A Wigwam for a Goose's Bridle

Spanning 20 years in regional Australia, this modern epic tells the story of post-depression era, WWII and post-war Australian life. There is a raw honesty recalling rations, racism and a time when medical care was not what it is now.

The title character, Connie, was always different. She sees a world of angels and demons, and never seems to fit in with the world of humans. Early in her life, early in the book, it seems that perhaps she is just fanciful and imaginative. But the secret world exists and I found myself trying to analyse what was happening: true hallucinations? Dissociation?

Connie and her lemon tree and constant figures in the novel, but a large amount of space is given to numerous other characters in her family and the community. I spent a good proportion of the book waiting for things to get back to Connie as she seemed to have only a peripheral importance to the lives and deaths of those around her.

Then suddenly, the bombshell of an unexpected teen pregnancy is dropped. This actually confused me immensely as I had seen no hint of it coming. I went back multiple chapters and reread them trying to work out how and when it had occurred. For a moment, I even wondered if it was a mistaken diagnosis, but then the belly grew. I found it really jarring that the first 80% of the book was bogged down in minutiae of lives and decisions and then suddenly we skip a couple of months and there’s a pregnancy. It did get explained in the end, and while part of me in retrospect can see the benefit of not reading the full details until later, I feel like the story would have flowed better with just a little more info early on.

What I liked:

A wonderful account of regional Australia in the 1930s-1950s

Moments of prose that were truly poetic

What I thought could have been improved:

Slow at times

Connie did not seem the main character – she either needed more character development or the book needs a different name

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Unfortunately only 2 stars from me.