ageing – Aussie Reviews

The Scent of You, by Maggie Alderson

When you’ve been happily married for twenty-four years, you don’t expect to find yourself lying in bed alone just before midnight on New Year’s Eve.
Polly didn’t even know where her husband was. She hadn’t seen him for over a week. It had been so strange having Christmas without him, and now this.
She pulled the duvet up over her head and then straight back down again. It was no good, she couldn’t sleep through it.

Polly’s life is seemingly wonderful. Her children are both away at uni, her yoga classes are popular and her perfume blog has taken off. Her mother, a glamorous ex-model, is happily settled in an upmarket retirement village. The only problem is her disappearing husband who, out of the blue, has announced (via a letter) that he needs some space and is going away travelling for six months. There is to be no contact, no questions, no explanations.

As Polly struggles to make sens of this unsettling, monumental change, it is a trio of new friends who proves to be most helpful: Shirlee, a loudmouthed student at her yoga classes, who seems to have taken over Polly’s kitchen, and thinks nothing of being woken in the middle of the night for first aid help; Guy, a new, mysterious perfumer, who is fascinated by Polly’s work and wants to impress her; and Edward, a friend from university who unexpectedly reappears in her life. As she muddles through the increasing uncertainty of her husband’s absence, these friends help Polly make sense of it, and build a new life.

The Scent of You is a tale of romance, self-discovery and friendship against the mystery and upset of an absentee husband, peppered with the scents of the main character’s world. As well as her perfume blog, entries from which pepper the book, the scents of her different experiences are entwined so evocatively into the action that the reader can smell them, and becomes a little more aware of the smells of the real world, too.

Issues of ageing, secrets and psychological illness are explored in a story which is heart warming and absorbing.

The Scent of You, by Maggie Alderson
Harper Collines, 2017
ISBN 9781460751213

Mercy Street, by Tess Evans

As he steps out under the dome of stars, he finds a prayer on his lips – not a prayer to a distant god, but a prayer wholly domestic, wholly earthbound.
Don’t let them take her away…I couldn’t bear it.

After a long and happy marriage, George’s life has changed since his wife Penny’s death three years ago. Now he lives alone, and his only friends are his old mate Redgum and his sister Shirl, who pops in regularly to check on him. He misses Pen, but he doesn’t want more friends or company. He’d rather be alone.

So when he meets single mum Angie and her daughter Rory he doesn’t want to get too close. But Angie unexpectedly saves his life, so George feels he owes her something. And Angie, who isn’t used to people being nice to her, makes the most of it. Gradually, George’s reluctant involvement blossoms into something rich and fulfilling but when he faces losing Rory, the girl he comes to love like a granddaughter, he finds himself on the wrong side of the law.

Mercy Street is a warm hearted story of an unlikely hero, dealing with themes of family, security and cross generational friendships. With a host of moving moments, there are also laughs and a wonderful depth to both the setting and the cast of the novel.

A beautiful book.

Mercy Street, by Tess Evans
Fourth Estate, an imprint of Harper Collins, 2016
ISBN 9781460751046

Newspaper Hats, by Phil Cummings & Owen Swan

Georgie walked through the doors that opened like curtains.
‘Will Grandpa remember me today?’ she asked.
Her father squeezed her hand and smiled. ‘Wait and see.’

Georgie loves her Grandpa, and goes with Dad to see him. But Grandpa has trouble remembering things, and sometimes he doesn’t even remember Georgie, even though he remembers things from long ago. Georgie tries to jog Grandpa’s memory with photographs and when they find a photo of Georgie wearing a newspaper hat, Grandpa remembers how much he loves those hats. Soon, Georgie, Grandpa and Dad are busily making paper hats for each other and for the other residents of the nursing home.

Newspaper Hats is a beautiful story of the love between a grandchild and grandparent, and the issues of memory loss and dementia. While the child character is challenged by the fact that her grandfather doesn’t remember her, she is empowered by being the one who finds a way to connect with him, enriching both of their lives.

The illustrations, rendered in watercolour and pencil in gentle pastel tones, are a lovely complement to the text, and touches such as news font on key words, and endpapers featuring headlines and front pages from a wide range of time periods add visual interest and talking points.

A wonderful tool for discussing issues of ageing – and celebrating newspaper hats!

Newspaper Hats, by Phil Cummings & Owen Swan
Scholastic, 2015
ISBN 9781743622544

Available from good bookstores and online.

