Georgia Blain (1964–2016)

We All Lived in Bondi Then is a posthumously published short story collection from the late Georgia Blain (1964-2016). The stories were written between 2012 and 2015, intended for publication some time after Between a Wolf and a Dog (2016), which turned out to be her last novel though she did not know that until she was editing it for publication. (It was not her last book, that was the posthumously published The Museum of Words: A Memoir of Language, Writing, and Mortality (2017).

These stories traverse preoccupations that are familiar to readers of Blain's fiction. Difficult siblings with incomprehensible personalities; ambiguous mother-daughter relationships; grief and loss; resentment and loyalty; disappointment with the self and others; and the contemporary scourges of disconnection, drug addiction, intemperate drinking and Alzheimer's Disease.

The collection of nine stories comprises:

• Australia Square


• Dear Professor Brewster


• Far from home


• Last days


• Last one standing


• Ship to shore


• Still breathing


• Sunday


• We all lived in Bondi then

'Australia Square' is a heart-rending story. Parents on the verge of splitting up hire a French au pair who brings the children, a girl and a baby boy in a pram, to the father's work. She has a dental appointment so the children are to have lunch with the father. But on the forty-seventh floor, a brief, innocent distraction sends the lift away — with the pram still in it. The reverberations from this event spiral down through the years. Relationships sever in the aftermath as the mystery of the child's disappearance haunts them.

More and more of us are experiencing the loss of a loved one to dementia or Alzheimer's Disease, and in 'Dear Professor Brewster' the narrator's halting progress towards having her mother diagnosed is all too familiar. Something seems wrong long before the dots are joined, and then there are the decisions about care options, made with or without the cooperation of the afflicted one. And the thing is, life is going on in other ways at the same time. It's incredibly stressful, and then there's the anxiety about the possible genetic inheritance. Blain captures this perfectly in 'Dear Professor Brewster' but it's difficult to read...

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2024/03/08/we-all-lived-in-bondi-then-2024-by-georgia-b...… (meer)

Trigger warnings: Death of a character

5/10, looking back at this book I'm surprised that I once gave this book four stars but this book misses the mark in terms of dystopian science fiction novels. The plot itself lost its intrigue as it got more boring as I read through the book and there were some unexplained questions in the worldbuilding as well. It was essentially about a genetically made and enhanced girl called Delia Greene but she said that that isn't her real name I don't know what it is yet so that was confusing. I think the reason why she was made was because she wasn't one of those elite genetically engineered people and the company who made her didn't want her so instead she was a prize for whoever got her hence the name Lotto Girl which was strange. Delia was working in a factory when someone died and then she escaped to some orphanage to live there for a while and live her life there and then she goes back to the recycling factory because she likes working there and that is it. The world in the book is slightly intriguing but not enough for me to fully immerse in it since all I remember is the genetically engineered people, the screens in the sky and the equivalent of using the Internet with a virtual private network but I forgot what they called that in that book which was a shame since the author could have done a much better job on that but instead, it was underutilised. If you like an obscure book this one is for you but there are better ones similar to this like Divergent by Veronica Roth and The Selection by Kiera Cass.… (meer)

Therapist Ester is a member of an artistic family riven by a bitter feud. Her ex Laurence is a failed artist turned pollster who is facing professional ruin. Her mother Hannah is trying to continue in the absence of her great love Maurie. Her sister April is trying to resurrect a once-promising musical career.

Despite her empathy and advice for others in crisis, Ester seems incapable of resolving her own family issues.

This novel is.mostly populated by failures who have brought their troubles upon themselves through quite immature behaviour, but are unable to set it aside. Some of it is pretty unbelievable, such as Laurence's professional shenanigans, for which Blain does not offer a convincing motive. The path she sets Hannah on also seems totally out of character.

The book is well-written and the characters have depth and attract your empathy but the whole situation seems so unlikely that it mars the book.… (meer)