Call me Marlowe by Catherine de Saint Phalle

Readers who enjoyed The sea and us will be delighted to discover that Catherine de Saint Phalle has picked up the story of Harold, Marylou, and Verity again in this latest novel, to explore the next phase of their lives at the fish and chip shop in Melbourne. For readers who have not read the first novel, Saint Phalle quickly brings you up to speed, and it is enough to know that Marylou is a severely traumatised Korean sex worker, Harold is a benign, but self-doubting hero, and Verity is the kind-hearted woman who has taken in the lodgers above her shop.

The narrator is Harold, his insecurities revealed to us: he is a good-intentioned person, but repeatedly in his life he has taken flight when situations have become too complex or confrontational, firstly escaping from his mother to Korea for 18 years, and then in this novel, running from his betrayal of Marylou, and immersing himself in the Czech Republic, the country of his ancestors.

The phrase 'flotsam, jetsam, ligan and derelict' recurs in this book, as in the first, the idea of people adrift, without anchorage, some able to be salvaged, some perhaps not. Harold finds his bearings in Prague with the deceptively coincidental connections that unite the past with his present life. He discovers friends and relatives of his family that lived through the trauma of Nazi occupation and Soviet invasion, and he comes to recognise the trauma that continues still today.

The trigger for all these events is a plea from the dying ex-husband of Verity, a man guilty of heinous crimes against women. The harmonious but fragile lives of The sea and us are disturbed, and in the upheaval, Harold makes a mistake.

In this as in its predecessor, the themes of abuse, deception and disappointment are explored, but once again, it is genuine caring, compassion and kindness that win through. Most especially, the lone brave figure of Petr, the little boy that Harold comes to care for, will win your heart. Call me Marlowe is an absolute pleasure to read, in the refreshing and understated way that it draws in the reader and connects with unusual but truly good-hearted people.

Themes: Identity, Trauma, Abuse, Friendship, Relationships.

Helen Eddy