as a kid and I loved him even more as an adult. I loved that he wanted to be there and to be better for Rosie and Toto. I understood his struggles with balancing two worlds until inevitably they clashed together. He's been looking for home all that time, now he's finally there.
(Btw, did anyone else get a Froi vibe from him from time to time?)
Where Marchetta’s words take you, death follows closely from the shadows, and it's always intertwined with life and happiness and those tiny, beautiful coincidences that give hope even in the most dreadful of times. All her stories are puzzles to be discovered, and when the pieces fit together, when the connections are made, when the last remaining cell within your heart is crushed under the weight of her words, there's nothing you can do, other than falling breathlessly in love with everyone involved.
I'll write some more about this beautiful book after I sleep on it for a while. But I (oh!) so loved it! It's painfully beautiful and I am so sad that it's already over and I'll have for wait for god-knows-how long for a new book from this AMAZING author. I'll never tire of praising her talent. Or her books. I always wonder, you know... how can she infuse her words with so much emotion? *sigh*
NOTE:
PRE-READING THOUGHTS:
April, 2019:
I’ve been waiting for Jimmy’s story since he was a teenager, LOL! And still, what’s left of the waiting is killing me slowly! Gimme gimme gimme!!!
2019:
Is it April yet?!
2018:
Didn't I just tell you that our dreams would come true and we will end up having Jimmy's book in our trembling hands? It was obvious how he wanted to be heard, how the author needed to give him a voice. Oh, Jimmy!
Now let's just play the waiting game without losing our damn minds, because there is no date for the release and we've been all waiting for a long, long time.
Btw, I have no idea why didn't I have this book on my to-read shelf, as I remember well doing a goofy happy dance when I found out all about it :D
April 30, 2019
If you are familiar with award winning author Melina Marchetta you will delight in revisiting familiar characters from Saving Francesca and The Piper’s Son in The Place on Dalhousie.
If you are not, you will be charmed by the characters you meet, and eager to devour Marchetta’s backlist when you have finished this wonderfully touching novel of home, family and friendship.
After Rosie Gennaro and Jimmy Hailler cross paths and enjoy a brief fling while travelling through Queensland, neither expect to see one another again, but fifteen months later, Jimmy learns Rosie has given birth to his son.
Rosie has reluctantly returned to the house on Dalhousie Street in Sydney, the home she once shared with her family, before her mother succumbed to cancer, before her father’s sudden death, but in which now her hated stepmother, Martha resides, to raise her son.
The house on Dalhousie is more than just a home to Rosie, it is all she has left of everything she has lost. As far as she is concerned Martha, despite being the legal owner of the house, is an interloper with no legitimate claim. The two live together as if strangers, Marta is no more fond of her sullen stepdaughter than Rosie is of her. Marchetta explores this complicated relationship, and it’s progression, thoughtfully.
Rosie is an abrasive character, consumed by anger, guilt and bitterness connected to her mother’s illness, her father’s remarriage, and his sudden death. I found it difficult to like her initially, she comes across as a self involved brat, but slowly, for the sake of her son, she begins to relax her defences. The author’s development of Rosie feels authentic, the change in her is gradual, and realistically limited.
Jimmy’s entry into the tense and awkward situation at the Dalhousie house is a catalyst to soften the enmity between Rosie and Martha. Having been abandoned by his own parents, Jimmy, though hesitant, is determined know his son and meet his responsibilities. I quickly grew very fond of Jimmy, who has had a difficult and far from blameless life, but who is decent and loyal. Jimmy’s friendships with his high school mates are his anchor, and give him support as he grapples with the uncertainty of his future.
For all the authenticity of Marchetta’s characters, and their stories, in The Place on Dalhousie there is the lightest touch of magical realism, a coincidence that closes a circle in a way that could have felt melodramatic, but instead felt right and true.
A beguiling story of loneliness and connection, of home, of family and friendship, of belonging, The Place on Dalhousie is a captivating novel, I was smiling so widely during the last chapter my cheeks hurt.
If you are not, you will be charmed by the characters you meet, and eager to devour Marchetta’s backlist when you have finished this wonderfully touching novel of home, family and friendship.
