HSC Belonging
Swallow the Air: Review
Bright beginning
HSC Belonging: Review 1
© State of New South Wales, Department of Education and Training 2008
HSC Belonging
First-time writer Tara June Winch has managed the difficult task of bridging cultures to produce a poetic and confronting work. Swallow the Air is the first book by this new, young writer.
'I remember the day I found out my mother was head sick.' The captivating opening to this collection of short stories draws together, the memories, anecdotes and at times brutal stories of teenager May Gibson. May is an indigenous girl from the Top End who, after her mother commits suicide, is taken in by her aunty and finds herself swamped by violence. Winch's father was of mixed Wiradjuri and Afghan heritage, while her mother was Aboriginal, of English extraction. Although she drew on her own life for the book, this isn't autobiography, although at times the urgency of the prose convinces a reader it must be.
When May's brother disappears into his own world, she decides to find herself and her father. Many of Winch's small stories, span less than 10 pages are about her desperate search to reclaim a sense of identity and place from seeking out the remote branches of the family tree. She travels from Woonona to the Territory, to Waterloo and Redfern's Block, to Lake Cowal and the Lachlan River District in central NSW, and a mission in Eubalong. She learns about her past and a lot about herself.
Stories about indigenous communities and the cycle of abuse and dysfunctional families are never far from the news. Swallow the Air presents a composite image of some of the current problems facing those dispossessed. Home for the Gibson family is among Housing Commission flats, unregistered cars and 'broken dreams', ironically called Paradise Parade.
The characters of Swallow the Air are easy to relate to. May's free spirited, larrikin brother, Billy and the emotional Aunty are her family. Winch has a sharp ear for her characters' voices especially the good natured residents of the Block. Winch also seems to have a keen eye for the people she meets and the places that mean so much to her.
The narrative is most successful and engaging when Winch takes us on her journey to find out who she is and where she belongs.
The book is highly respectful of the land and water as sources of beauty and power. Sensitive to the beauty of the environment, and inspired by her mother’s own stories, May often indulges in imaginative dreamings about the sea enabling her to avoid the harsh realities.
Though trying to reconnect with her past doesn’t provide May with the answers she expects, she ultimately comes to an understanding about the interconnectedness of her mother's stories, family and the sea.
Swallow the Air is an intriguingly good debut from a young writer with an original story to tell.
Darra Books, November 2006
HSC Belonging: Review 1
© State of New South Wales, Department of Education and Training 2008
HSC Belonging
HSC Belonging: Review 1
© State of New South Wales, Department of Education and Training 2008