The Mistake in Aussie Readers

Jan 05, 2012 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: aussie-authors, 2012-release, mystery, crime, library-bookclub-reads

Aussie author Wendy James has a brilliant book in The Mistake. The incredible role of the media in putting the ‘facts’ out there, and therefore shaping everyones opinions, be they true or false, complete or partial, makes for very provocative reading.

Jodie Garrow has a wonderful life, she is happy and extremely contented with her husband Angus, who is about to run for Mayor, and two gorgeous children, Hannah and Thomas (Tom). But all that changes when Hannah goes away on a school excursion to Sy ...more

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Dec 04, 2011 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it it was amazing

The carefully constructed and comfortable life of Jodie Garrow, a forty- something housewife and mother, unravels after a chance encounter reveals her closely guarded secret putting her at the center of a police investigation and under intense public scrutiny. At barely 19, Jodie gave birth to a baby girl in a small suburban hospital and The Mistake focuses on determining the fate of the infant, as well as exploring the effects of the subsequent accusations and suspicions on Jodie and her family The carefully constructed and comfortable life of Jodie Garrow, a forty- something housewife and mother, unravels after a chance encounter reveals her closely guarded secret putting her at the center of a police investigation and under intense public scrutiny. At barely 19, Jodie gave birth to a baby girl in a small suburban hospital and The Mistake focuses on determining the fate of the infant, as well as exploring the effects of the subsequent accusations and suspicions on Jodie and her family.

Unusually, James makes little attempt to garner sympathy for Jodie from the reader. She is presented as an immaculately coiffured, socialite wife of a lawyer with political ambitions, who reacts to the building maelstrom by abdicating responsibility for both her past and present. She is seemingly willfully ignorant of the repercussions of her secret being revealed, particularly in regards to the effect on her teenage daughter, Hannah. Jodie simply drifts around the house in a haze of some sort, relying on her husband to manipulate the system to her advantage by exploiting the privileges their money and connections afford her, certain that if she ignores the problem it will simply all go away. Luckily, the third person narrative also reveals Jodie's past as the story unfolds, giving us a glimpse into her very difficult background engendering if not sympathy, then some understanding of her character.
The complexity of James's protagonist forces the reader to consider their own assumptions based on appearance, class and circumstance. This is further explored as the author shares the media storm that engulfs Jodie and her family. With very few facts and based primarily on a handful of photos interpreted with malice, Jodie is victimised by the media and by extension the public. The media is not at all circumspect about the case, interpreting her 'faults' - her styled blond hair, pearl necklace, privileged lifestyle and reserved manner - insinuating that Jodie's ambitions led her to murder her infant daughter and her financial status is protecting her from swift legal action. Jodie becomes either a pariah or an object of curiosity in her small town amongst all the publicity, total strangers make judgements based on spurious facts on the internet, in newspaper columns and even her mother, unable to resist the lure of a few thousand dollars, fails to defend her. Her husband's mayoral candidacy is also scuttled and her children are ostracised.
The perspectives of Angus, Jodie's husband and Hannah, their fifteen year old daughter, are also explored through the narrative. Both Angus and Hannah are shaken by Jodie's revelation, despite having their own secrets. The intense pressure of the situation they have found themselves in magnifies the small cracks in the veneer of this 'happy enough' family, which also includes son, Tom and tears it apart.

A stunning debut novel, the tension builds as James moves both the story and the characters towards an uncertain conclusion. This is a thought provoking novel that explores themes that provide and insight into contemporary life. Part psychological/crime thriller, part family drama, The Mistake defies genre conventions and simply delivers a compelling story. ...more

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May 04, 2012 Magdalena added it

The Mistake follows the life of Jodie Garrow, a woman who is living the life of her dreams. It's a life she has carefully constructed, built up from her childhood dreams. Her husband, Angus, is an old-moneyed, good looking lawyer with political aspirations. Her children Hannah and Tom are thriving in expensive, high performing schools. Jodie lives in a good neighbourhood, in a nice home, with good supportive friends and does regular charity work. She has all she ever wanted. But Jodie has a secr The Mistake follows the life of Jodie Garrow, a woman who is living the life of her dreams. It's a life she has carefully constructed, built up from her childhood dreams. Her husband, Angus, is an old-moneyed, good looking lawyer with political aspirations. Her children Hannah and Tom are thriving in expensive, high performing schools. Jodie lives in a good neighbourhood, in a nice home, with good supportive friends and does regular charity work. She has all she ever wanted. But Jodie has a secret in her past that no one in her perfect family knows about, and its impending revelation threatens everything Jodie holds dear.