After Rosie Gennaro and Jimmy Hailler cross paths and enjoy a brief fling while travelling through Queensland, neither expect to see one another again, but fifteen months later, Jimmy learns Rosie has given birth to his son.
Rosie has reluctantly returned to the house on Dalhousie Street in Sydney, the home she once shared with her family, before her mother succumbed to cancer, before her father’s sudden death, but in which now her hated stepmother, Martha resides, to raise her son.
The house on Dalhousie is more than just a home to Rosie, it is all she has left of everything she has lost. As far as she is concerned Martha, despite being the legal owner of the house, is an interloper with no legitimate claim. The two live together as if strangers, Marta is no more fond of her sullen stepdaughter than Rosie is of her. Marchetta explores this complicated relationship, and it’s progression, thoughtfully.
Rosie is an abrasive character, consumed by anger, guilt and bitterness connected to her mother’s illness, her father’s remarriage, and his sudden death. I found it difficult to like her initially, she comes across as a self involved brat, but slowly, for the sake of her son, she begins to relax her defences. The author’s development of Rosie feels authentic, the change in her is gradual, and realistically limited.
Jimmy’s entry into the tense and awkward situation at the Dalhousie house is a catalyst to soften the enmity between Rosie and Martha. Having been abandoned by his own parents, Jimmy, though hesitant, is determined know his son and meet his responsibilities. I quickly grew very fond of Jimmy, who has had a difficult and far from blameless life, but who is decent and loyal. Jimmy’s friendships with his high school mates are his anchor, and give him support as he grapples with the uncertainty of his future.
For all the authenticity of Marchetta’s characters, and their stories, in The Place on Dalhousie there is the lightest touch of magical realism, a coincidence that closes a circle in a way that could have felt melodramatic, but instead felt right and true.
A beguiling story of loneliness and connection, of home, of family and friendship, of belonging, The Place on Dalhousie is a captivating novel, I was smiling so widely during the last chapter my cheeks hurt.
September 30, 2019
A light easy read that wasn’t too demanding. Growing up in and around inner Western Sydney as a child I was instantly familiar with the workings of being part of a tight knit community, there were always lots of surrogate Nonnas and Yiayias around to make up for the lack of real family here in Australia and it was easy to relate to so much in this book as many of the places and locations mentioned are places I’ve hung around, I even have family that live a street away from the street mentioned in this book! It really added a realistic aspect. The writing was simple probably geared a little more to a younger audience but there is something for everyone as Melina Marchetta’s writing is very accessible, the only problem I encountered was that there were quite a few characters to keep track of. But ultimately this book is about friendship and community so it was a necessary part of the story.
January 31, 2019
Actual rating: 12/5 stars. YES I SAID TWELVE
April 24, 2019
Be still my heart... I loved this story so damn much!!! Not ready to let these characters go. It’s been over a day since I finished Dalhousie and I can’t let it go. This is what a book hangover feels like.
I will give this a proper review when I get my thoughts straight.
Love.love.love.
I will give this a proper review when I get my thoughts straight.
Love.love.love.
April 5, 2021
God have I missed the crew and it's so good to have Jimmy back and happy after all this time
April 13, 2019
IM BAWLING
Rep: lesbian side characters, Lebanese side character, side characters with anxiety
Rep: lesbian side characters, Lebanese side character, side characters with anxiety
April 19, 2019
My gang. 8 years. MY GANGGGGGG. Marchetta always knows how to make me tear up. Lotsa tears in lotsa chapters and even more laughs. This took me back to 2006 when I first met Frankie and her friends. And now they’ve all grown to so much more. The mems, nostalgia, reminiscing. Family, friendship, love and new beginnings. Other than Frankie, Jimmy’s always been my fav so I’m happy we got his story. And heaps more too. I’m happy and sad and content and satisfied and a little bit heartbroken this is over.
Loved the snippets of Sydney - Central platform 23, Chinatown/trams, inner west vibes, OATLEY GOT A MENTION, Jacksons on George (omg takes me back to my internship days), CQ... SAHHHH GOOD.
Loved the snippets of Sydney - Central platform 23, Chinatown/trams, inner west vibes, OATLEY GOT A MENTION, Jacksons on George (omg takes me back to my internship days), CQ... SAHHHH GOOD.