The Chocolate Promise, by Josephine Moon

An easy smile broke through his dark beard, which was largely unkempt and messy but just within the bounds of still being rustic and attractive. But it was the way his smile reached all the way to his staggeringly blue eyes that hit Christmas hard. the air around her suddenly drained away and she was speechless for a couple of moments, unable to take her eyes off his.

Christmas had her heart broken once, and it’s not going to happen again. She has formulated ten rules for happiness, and the most important one is number ten – No romantic relationships. But when she meets Lincoln her resolve is sorely tested. Not only is he ruggedly handsome, but he’s intelligent and funny and one of his interests is cocoa. Coincidentally, Christmas is a chocolatier, and is passionate about all things chocolate, especially the medicinal and healing qualities it possesses.

Lincoln, meanwhile, isn’t sure he needs a relationship, either. He tends to live is life on the road, though his gran wishes he would settle down, closer to home, marry and produce some grandchildren. He’s in town to help his gran and sort out his recalcitrant father. But he can’t seem to get Christmas out of his mind.

The Chocolate Promise is a warm, funny, moving story about love, families, ageing – and chocolate. From the author of the much loved The Tea Chest, this new offering is set in rural Tasmania, with part of the action taking place in France.

A feast for food lovers and lovers of a good read.

The Chocolate Promise, by Josephine Moon
Allen & Unwin, 2015
ISBN 9781743318003

Available from good bookstores and online.

The Exit, by Helen Fitzgerald

Mum had been pushing me to try for the only job that required fewer skills than crew member at McDonald’s: care assistant at a place called Dear Green Care Home. She knew someone who knew someone, she said, and gave me a number to call. All I had to be was human, ready to start immediately, and in Clydebank for an interview at 3.30.

Catherine is 23, and only gets a job to get her mother off her case – and so that she can save for a trip to Costa Rica. With debts mounting and another of her mother’s family meetings looming, Catherine figures working a local aged care facility can’t be too bad. But something strange is going on at Dear Green. One of the residents, eighty-two year old Rose, is convinced that terrible things happen in Room 7, and that she is in danger. The problem is, Rose has dementia, and keeps regressing to a terrible event when she was ten years old, so perhaps her worries for the present are unreliable. As Catherine gets to know and care for Rose, she must figure out what is really going on.

Apart from her job, Catherine has other issues to sort through. Is her biggest concern really getting a good selfie for Facebook, and enough likes on her posts? What about her mother’s strange behaviour and her numerous brief relationships?

The Exit is a stunning psychological thriller which deals with issues of family, ageing, dementia, and more as it moves through shocking twists and turns towards a dramatic conclusion. Told from the dual points of view of Catherine and Rose, the story gives insight into the mind of a seemingly self-absorbed young person and an older person who is losing her memory but who has previously been independent and successful, a pair who are very different but who the reader is able to get to know, and like, well.

The Exit is a compelling read.

The Exit, by Helen Fitzgerald
Faber & Faber,2015
ISBN 9780571323715

Available from good bookstores and online.

Grace's Table, by Sally Piper

Families were like sand dunes, Grace decided. They shifted shape and position with even the gentlest of forces. Even a tiny puff – a shrug – could bring about change, move a handful of thoughts to a new understanding, a new authority. A gale, like today’s, and whole dunes – lives and futures – were relocated, reimagined.

Grace is turning 70 and, rather than a party or a trip to a restaurant, has chosen to cook for her family and friends in her own home. It’s been a long time since she had twelve people at her table, but she’s sure she is up to the culinary challenge. She is perhaps less prepared for the play out of personalities and the memories which surface as she navigates the day. As she confronts a terrible event from her past, she comes to realise how others have been affected, and to reach new understandings.

Grace’s Table is a heart-filled tale of growing older, confronting the past and moving forward. As Grace celebrates her milestone birthday she also examines the lives of four generations of women – her mother, herself, her adult daughter and her two granddaughters, as well as the female friends who have played a large part in her life. Food too plays a central role in the novel, with traditional dishes such as roast lamb and mint sauce and more exotic delicacies.

In parts gentle, humorous and confrontational, Grace’s Table is a finely baked story.

Grace's Table

Grace’s Table, by Sally Piper
UQP, 2014
ISBN 9780702250040

Available from good bookstores or online.