The Mistake is a super-fast, engaging read that has the intensity of a thriller, with the compelling psychological complexity and deep thematics of literary fiction. Jodie’s development is subtle, moving between an internal and external perspective that contrasts Jodie’s slick, calm demeanour with her inner turmoil. The book mingles reflection and memory with perception and superficial judgement. Initially Jodie’s calm has a similar effect on the reader as it does on the narrative public – it distances us. However, as the story progresses, we learn more and more of Jodie’s unhappy upbringing – her unloving mother and missing father:

All Jodie wants, all she has ever wanted, is a life without grubbiness, without chaos, a life that follows a clear trajectory of progress, of achievement. Surely, she thinks, it isn’t that much to ask. (187)

There are plenty of villains in the story. The most pervasive is Angus himself, with his easy, privileged infidelities, though he does begin to grow a little through his panic attacks, fear and pain. A less complex villain is Angus’ hideously snobby mother, who achieves an unambiguously Dickensian unpleasantness, Jodie’s false friends are also antagonists who begin to creep away when her secret becomes public. The biggest villain however is the general public that is quick to judge, and takes such great Schadenfreude in Jodie's misfortunes. The story pivots on these antagonists, and brings in a broader philosophical perspective about the role of the media and the public’s hunger for voyeurism:

She can see now how it happens, to the Amy Winehouses, the Heath Ledgers, the Michael Jacksons – can understand why they seek the solace of drugs or alcohol or risky behaviour. Perhaps it makes no difference, really, whether they’re feted or maligned, adored or abhored – either way, they’re endlessly exposed their every action scrutinised discussed, critiqued. They’re like butterflies trapped under glass, microbes under a less than benign microscope. Separate. Isolated. Utterly alone. (202)

Jodie doesn’t get off lightly – she has to pay her dues, as, to a lesser extent, does Hannah. But in the dramatic irony of their growth, there is a strong development and self-realisation, particularly for Jodie. The Mistake is about far more than a single mistake. It’s also about our choices and the flimsiness of the lives we build around ourselves- the many trappings, roles, compromises, and illusions. Though the novel reads easily and won’t be easily left until the full truth of Jodie’s story is revealed, this is no comfortable beach read. There’s a depth to the theme and a richness in the characterisation that will stay with the reader. The power of friendship too, to winkle out truth and deeper meaning in life, is one that provides some redemption to Jodie’s story, though the powerful ending still comes as a shock.

The Mistake is an expertly written, compulsively readable novel that repays the reading with rich reflection. There are no easy answers here and the multiple 'truths' of the novel are continually called into question. Everyone is culpable. There are plenty of parallels between Jodie Garrow's life and those of other real-life women who have been caught up in a media frenzy and judged based on appearance. Nevertheless the psychological implications go beyond a political statement. This is a powerful book with broad appeal.
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Mar 13, 2012 Bree T rated it it was amazing

Shelves: australian, arc, aww2012

Jodie lives a very comfortable life. Married to her childhood sweetheart Angus with two children, she is a well-preserved woman in her 40s with a lovely home, new car and a very good social standing. She helps out with local events and has an active social life and Angus, a lawyer, is thinking of running for mayor. Jodie’s carefully-cultivated life is about to come crashing down all around her when her teenage daughter Hannah breaks a leg on a school trip to Sydney and is inadvertently sent to t Jodie lives a very comfortable life. Married to her childhood sweetheart Angus with two children, she is a well-preserved woman in her 40s with a lovely home, new car and a very good social standing. She helps out with local events and has an active social life and Angus, a lawyer, is thinking of running for mayor. Jodie’s carefully-cultivated life is about to come crashing down all around her when her teenage daughter Hannah breaks a leg on a school trip to Sydney and is inadvertently sent to the one hospital that Jodie never, ever wanted to set foot into again.

