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The Golden Age

Joan London

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Dec 04, 2014 Michael Livingston rated it really liked it

The second last book in my quest to read the 2015 Stella Prize longlist. I wasn't hugely taken by London's previous novel, Gilgamesh, so I wasn't super excited to tackle this. Somewhat surprisingly, I loved it - a gorgeously written evocation of a 1950s children's polio rehabilitation centre in Perth, The Golden Age has a lot to say about love, family, independence and coming to terms with the hand life deals you. The supporting characters are rich and memorable (Frank's parents in particular), ...more

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Jul 27, 2014 Brenda rated it really liked it

Shelves: aussie-authors, borrowed-from-library, 2014-release, contemporary-fiction

Frank Gold, along with parents Ida and Meyer arrived from Hungary as refugees fleeing a war torn country. Their original hope was to go to America but an earlier ship was leaving for Australia from Vienna where they were waiting. They found it hard to settle into their new country, Ida especially – New Australians and their funny accents were the butt of many jokes. In 1954 when Frank contracted polio and was placed into isolation, their shock and devastation was great.

When Frank was transferre ...more

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Oct 21, 2020 Kim rated it it was amazing

Shelves: australian, historical-fiction, literary-fiction, australian-women-writers, australian-author, aus-women-writer, 2020-read, australian-fiction, act-library, stella-longlist

In the midst of the Perth polio pandemic in the early 1950s, a young Hungarian WW2 refugee contracts polio and discovers within himself the heart of a poet. In the unlikely place of a rehab hospital called The Golden Age, he finds his delicate muse and becomes devoted to her with all the intensity that young love musters from shaky beginnings.
More heart warming than heart breaking, surprisingly compelling and told so incredibly clearly that I felt I was there.
A must read.

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