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clairekennedy88's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
raegaroo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
evabails's review against another edition
4.0
This felt warm and familiar. I got so wrapped up in this story, I wish it was longer. Helen writes characters like no one else.
esther1987's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
djbobthegirl's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Infidelity, and Vomit
philippakmoore's review against another edition
3.0
Have been wanting to read this for years and years, and finally found a copy in a secondhand store in Hobart while back home for Christmas :)
I wanted so much to love this book and while I liked it and found it very readable, I didn't love it. Perhaps this is what happens when you read a writer's latest work first, and then go back to their earlier work. The seeds of The Spare Room were definitely planted, but that 2008 novel is nothing short of an understated masterpiece. This one is well paced, but the urgency wasn't quite there for me, and the characters weren't as likeable. What kept me turning the pages was Garner's exquisite prose, which is always a pleasure to read, the intimate details about surprisingly minor characters, and the evocation of Melbourne in the 1980s, the Italian bar-cafes, the overgrown gardens.
I wanted so much to love this book and while I liked it and found it very readable, I didn't love it. Perhaps this is what happens when you read a writer's latest work first, and then go back to their earlier work. The seeds of The Spare Room were definitely planted, but that 2008 novel is nothing short of an understated masterpiece. This one is well paced, but the urgency wasn't quite there for me, and the characters weren't as likeable. What kept me turning the pages was Garner's exquisite prose, which is always a pleasure to read, the intimate details about surprisingly minor characters, and the evocation of Melbourne in the 1980s, the Italian bar-cafes, the overgrown gardens.
matthewkeating's review against another edition
5.0
“The Children’s Bach” is a quick, lovely novel about daily life in an Australian family by Australian legend Helen Garner, . Athena feels like an emotional center for the novel (which changes perspectives frequently); I’m not sure if she gets more time than other characters do, but it felt that way to me. She’s the mother of the family and the second wife of Dexter (who one sort of can’t stand but also loves anyway). The family unit, which includes Athena and Dexter’s children, Billy and Arthur, expands to include Elizabeth, Dexter’s first wife; her younger sister, Vicki; and Elizabeth’s ostensible boyfriend Phillip, along with his daughter Poppy.
It’s striking that Garner is very frank about the difficulties of caring for a child who appears to be on the autism spectrum, although I did feel the presentation was dated and often very unkind—I felt conflicted about the honest portrayal of the difficulty this family has with a member they find it difficult to connect in (great) and the fact that no one ever seems to have anything kind to say about him (much less great), and that often he seems more like an obstacle than a person; that tension felt real to me throughout the novel, and while I hoped for some kind of wrap-up that would make me feel more comfortable about the situation, there wasn’t one. I don't mean by any of this to enter into any kind of thinking that implies the thoughts of characters must be the thoughts of the author—a distinction which is very important to me—but I think I felt very put-off by the lack of empathy on the part of the novel, itself, for Billy. It's something I'll be interested to think more about when I reread, but I didn't seem to find evidence that his personhood was something the novel was invested in; I'm open to being wrong about that.
All of that being said, I think the writing is stellar; it feels deeply human and distinctly 20th century somehow. There were many passages I saved while reading and will return to; Garner has a keen eye for psychology, made all the more impressive since the close-third-person narration so frequently switches centers.
Acute writing about the struggles and complexities of family and relationships, about the daily business of being alive. A novel I will no doubt return to.
It’s striking that Garner is very frank about the difficulties of caring for a child who appears to be on the autism spectrum, although I did feel the presentation was dated and often very unkind—I felt conflicted about the honest portrayal of the difficulty this family has with a member they find it difficult to connect in (great) and the fact that no one ever seems to have anything kind to say about him (much less great), and that often he seems more like an obstacle than a person; that tension felt real to me throughout the novel, and while I hoped for some kind of wrap-up that would make me feel more comfortable about the situation, there wasn’t one. I don't mean by any of this to enter into any kind of thinking that implies the thoughts of characters must be the thoughts of the author—a distinction which is very important to me—but I think I felt very put-off by the lack of empathy on the part of the novel, itself, for Billy. It's something I'll be interested to think more about when I reread, but I didn't seem to find evidence that his personhood was something the novel was invested in; I'm open to being wrong about that.
All of that being said, I think the writing is stellar; it feels deeply human and distinctly 20th century somehow. There were many passages I saved while reading and will return to; Garner has a keen eye for psychology, made all the more impressive since the close-third-person narration so frequently switches centers.
Acute writing about the struggles and complexities of family and relationships, about the daily business of being alive. A novel I will no doubt return to.
k_camrn's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0