Twenty-five years ago Jodie was a scared and pregnant teenager and Angus was on a year long working stint in London. She chose a small hospital far away from where she lived, where the likelihood of running into anyone she knew would be non-existent and gave birth, choosing to put the baby up for adoption. This was quietly -and illegally- arranged by the Matron and Jodie received a small compensation for ‘recovery’ purposes. She’s devoted little time to thinking about that baby since, until one of the nurses notices that Hannah has the same medical condition (webbed toes) as the baby girl Jodie gave birth to all those years ago. A quiet inquiry in case Jodie wanted to reconnect leads the nurse to discover no records of the child exist and she is forced to report it to the authorities.

Jodie now finds herself at the centre of a scandal. Unless they can track down the child – who would now be a woman of 24 – then things could get very serious for Jodie. Without someone coming forward to say they are that child, or that they adopted that baby, then there’s no proof that that the child didn’t meet with foul play, even at the hands of her own mother possibly. Jodie finds herself slowly ostracised from her peer and social groups as they attempt to run a pre-emptive strike on the investigation, doing several carefully constructed media interviews and placing ads requesting information. Before long it’s open season in the media for anyone to say what they like about Jodie and speculate on what may have happened to that little baby so long ago. Nothing is off limits and her background is examined, her reputation cut to shreds and her family harrassed and followed. She is spat on in the streets of her small town where she was once so well liked and finds that her friends fall by the wayside, not even interested in what she might have to say.

As the search for the missing child intensifies, the pressure and strain on all of the family members is taking its toll. It’s just a matter of who is going to crack first.

The Mistake is set in what seems to me, a well known town in NSW with the name loosely changed to Arding. A lot of the details remain the same (boarding schools, local university, hippy population etc). Jodie grew up in a town slightly out of Arding, in a poor family. She scored a scholarship to one of the better schools in Arding and was determined to use that as a way to escape her disadvantaged roots. Angus, in contrast, was part of a wealthy Arding family, well connected and well entrenched in the ‘old boys’ network of the male boarding school. Angus’s mother disapproved and that was enough for Angus to be firmly interested in Jodie. They married young and are both relatively happy, even though they’ve had their issues over the years. Angus supports Jodie when the news comes out, at great personal cost as he has to pull out of the mayoral race.

Where I believe this book excels is its portrayal of the media. At first Jodie and Angus are advised to make a plea for information before the media can dig up a story on their own, but it doesn’t take long before the tide turns and there are editorials, letters to the editor, web comments and sensational headlines. Jodie becomes a recluse after the town starts to alienate her, sitting at the computer clicking through news sites, blogs and comments, reading opinions of people who have never met her and are putting out there whatever they want. It’s a great showcase of how, armed with little information and a big opinion, anyone can get online or write a letter to the editor and say basically, whatever they want with no facts to back it up. Jodie is not personable, doesn’t strike the population as desperate or upset enough which is all the ammunition they need to tear her down as a murderer and worse. Jodie becomes obsessed with reading the things people are saying about her and it’s something I can definitely sympathize with. I think the temptation would be overwhelming, impossible to resist. The articles and opinions printed about Jodie are so realistic (given it’s happened before in Australian society and will no doubt happen again. The book even references numerous times, Lindy Chamberlain who was jailed for the murder of her young daughter Azaria before being exonerated and compensated). It’s such a slow building of the tide turning too, with snippets of newspaper articles and copies of the plea Jodie and Angus’s lawyer places before slipping in editorials, letters from the public and then Jodie finding the blogs. Jodie’s mother even goes on a current affairs show, lambasting her daughter and painting herself in an overly-flattering light.

What I really admired about this book though, apart from the well constructed story, the faultless pacing and the depth of the characters was the fact that it carefully, gently, makes you think that you know what has happened before it cuts you off at the knees. It’s hands down one of the best endings I’ve read in a book, possibly ever. It packs a huge emotional punch – the last line was running through my head for a long time after I finished the book. In fact that was a week ago now and I am still thinking about it constantly. Amazing.

A fabulous read – hard to “love” given the subject matter but well written and very powerful. ...more

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Mar 17, 2012 Jenny rated it it was ok

Shelves: women-s-fiction, 2012

I have no idea how to rate this. On the one hand, the writing is excellent, the characters complex and believable - if totally awful. I did empathize with MC Jodie though, which is all that matters.

Despite the great writing this wasn't an enjoyable story for me - and the ending felt wrong. ...more

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