The Spare Room in Aussie Readers

Oct 20, 2008 Nettie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is a pretty brash and unsentimental look at the nature of friendship under dire strain. Nicola has cancer and comes to stay with Helen while she undergoes alternative treatment, much to Helen's concern. Their differing views on treatment and pain management for Nicola drive Helen to the brink of love for her friend. I loved the honesty of this book. It was a little hard to read at times - the raw honesty of friendship, even in despair. A short book - read in a weekend, and I'm a slow reader ...more

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Dec 25, 2015 Kathryn rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, australian-authors, reading-list-2015

3.5 stars for this one. And just a word of warning - it was good, but in no way was it an uplifting and inspirational read. So if you are already feeling a bit blue, this one is not for you. Likewise, if you have recently supported a loved one through a regime of cancer treatment (or perhaps even not so recently), or are going through treatment yourself, or if this is a rather raw subject for any reason, this is probably not the best book for you at this time.

It was rather brutal read, although ...more

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Apr 25, 2016 Tracey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: australian, fiction, literature, 2016

Having just read Helen Garner's latest offering 'Everywhere I Look' I really wanted to read more of her works. I have had a copy of 'The Spare Room' for some time and I have to admit I have been too much of a coward to read it as it. It was a topic I was just not ready to deal with but I decided it was time to do so.
The Spare Room is written more like a memoir than a novel. The protagonist in the novel Helen is preparing the spare room for Nicola's arrival. Nicola a long time friend is coming t ...more

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Feb 21, 2015 Catsalive rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: aww, 2008

Very good reading, but I needed something more when it ended. I think it felt a bit unfinished or perhaps I just felt a bit lost. I found it quite gritty: I can imagine the anger, & how guilty Helen would have felt acknowledging that anger; but also filled with love, compassion & friendship.

I read this back in 2008 http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/6..., sent it on a bookring around Australia, & read it again before bidding it a final adieu in 2009. I'd like to read it again some time to see i ...more

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Jan 25, 2012 Sue rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Before reading this, I thought that it would be a depressing account of someone coming to stay in the spare room waiting to die...how wrong I was! It is actually an extremely good read; not altogether up-beat, but wholly more enjoyable than I expected.
Nicola (the friend) was endeavouring to deny her terminal illness and believed a load of alternative treatments would save her life., much to the exasperation (putting it mildly) of Hel and Nicola's neice.

Written in the first person, it reads as th ...more

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Feb 20, 2015 Josie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Not at all what I was expecting.
I have been ploughing through Garner's novels, and have seen them get better in regards to her writing style becoming less abstract, and this book for me shows her getting to the full ability to write a novel...albeit a short one.
This tale of a friend dying in front of your eyes, and not only having to accept that, but also their way of handling it, was so very poignant, with humour entwined in there too.
It wasn't told in the vain of 'sisters in unity' but in a ve ...more

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May 07, 2010 Yvonne rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A lovely book, beautifylly written. I cried, I raged, I cared about all the characters in this story about dying.

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Jul 31, 2009 Blue Eyed Vixen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: australian-author, award-winner, death-or-dying, challenge-aussie-authors-with-a-twi, sept-2012-to-read, relationships

Don't let the size deceive you - this little book deals with the delicate emotions between two friends and where a persons limits may lie.

Frank and at times raw. ...more

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