"Many a Mistake has been made in the Name of Loneliness."

“Many a Mistake has been made in the Name of Loneliness.”

Never a truer word spoken and more so in Fiction writing which is densely populated with the lonely.  It’s a way of getting people to make mistakes and of moving the story forward while garnering the reader’s sympathy.  No one wants to read about an un-lonely person, well, not unless they’re a character in a crime novel and about to be murdered.

My number one all-time favourite and lonely fictional character, who epitomises the above quote, is the lonesome Quoyle, protagonist in the novel The Shipping News by Annie Proulx.  

One night, Quolye meets a woman, the ruinous Petal, in a bar. Thin moist hot. Winked at him.

Followed  by: 

As a hot mouth warms a cold spoon, Petal warmed Quoyle. He stumbled away from his rented trailer, his mess of dirty laundry and empty ravioli cans, to painful love, his heart scarred forever by tattoo needles pricking the name of Petal Bear.

                There was a month of fiery happiness. Then six kinked years of suffering.

Do you have a favourite fictional character whose life is blighted by loneliness?

"Friends are God's Way of apologising for our Family."

“Friends are God’s way of apologising for our Family.”

Whenever I read this quote I laugh. Whoever came up with it, nailed it perfectly, when it comes to family they can either bring out the best or the worse in us.  They can provide comfort yet can wound us deeply.

In literature, families figure hugely. Why? Because there’s often conflict within a family, and when you have conflict you have a story.

I’ve just finished reading The Burgess Boys by the American Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Elizabeth Strout.  This novel deals primarily with the relationship between two brothers, The Burgess Boys, who are   diametrically opposed in every conceivable way.  The Burgess Boys is a fine novel filled with conflict, as are Strout’s three other splendid novels – Amy and Isabelle, Abide with Me and Olive Kitteridge.   But the conflict is never overt, always understated, always there, and often infused with humour.  Elizabeth Strout captures conflict exquisitely and humanely, weaving fascinating stories filled with insights into what it means to belong to a family – for better, or worse.  

Sill,  thank goodness for friends!

 Do you have any favourite family “conflict” novels?  Love to hear about them.

Punching above our Weight

Currently, when it comes to literary prowess West Australian is truly punching above its weight. Not only does our State have to bankroll the rest of the country it is now providing all the best literature! 

Recent great reads which confirm this are – Red Dirt Talking by Jacqueline Wright. Harmless by Julienne Van Loon. If I Should Lose You by Natasha Lester.  Antidote to Murder by Felicity Young and The Avenue of Eternal Tranquility by K. Overman-Edmiston.

Other novels by West Australian authors garnering acclaim are - Elsewhere in Success by Iris Lavell. Letters to the End of Love by Yvette Walker. Fractured by Dawn Barker  and Finding Jasper by Lynne Leonhardt.

And these are just some of the novelists and their work, haven’t even mentioned the poets yet.

Elemental by Amanda Curtin

By now it wouldn't surprise me if Amanda Curtin, author of the brilliant novel Elemental thought I was stalking her.  Such has been my devotion.
 In fact I'm half expecting the Stalk Police to rock up and take me in for questioning, where in a icy cold darkened cell with only a naked light bulb and a three legged metal chair for ornamentation, they'll start asking me the most personal and probing of questions -

"Why are you stalking Ms Curtin?"
"Cause she's just written this most amazing novel called Elemental."
The Stalk Police are curious, "is it a crime novel?"
Now I've gotta think.  Hard stuff when I'm in a place that bears an uncanny resemblance to my writing room back at home, my dungeon. I know the Stalk Police want Elemental to be about them. Even they are narcissists. Which if you've read Elemental; you'd want this beautiful heart-wrenching novel to be about you. But it's not.
'Yeah, it’s a crime novel,' I lie. 'It's set in Perth and it's about the Stalk Police actually.'
They let me off with a caution, and set off to the nearest bookshop to buy a copy of Elemental. Yay! Another copy sold.   Every Australian should have a copy of Elemental by Amanda Curtin, it’s a gem.