![]() ![]() ![]() If there is one fault in the book (and I hesitate to say this because it seems much like a perfect book to me) it is the static characterisation of Mother, stoic and inadequate. The family is isolated from society and from each other. The local rubbish-dump is a symbol for how families like this survived in New Zealand society of the time it is where the children play, where they find ‘treasure’, and where tragedy strikes. The descriptions of how the ‘dirty’ children are treated is painful, especially rendered in this remarkable reading by Heather Bolton. The first chapters about the poverty-stricken childhood of Francie, Daphne, Toby and ‘Chicks’ will bring a lump to the throat for most readers. First published in 1957 and recently reissued in a 50th anniversary edition (on which this audio book is based), it is the tragic story of the Withers family, from a small town in New Zealand. ![]() Owls Do Cry is Janet Frame’s first full-length novel and was hailed as a critical success from the start. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |