the minnow - Diana Sweeny

Here is a copy of the book review I gave at the CBC (Children's Book Council) Brunch yesterday...

Good morning!

I’d like to begin my review with a question: Hands up if you would avoid reading a book which stated on the cover ‘…this is a book about abuse and loss and starting over.’?

Well I (too) would steer clear – by choice – from novels where the theme is abuse. Maybe it’s an age thing, given that I am a nanna as well as a teacher.

Diana Sweeney’s novel ‘The Minnow’ does not actually have the word ‘abuse’ on the cover. It uses the word ‘love’! Hmm, sneaky. A few more readers will probably give the book a chance as the cover declares that the book is about love, loss and starting over.

You can probably detect my bias by now – I didn’t warm to the story.

The protagonist, a 15 year old girl whose nick name is ‘Tom’, short for tomboy, has had a shocker of a start in life, losing her mum, dad and sister in a catastrophic flood. Her nan would have become her guardian if it weren’t for the fact that she’s living in an aged care facility. It is unclear why Tom ends up living with a man old enough to be her dad, just long enough for him to abuse her, both psychologically and sexually. But as luck would have it, Tom is soon able to leave him and move in with her best mate because all his family died in the same flood. He is in senior school and he’s been given the run of the family home. How convenient.

I recommend reading the book in one or two sittings tops, reason being, Tom spends most of her time talking to the ghosts of the dearly departed. And if that’s not confusing enough, she’s also quite savvy at talking to animals as well, particularly of the aquatic kind. Here’s an excerpt from when Tom visits her favourite pet shop:

All four carp are side by side, almost motionless, looking at me…

‘Oscar,’ I say, pausing for a moment so this comes out right, ‘why haven’t you told the others?’

‘There are carp and there are carp,’ he replies. ‘These three are sweet but uncommunicative. They’ll find me floating on my side in a couple of weeks and the only one who’ll grieve will be Mrs Blanket. This lot will just take it in their stride.’

‘And me,’ I say, ‘I’ll miss you heaps.’

‘And you,’ he says back.

I turn to walk out the door.

‘Tom,’ Oscar calls after me. ‘The police were here asking questions.’

‘Like what?’

‘Just stuff about your family.’

‘Thanks, Oscar.’

And then I think of something else. ‘Did they mention Dad?’

‘I don’t remember.’ (p.36)

So, in summary: Floods, abuse, dementia, restless dead and talking carp. ‘The Minnow’ wasn’t my cup of tea but at the end of the day, it’s all a matter of taste, isn’t it?