Wednesday 5 September 2012

Hartnett, Sonya "Thursday’s Child"


Hartnett, Sonya "Thursday’s Child" - 2002

A book about the Great Depression in Australia, a novel about a family who struggles like any other family during the time, a story about a boy who is different, who is born on a Thursday and, therefore, according to the famous nursery rhyme "has far to go". This story borders on Magic Realism.

An interesting story, supposedly for young adults but I think, any grown-up will enjoy, too.

The book is well written, interesting storyline, you grow to like the characters and fear with and for them.

From the back cover:

"Harper Flute believes that her younger brother Tin, with his uncanny ability to dig, was born to burrow. While their family struggles to survive in a bleak landscape during the Great Depression, the silent and elusive little Tin - 'born on a Thursday and so fated to his wanderings' - begins to escape underground, tunneling beneath their tiny shanty. As time passes, Tin becomes a wild thing, leaving his family further and further behind.

With exquisite prose, richly drawn characters, and a touch of magical realism, Sonya Hartnett tells a breathtakingly original coming-of-age story through the clear eyes of an observant child. It’s an unsentimental portrait of a loving family faced with poverty and heartbreak, entwined with a surreal vision of the enigmatic Tin, disappearing into a mysterious labyrinth that reaches unimaginably far, yet remains hauntingly near.
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