An argument between brother and sister Uli and Elisabeth opens Brigitte Reimann’sSiblings,published for an English audience for the first time. Narrated by Elisabeth,we learn that when they’d “argued in the past,he’d thrown shoes at me and once even a vase”. Now,hot-headed temper has yielded to a “cold,dry calm”. It’s 1960 in East Germany,and Uli looks set to follow older brother Konrad in defecting to the West. For Elisabeth,an artist who believes in the socialist dream of the GDR,Uli’s betrayal is personal and political. Domestic turmoil is filtered through the evils of capitalism,communism,democracy,and totalitarian government. Children blame their parents (who voted for Hitler) for the mess they’ve inherited. Elisabeth sharply rebukes capitalist exploitation,but when her work receives unwanted attention from the Stasi,an ever-narrowing “Party line” draws political idealism and artistic freedom into conflict. This fascinating autobiographical novel,sensitively translated by Lucy Jones,takes a literary star from behind the Iron Curtain and puts her centre stage.
A Spell of Good Things
Ayobami Adebayo,Canongate,$32.99
Ayobami Adebayo’s second novel weaves together domestic drama,romantic obsession,political corruption,and the obscene social inequality that exists in modern Nigeria. Two families – one rich,one poor – collide inA Spell of Good Things. A desperately overworked doctor,Wuraola has striven to meet the expectations of her mother,wealthy matriarch Yeye. She is anticipated to submit to a match with the volatile son of a family friend,Kunle,without complaint. Meanwhile,Eniola is a boy,big for his age. His family is reduced to beggary after his father loses a teaching job;his education cut short. When Eniola begins running errands for a tailor,he fatefully attracts the eye of a local politician. This novel is peopled by those whose choices are shaped by,and whose lives are swept up in,larger divisions within Nigeria,and the arc of social tragedy it traces is more intense for the depth and spirit Adebayo brings to vividly portrayed characters.
Cellnight
John Kinsella,Transit Lounge,$28
InCellnight,the prolific West Australian poet John Kinsella has composed a verse novel written in “spindle” sonnets. It could also be read as a free monodrama,though freedom of thought is almost the only kind of freedom allowed here. Protesting the late 1980s visit of US nuclear-armed warships to Perth,the narrator is arrested,only to witness a Noongar kid become a victim of police brutality. Their eyewitness testimony is rejected by the law – a silencing that recalls the quietness of the cells,where voice is smothered and the frustrated impulse to act upon humanity exists “beyond/ policebreath”. Kinsella’s lines are as short and sharp as a prison shiv. The syntax,however,expands into a more elaborate weapon – uncompromising political critique of Australian society,especially the systemic injustices and social power imbalances that dehumanise the most vulnerable,strangle dissent,and compel complicity in the status quo,witting or otherwise.
The Ferryman
Justin Cronin,Orion,$32.99