First time author Jeremy Chambers received accolades at the 2010 Byron Bay Writers Festival for his beautifully crafted novel about regret, remorse and the passing of lost years. Set in the wine-growing country in north eastern Victoria it focuses on the ethos of the drinking culture and the repercussions that so often come with it.Smithy is an excellent choice for the novels principal protagonist and narrator. A retired shearer turned vineyard worker, his years of heavy drinking have left him physically wrecked. Forced into sobriety in a town where life seems to revolve around hard working and even harder drinking, Smithy's abstinence is viewed with suspicion and humiliation by his 'mates'.
Ironically however it is his sobriety that allows him to contemplate the world in which he lives from a new and different vantage point. As an outsider looking in , his clear headed, sober view reveals to him with wonder and disgust what really happens at his local watering hole during the regular weekend binge. Confronted by long forgotten memories, feelings of guilt and regret, Smithy is forced to try to make sense of his own past, the repercussions of his failed marriage and lifetime of alcoholism.Smithy's redemption is ultimately found in the touching but fragile relationship with the novel's other main character Charlotte. A young woman trapped in a destructive and abusive relationship, without family or friends, Charlotte turns to Smithy for help and sanctuary. The common thread of regret, remorse, bad choices and wasted years bind Smithy and Charlotte firmly together. Both characters are struggling to retain a sense of pride and individual identity in an environment that reeks of stale beer and irrevocable hopelessness.
The novel is beautifully written but it is not easy to read. The dialogue is slow-paced, repetitive, laconic and even irritating at times. However I believe it complements the characters and realistically reflects the environment in which they exist. Images are clear and breathtakingly evoked. I can almost feel the scorching heat of the sun in the vineyard. smell the dust, the sweat, taste the cold beer at the end of the physically exhasting day.
Why did I enjoy the novel? Perhaps because it was very reminiscent of an earlier book I read in the 1970s, the Miles Franklin Award winning novel "The Glass Canoe" by David Ireland. The equivalently powerful sense of place and strength of language triumphs in both novels. Ireland's inspired vision of city pub life seen by the narrator through his beer glass , his 'glass canoe' draws the reader out from their soft and comfortable existence to the realisation that this murky, but existentially fundamental world may be just around your neighbourhood corner. Wake up and smell the hops. I will never forget reading both novels.
Penny
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