July 13, 2019
3.5 stars
i loved seeing all the characters from Saving Francesca and The Piper's Son back together!!!!! 💞💞💞
that aside though, i thought this was an enjoyable, but ultimately forgettable, book. i can't believe i'm about to say this about a melina marchetta book, but i feel like this book really lacked emotionally climactic, punchy moments. i wanted to feel more strongly about its scenes, but it didn't give me any scenes to feel that strongly about. and for me, that's what separates a good book from an excellent one: memorable scenes that incite some emotional reaction in me. sadly, the place on dalhousie didn't quite get there. but i still liked it, if that's any consolation (to myself i guess?).
i loved seeing all the characters from Saving Francesca and The Piper's Son back together!!!!! 💞💞💞
that aside though, i thought this was an enjoyable, but ultimately forgettable, book. i can't believe i'm about to say this about a melina marchetta book, but i feel like this book really lacked emotionally climactic, punchy moments. i wanted to feel more strongly about its scenes, but it didn't give me any scenes to feel that strongly about. and for me, that's what separates a good book from an excellent one: memorable scenes that incite some emotional reaction in me. sadly, the place on dalhousie didn't quite get there. but i still liked it, if that's any consolation (to myself i guess?).
September 14, 2025
4.75 stars
rep: lesbian side characters
cw: mentions of death of a loved one (mothers) from breast cancer
highkey crying and now I obviously need to reread francesca and piper to, you know, experience the full amount of pain possible
rep: lesbian side characters
cw: mentions of death of a loved one (mothers) from breast cancer
highkey crying and now I obviously need to reread francesca and piper to, you know, experience the full amount of pain possible
November 25, 2018
The familiar, welcoming glow of a new Melina Marchetta novel. This one is a delight.
June 1, 2019
I've read a lot of books with sad stories this year. I was glad to realise this one slowly turns into a feel good one with plenty of happy endings. As usual Marchetta churns out a book full of emotion with characters of deep history, dealing with plenty of issues and struggling with relationships and finances. The two lead women characters are tough and unforgiving. The main male is Jimmy Hailer who is a rough diamond. Does Marchetta ever fail to deliver?
April 30, 2019
[edit april 27 2019]
The easiest 5 stars. I remember in high school repeatedly borrowing Saving Francesca (the only Marchetta book at the school) from the library. I'd read about these misfits and chosen families and real families over and over again, and then the same thing with The Piper's Son. Where Finch-Mackees tore my heart apart and the themes of trauma and family and hitting rock bottom and coming out the other side solidified Marchetta as one of my absolute favourite writers in the world.
And for years. YEARS. We've waited. This Jimmy Hailler book we've waited for for 10 years.
And it was so, so, so good.
Marchetta's writing is unparalleled. Her style is instantly recognizable (to those who have reread her words over and over, for sure), the turns of phrase so perfectly laden with subtle irony or unexpected hilarity. I just loved being able to sink into this book and be swept up in the story.
And of course, I can't help but to unabashedly love all the characters. Especially our boy Jimmy (i.e. SES Jesus, the best nickname ever) and his journey to creating a family and finding out for himself what family means. It's incredibly rewarding to re-enter the world of characters you already know and love. The dynamics are a delight, for both the old and new characters (sorry, I'm always going to be biased to the old gang). It's funny to be reading about them in high school when I was in high school, and now I'm 25 and they're 25 and to feel like they've grown up outside of the pages but still remain complex and human. The relationships and bonds between the friends will always make me cry. Hell, the simple phrase "Shit, yeah" made my eyes well up. I loved any and all scenes featuring the interactions between Tom and Tara, the relationship between Will and Frankie, Justine in fucking Brisbane, Siobhan who has her shit together, and of course their extended families.
The new women, Rosie and Martha, are also wonderful and sad in all the best ways; I always find that Marchetta is able to articulate sadness, loneliness, and emptiness in a way that really hits. But don't worry, this isn't a sad, lonely, empty book. It's a book about community and connecting - (and to bring it back to another self-centred point) - this year, one of my main "life resolutions" was to put down roots. To create that community around me where I can feel safe and supported. And I kind of loved reading about this very thing.
