He by Murray Bail

This is a vibrant collection of memories that encompass Murray Bail's life. It is not written in any predictable manner, rather being set out as a mixture of memories within recognizable paragraphs, yet these do not always follow any particular time or theme, most unexpectedly. It is powerful, delightful, intriguing, and deeply personal.

Bail begins with his young, early teenage self in dusty shorts, and he takes us into all aspects of his life that he can remember, or writes of that which he considers to be important in this non-analytical but entirely revelatory piece of glorious recollections of his life. He moves between times, and writes in paragraphs, yet these do not always keep to a topic, rather simply ending as if it were him talking and he might need to take a breath.

We definitely learn about him and feel deeply connected to the young man and indeed we are drawn in to seek, as it were, what makes him as he is today, and we are left with a deep respect for this great thinker and humanist. This is the most self-revelatory, extraordinarily energetic, moving and deeply personal writing that I have ever read. The ‘wow’ factor dominates, supported as it is by his love for, and deeply humanitarian concern for the world, in the wider sense, but also his love of life, his interest and concern for human beings, animals, birds, countries, the landscape, the sea, and the universe. This is a powerful, enlightening, and beautiful reaction to a life lived with acceptance, sometimes joy or sorrow, and sometimes angst, yet he reveals, at all times, a life that has been acknowledged as worthwhile.

This is a stunning book and I would highly recommend it for adolescent and adult readers.

Themes: Family, Australia, Middle 20th century, Adolescence, Values, Societal Values.

Elizabeth Bondar