Our last novel of the year, Holly Throsby’s Clarke, was an Australian crime story which was loosely based on the true story of the dreadful murder of Lynette Dawson and the subsequent police inquiries.
This story is set in a small country town called Clarke, somewhere in southern New South Wales. A woman known as Ginny disappears and her husband Lou leaves town and sets up with another woman in a different state.
There are 3 main characters Barney, Leonie and her nephew Joe, who is very young. The novel rotates around these characters and their interactions with others in the town, and their thoughts about what has happened and the effect upon their own lives. As well, there are many other strands through the book about love and loss and grief.
The author, Holly Throsby, is the daughter of Margaret Throsby, a well-known Sydney radio broadcaster and media personality.. Holly is also an award-winning songwriter.
Throsby is in her early forties and has 2 young children and she has a very good ear. She has written the littlest character’s language and questions superbly, as she knows how very small children think and feel. She is a ‘watcher’ according to one of our members who knows her quite well.
Clarke is her third novel.
First impressions
- I enjoyed this very Australian novel but I think it was unfortunate that we read it so close to the French crime novel Sundays in August by Modiano. It just didn’t compare in my opinion to the mood and the excitement of the European book. The characters were good.
- I found the ending contrived but the characters I liked – especially Dorrie, Barney, Leonie and little Joe. I didn’t notice the Americanisms which were mentioned by one of our members.
- I really enjoyed it and found the characters, including Joe totally believable. The author is very observant and I loved the plot even though it was a bit ‘corny’. As a reader you were ‘drip-fed’ details and information which sometimes turned out to be ‘red-herrings’. For example, when a bone was found in Barney’s yard through the Police investigations, it turned out to be a bone from a lamb chop buried by a dog, nothing to do with Ginny. Some details were very funny.
- I found it an entertaining read but I prefer edgier books and found it a bit obvious. It is an example of good commercial fiction, an historical mystery, set sometime in the late 1980s to early 1990s. I liked the details of country town life, and things like the gossiping that went on in the workplace, trying to solve the disappearance of Ginny.
- I agree with all that has been said and loved the humour in the novel too. It isn’t like the Lynette Dawson story in many ways, such as in their lives and their dress. I loved the questions asked by Joe – so typical of a young child.
- I loved it but I liked her first novel even more. It is called Goodwood which also involves a crime as does her second novel, Cedar Valley, which was inspired by the Somerton Man. I chose this book because I thought it was a light read and a good book to finish our year reading when we are all so busy. The characters run true and are clearly the result of her wonderful observations of people.
- I enjoyed the easy and engaging style of Throsby’s writing as she weaves the thoughts, action and relationships. (From an absent member)
General discussion
We discussed at some length how Throsby recreates beautifully the feel of the 1980/1990s by talking about dinner parties and meals including using balsamic vinegar in a salad which was quite revolutionary at the time. We all loved the gossipy work mates.
We also discussed the town of Clarke and how it has the feel of the south coast area, particularly the region from Nowra and north to Thirroul and surrounds. One member noticed the mention of 2 birds which only congregate in one small area near Nowra. Throsby has done lots of research to make her fiction as real as possible.
Throsby has been criticised for her product placements, such as mentioning Wendy’s but she said she receives no compensation from companies for these mentions in her stories.
We all loved the humour in the novel – some of which is hilarious and some provides a chuckle. Leonie is talking to one of her colleagues at the travel agency and she says:
“It was just like on television. I popped out the back to have a look before I left, and I could see them all around the shed, looking at that bloody concrete”.
“The stuff the husband poured”, said Varden. “The grieving husband”. He made air quotes and gave an eye roll. (page 37 of 346, e-copy.)
In contrast, the grief is strong in the novel, for the victim, for Leonie’s sister and mother, and also for Barney’s ex-wife. There is the feeling of real trauma for Leonie and Barney and Joe in various ways. For some in the group, grief and loss were the larger themes of the novel, than the missing-woman investigation. We did, however, briefly touch on the gender reasons affecting why Ginny’s disappearance had not been properly investigated at the time.
We briefly talked about gestures in the novel.
Leonie was so wonderful with her customers, she knew she was. Everyone loved Leonie! She chuckled away now, even though she could barely understand the woman on the other end of the line. (page 38 of 346, e-copy)
Throsby uses simple descriptions to portray a lot about what a person is thinking and feeling. For example, Leonie talks about Barney’s skin on his face like an ‘egg carton skin’. There are also some funny descriptions. For example, the neighbour, Earl, who sits outside his house at night, is described as being so incompetent at selling drugs that he can’t even get himself caught.
We also liked Throsby’s inclusion of bushwalks and the name of the local group, the Gather Region Bushwalkers. There are also many mentions of lyrebirds and a lyrebird helped solve the case.
This book is a mystery novel but not a typical ‘who dunnit’, and, while there was some lively disagreement over how much we loved the book, we all agreed that it is worth reading.
Present: 6
Minerva Reads ACT 