Childrens Bach in Aussie Readers

Jul 04, 2010 Penni Russon rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is a fantastic companion read for The Spare Room - similar themes and preoccupations at a different stage of life - at times the crossovers took my breath away. Reading Helen Garner's body of work is like reading a life, and her brutal, tender honesty allows an intensely intimate glimpse into the interior experience of a person. ...more

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Feb 07, 2015 Josie rated it did not like it · review of another edition

This was 160 pages of complete gibberish.
I don't know what the author was trying to achieve here, but I just couldn't fix my mind on any part of the story, and came out the other side feeling very uninvolved in the whole story.
Had really hoped for more in this novel. ...more

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Jan 27, 2012 Lauredhel rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: australian-women-writers-challenge

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

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Jun 13, 2021 Tracey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, classic-lit, australian, literature, 2021

Suburban Melbourne, a couple Athena and Dexter with their two sons, exist. Stepping into their world comes Elizabeth and all her offsiders. This brings about a change in dynamics and the relationships.
This short but packed, each word perfectly placed, each description succinct and each character subtly realised. Garner explores how change can impact relationships, how it can weaken and strengthen. As you follow each of the characters you are never really come to like any of them and that is oka ...more

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Jul 10, 2008 Lindsay rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: bookcrossing, fiction, australian, z2000

I read this book at school. Quite realistic and gritty, although a little weird in parts.

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Apr 20, 2022 Karen rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I did not really enjoy this book, not one of Garners best. The story was a bit chaotic, it jumped around alot. Dexter and Athena lead a quiet, domesticated life with their 2 sons, but this is all disrupted when Elizabeth, a friend from Dexter’s past comes to visit. Vicki is her young teenage sister, who looks for a mother in Athena, Philip her sometime partner and Poppy his 12 year old daughter turn their life upside down.

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