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Book: The Diamond Anchor by Jennifer Mills (2009)
May is seventy, and has lived all her life in a cliffside pub on the coast of New South Wales (in Australia). At the beginning of the book, a letter from her childhood friend Grace forces her to relive the events that drove them apart fifty years earlier.
This is a beautiful, subtle story of friendship and love - a love that neither Grace nor May, growing up in the 1940s, has a language for. May knows what she wants from Grace, but both are bound by the expectations of a small, close-knit society that can barely imagine, let alone condone, their relationship.
As the community's resident publican, May is also the holder of its stories. The story of May and Grace's relationship is inextricably linked with the story of the prosaically named Coal, starting with striking coal miners in the 1930s and ending with a campaign to keep the beautiful coastal land free for the original Aboriginal owners. It's here that Mills's writing really shines; she has a vivid descriptive touch and an ability to patiently build up multi-faceted characters, until by the end of the book we almost feel as if we have come full circle (which, in a way, we have).
Although May and Grace's estrangement is clear from the outset, this is a wistful novel rather than a tragic one, and the overall message is one of hope. In addition, Mills's subtle, evocative writing is well worth the effort; reading The Diamond Anchor is like sinking into a calm sea of beautiful, assured prose.
Jennifer Mills can be found online here: http://www.jenjen.com.au/blog/
This is a beautiful, subtle story of friendship and love - a love that neither Grace nor May, growing up in the 1940s, has a language for. May knows what she wants from Grace, but both are bound by the expectations of a small, close-knit society that can barely imagine, let alone condone, their relationship.
As the community's resident publican, May is also the holder of its stories. The story of May and Grace's relationship is inextricably linked with the story of the prosaically named Coal, starting with striking coal miners in the 1930s and ending with a campaign to keep the beautiful coastal land free for the original Aboriginal owners. It's here that Mills's writing really shines; she has a vivid descriptive touch and an ability to patiently build up multi-faceted characters, until by the end of the book we almost feel as if we have come full circle (which, in a way, we have).
Although May and Grace's estrangement is clear from the outset, this is a wistful novel rather than a tragic one, and the overall message is one of hope. In addition, Mills's subtle, evocative writing is well worth the effort; reading The Diamond Anchor is like sinking into a calm sea of beautiful, assured prose.
Jennifer Mills can be found online here: http://www.jenjen.com.au/blog/