Australian author Vivienne Kelly's second novel, The Starlings is a knowing rendition of family breakdown filtered through the eyes of an 8-year-old.
THE STARLINGS
Vivienne
KellyText
Australian author Vivienne Kelly’s second novel is a knowing rendition of family breakdown filtered through the eyes of 8-year-old Nicky Starling, who understands little of what is going wrong around him, but knows they are amiss
His interpretation of what he sees and hears swings from amusing (for the reader) to heartbreaking (for Nicky) as he becomes more affected by the selfish behaviour of the adults in his life.
Driven spare by his father, an Aussie rules sport fanatic who insists on shoving his obsession down Nicky’s throat, neglected by a mother who starts to withdraw from the family, beguiled by his grandfather’s new partner, and mostly ignored by his sister, it is no surprise this unhappy little boy finds solace in an unusual pastime.
Shutting himself in his bedroom, Nicky invents plays, embellished with improvised costumes and quirky props, that involve characters from Shakespeare, classical literature and Arthurian legend.
His homespun dramas perfectly blend his confused take on the family trials with his childish understanding of his favourite books. It gives the reader insight into how he processes the weirdness in his life, but also allows the author to give her literary knowledge an amusing outlet.
The fact the reader can see what Nicky’s family is up to — some of it very shabby — when he can’t, made me feel quite protective towards the poor wee chap, but also provided rich ground for satire as he endearingly misinterprets much of what he observes.
This sets up moments when the innocent Nicky tells adults what he’s overheard, only to cause spectacular eruptions and misunderstandings, further increasing his bewilderment but greatly adding to the entertainment value for the reader.
I found the endless sports drivel from the father a bit much at times (but take my hat off to Kelly for the astonishingly detailed research), while the length of Nicky’s theatrical imaginings prompted me to skip the odd passage, but overall I was engaged and moved by the way this young boy dealt with being let down by people he loved and trusted.
Not all is bleak - there is some hope on offer in the end - but I was left with the impression the adult Nicky still carried the scars inflicted by self-absorbed adults in his childhood, despite his creative methods of escapism at the time.
The Starlings is bittersweet, clever and observant, and it also provides a crash course in Aussie rules for the uninitiated.
Caroline Hunter is an ODT subeditor.
Win a copy
The ODT has four copies of The Starlings, by Catherine McKinnon, to give away courtesy of Text Publishing. For your chance to win a copy, email books editor shane.gilchrist@odt.co.nz with your name and postal address in the body of the email, and ‘‘The Starlings’’ in the subject line, by 5pm on Tuesday, May 23.
LAST WEEK’S WINNERS
Winners of last week’s giveaway, Storyland, by Catherine McKinnon, courtesy of Fourth Estate/HarperCollins, were: Vanessa Adey, of Dunedin, Norma Lindsay, of Oamaru, Karen Davis, of Aramoana, Robin Gauld, of Maori Hill.
