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cyphomandraAn excellent book that I almost missed completely, as it is cursed with a completely accurate blurb that is written in such a way that I put the book back down without even opening it. Twice. I’m still not sure what made me just open the book at random on my third approach, but I bought it about 30 seconds later and finished reading it within two hours, so maybe I should just avoid blurbs. Anyway. Not that this puts any pressure on this review…
Kathleen O’Rourke is 16 and one of eight children, living in Brisbane in the 1960s. I have been complaining about lack of things happening in other books, so by contrast here in the first chapter Kathy quits school to get a job as a hairdresser, gets offered a part-time job as a go-go-dancer in a dodgy disco (her older, solid, brother, comes along as protection), starts learning the guitar at a folk music centre and meets this guy, Terry. By page 27 Kathy’s older sister is pregnant and being hurriedly married off, her brother’s been drafted to Vietnam, and Kathy herself has auditioned successfully for a job as part of a three-person troupe – entertaining the troops. Also in Vietnam.
And so it goes. It’s told from Kathy’s point of view, which is lively and believable, and a mix of naivety and worldliness that works really well, and as well as being a fascinating story that must be based on a lot of research, it manages to avoid any number of crashingly obvious clichés inherent in writing a Vietnam story. And war stories in general – I’ve read plenty of historical YA/children’s where the narrator is like Cheryl, Kathy’s more academic friend (and Terry's sister) who gets involved in anti-war protests, and organises a petition and trip to Canberra, but far fewer like this – and Kathy does have develop opinions about the war, but, in the final scene, they are still not neat and packaged into pro- or anti-. It has vivid imagery, complex characters and emotional throughlines that really work. I liked it a lot. I have never read anything else by the author, but will now definitely be looking.
If I'd known more about the history of Australian troop entertainment in Vietnam I might have guessed what was going to happen, as apparently Layla's death is based on that of Cathy Wayne, who was 19 when she was shot at a concert. As it was, I'd assumed one of the guys was going to get killed, and - man. Not only unexpected, but so well done - the event itself, but also everyone's responses, from Jan's attempt to help while getting a journalistic exclusive, Gaynor's visible maturing, Kathy's confused emotional response due to her visceral rejection of Layla as a fiancee for her brother - all very, very well done, and in such a short space. Kathy's arrival back in Brisbane to find nothing apparently changed was great, as well as the fact that the only person she can talk to is her old principal, and the final scene, with the tribute to Layla at the Anzac service, was a complex, perfectly balanced mix of reactions that provided a very nuanced take on the experiences of war by all those involved. On the Australian side, that is - there is a gap in terms of Vietnamese representation (they're there - Mr Phuoc, the tailor, mainly, and nameless characters on streets and in fields - but not consulted, and although I think that's difficult to avoid through Kathy's point of view it has reminded me that I should look for some writings by Vietnamese authors for the 50bookspoc community).
Kathleen O’Rourke is 16 and one of eight children, living in Brisbane in the 1960s. I have been complaining about lack of things happening in other books, so by contrast here in the first chapter Kathy quits school to get a job as a hairdresser, gets offered a part-time job as a go-go-dancer in a dodgy disco (her older, solid, brother, comes along as protection), starts learning the guitar at a folk music centre and meets this guy, Terry. By page 27 Kathy’s older sister is pregnant and being hurriedly married off, her brother’s been drafted to Vietnam, and Kathy herself has auditioned successfully for a job as part of a three-person troupe – entertaining the troops. Also in Vietnam.
And so it goes. It’s told from Kathy’s point of view, which is lively and believable, and a mix of naivety and worldliness that works really well, and as well as being a fascinating story that must be based on a lot of research, it manages to avoid any number of crashingly obvious clichés inherent in writing a Vietnam story. And war stories in general – I’ve read plenty of historical YA/children’s where the narrator is like Cheryl, Kathy’s more academic friend (and Terry's sister) who gets involved in anti-war protests, and organises a petition and trip to Canberra, but far fewer like this – and Kathy does have develop opinions about the war, but, in the final scene, they are still not neat and packaged into pro- or anti-. It has vivid imagery, complex characters and emotional throughlines that really work. I liked it a lot. I have never read anything else by the author, but will now definitely be looking.
If I'd known more about the history of Australian troop entertainment in Vietnam I might have guessed what was going to happen, as apparently Layla's death is based on that of Cathy Wayne, who was 19 when she was shot at a concert. As it was, I'd assumed one of the guys was going to get killed, and - man. Not only unexpected, but so well done - the event itself, but also everyone's responses, from Jan's attempt to help while getting a journalistic exclusive, Gaynor's visible maturing, Kathy's confused emotional response due to her visceral rejection of Layla as a fiancee for her brother - all very, very well done, and in such a short space. Kathy's arrival back in Brisbane to find nothing apparently changed was great, as well as the fact that the only person she can talk to is her old principal, and the final scene, with the tribute to Layla at the Anzac service, was a complex, perfectly balanced mix of reactions that provided a very nuanced take on the experiences of war by all those involved. On the Australian side, that is - there is a gap in terms of Vietnamese representation (they're there - Mr Phuoc, the tailor, mainly, and nameless characters on streets and in fields - but not consulted, and although I think that's difficult to avoid through Kathy's point of view it has reminded me that I should look for some writings by Vietnamese authors for the 50bookspoc community).