When I was very, very young (lol, teenager, I mean), I remember reading Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. I'm probably going to get this quote wrong, but I believe it ends something along the lines of "home isn't a place, It's a person, and I'm finally home" and scoffing at the time (I was a very cynical teen). But only as I have gotten older do I realize that home really IS the people - that it really is the relationships in your life, and who you turn to when you want a laugh or a cry or just to talk for a few too many hours.
The third part of this novel is fittingly titled "Going home". Reading The Place on Dalhousie was just like this - going home between the pages of a Marchetta-ian world I remember, the themes of family and generations, and going home to characters and relationships I'll love forever.
SOME FAVOURITE SPOILERY QUOTES BELOW:
------
IS THIS ACTUALLY GOING TO BE PUBLISHED IN 2018?!?!!!
Sometimes I think about this book and I get worried because I don't think Melina Marchetta has a particularly good reputation for giving her beautiful teen characters happy adult lives, ya know? Oh Jimmy.
The easiest 5 stars. I remember in high school repeatedly borrowing Saving Francesca (the only Marchetta book at the school) from the library. I'd read about these misfits and chosen families and real families over and over again, and then the same thing with The Piper's Son. Where Finch-Mackees tore my heart apart and the themes of trauma and family and hitting rock bottom and coming out the other side solidified Marchetta as one of my absolute favourite writers in the world.
And for years. YEARS. We've waited. This Jimmy Hailler book we've waited for for 10 years.
And it was so, so, so good.
Marchetta's writing is unparalleled. Her style is instantly recognizable (to those who have reread her words over and over, for sure), the turns of phrase so perfectly laden with subtle irony or unexpected hilarity. I just loved being able to sink into this book and be swept up in the story.
And of course, I can't help but to unabashedly love all the characters. Especially our boy Jimmy (i.e. SES Jesus, the best nickname ever) and his journey to creating a family and finding out for himself what family means. It's incredibly rewarding to re-enter the world of characters you already know and love. The dynamics are a delight, for both the old and new characters (sorry, I'm always going to be biased to the old gang). It's funny to be reading about them in high school when I was in high school, and now I'm 25 and they're 25 and to feel like they've grown up outside of the pages but still remain complex and human. The relationships and bonds between the friends will always make me cry. Hell, the simple phrase "Shit, yeah" made my eyes well up. I loved any and all scenes featuring the interactions between Tom and Tara, the relationship between Will and Frankie, Justine in fucking Brisbane, Siobhan who has her shit together, and of course their extended families.
The new women, Rosie and Martha, are also wonderful and sad in all the best ways; I always find that Marchetta is able to articulate sadness, loneliness, and emptiness in a way that really hits. But don't worry, this isn't a sad, lonely, empty book. It's a book about community and connecting - (and to bring it back to another self-centred point) - this year, one of my main "life resolutions" was to put down roots. To create that community around me where I can feel safe and supported. And I kind of loved reading about this very thing.
When I was very, very young (lol, teenager, I mean), I remember reading Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. I'm probably going to get this quote wrong, but I believe it ends something along the lines of "home isn't a place, It's a person, and I'm finally home" and scoffing at the time (I was a very cynical teen). But only as I have gotten older do I realize that home really IS the people - that it really is the relationships in your life, and who you turn to when you want a laugh or a cry or just to talk for a few too many hours.
The third part of this novel is fittingly titled "Going home". Reading The Place on Dalhousie was just like this - going home between the pages of a Marchetta-ian world I remember, the themes of family and generations, and going home to characters and relationships I'll love forever.
SOME FAVOURITE SPOILERY QUOTES BELOW:
------
IS THIS ACTUALLY GOING TO BE PUBLISHED IN 2018?!?!!!
Sometimes I think about this book and I get worried because I don't think Melina Marchetta has a particularly good reputation for giving her beautiful teen characters happy adult lives, ya know? Oh Jimmy.
August 13, 2020
ALSO
Annnnnd the wait is finally over.
I Loved this book so much.
No one, NO ONE evoke in me the such deep kind of emotions like Melina Marchetta.
These characters are not fictional, they are real people and I feel their pain and care about their happiness in a way I don’t in real life.
Melina Marchetta thank you so much for writing this and showing us the old gang
Please write about Siobhan and Justine next 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
----------------------
MY LOVE FOR THIS BOOK IS IN.FI.NITE.
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