The Memory Room
August 24th 2008 21:24
As I read my way through an assembled list of Australian authors, (that I am constantly updating) I can’t help but be amazed at the writing talent we have in this country. What is it that makes Australians such convincing and confident storytellers? Where do we find the audacity to tackle any subject, plot or setting?
Well … what ever it is, I’m thankful for it, because I believe we churn out some of the best fiction written today!
I had my doubts about Christopher Koch’s The Memory Room. A contemporary political spy theme is not really my scene. But I knew that his writing is held in high regard, so I was willing to give it a shot. And I was not disappointed. James Bond this is not!
The Memory Room sets us up in a triangular relationship with school chums Vincent Austin and Derek Bradley and the strange but alluring neighbourhood girl, Erika Lange. The three grow up together in the ‘backwater’ (author’s reference) of Tasmania, but never seem to honestly know one another. Austin is unreadable from the beginning and Koch does a brilliant job of building his character. He is born spy material and the secrecy surrounding his relationship with Erika creates an atmosphere of intrigue, and something withheld that will surprise, if not shock. The story is seen through the eyes of Derek Bradley as he reads through his friend’s notes and diaries after Austin has disappeared. So the story is mostly told in retrospective terms.
Moving from Tasmania to Canberra, China and back again our three protagonists muddle their human way through the world of Foreign Affairs and Secret Intelligence during the heights of the Cold War, never showing a sign of super-human, secret agent panache. Just a realistic melding of personal and political situations that come to need solutions.
Koch manages to draw some memorable narrative moments – even given the theme. His description of Canberra in chapter two is perfect. Even a Canberran would have to agree.
And the landscape of small town Tasmania viewed by two young men waiting for their lives to begin is simply inspiring to anyone who loves good writing … “Only wood-smoke from the swarms of suburban bungalows veiled the thin air, and on cloudless nights the stars were brilliant, filling the two friends with that huge exultancy of youth whose intensity is never repeated.”
So, if you are once again on the look out for something stimulating and enjoyable to read that has not been written before, try this one. You don’t get Australian fiction much better.
Well … what ever it is, I’m thankful for it, because I believe we churn out some of the best fiction written today!
The Memory Room sets us up in a triangular relationship with school chums Vincent Austin and Derek Bradley and the strange but alluring neighbourhood girl, Erika Lange. The three grow up together in the ‘backwater’ (author’s reference) of Tasmania, but never seem to honestly know one another. Austin is unreadable from the beginning and Koch does a brilliant job of building his character. He is born spy material and the secrecy surrounding his relationship with Erika creates an atmosphere of intrigue, and something withheld that will surprise, if not shock. The story is seen through the eyes of Derek Bradley as he reads through his friend’s notes and diaries after Austin has disappeared. So the story is mostly told in retrospective terms.
Moving from Tasmania to Canberra, China and back again our three protagonists muddle their human way through the world of Foreign Affairs and Secret Intelligence during the heights of the Cold War, never showing a sign of super-human, secret agent panache. Just a realistic melding of personal and political situations that come to need solutions.
Koch manages to draw some memorable narrative moments – even given the theme. His description of Canberra in chapter two is perfect. Even a Canberran would have to agree.
And the landscape of small town Tasmania viewed by two young men waiting for their lives to begin is simply inspiring to anyone who loves good writing … “Only wood-smoke from the swarms of suburban bungalows veiled the thin air, and on cloudless nights the stars were brilliant, filling the two friends with that huge exultancy of youth whose intensity is never repeated.”
So, if you are once again on the look out for something stimulating and enjoyable to read that has not been written before, try this one. You don’t get Australian fiction much better.
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