The changing room by Belinda Cranston

The prologue to The changing room describes an Australian girl intent on visiting the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, the place where Christ will return. On arrival she flings open the taxi door, discards all her belongings, and then gradually discards items of clothing as she ascends the slopes of the Mount, muttering something about wanting to give birth to the second Messiah. A guide, familiar with Jerusalem Syndrome, advises taking her to the Kfar Shaul Mental Health Center.

How Rachel ends up in this situation is revealed gradually in Cranston’s novel, beginning with her taking on a home help position in an elderly English household in London. Dismissed from there as too imaginative and not really suitable, a chance meeting with another adventurous Australian girl, leads to the two of them heading to Egypt and then to a kibbutz in Israel.

The ‘changing room’ is a reference to a childhood cartoon about Mr Benn stepping into different roles in a magical costume shop. It seems that Rachel, unsure of what she really wants, is stepping into different worlds, and trying out different experiences. The more we read, the more we become aware of her sense of loss, and of drifting along seeking some kind of reassurance. She feels a compulsion to ‘makes things better’, perhaps the aftermath of the loss of her father, but also a sense of wanting to overcome differences between people and create peace. Thus she tries to bring the local Bedouins to work alongside the kibbutzniks. But it is a world she doesn’t really understand, and she is out of her depth.

Cranston skilfully creates that uncertain world of the mind, blurring between perception, dream, confusion and delusion. Scenes where people are dancing, music is playing, snatches of conversation are overheard, lights and shadows interweave, all create an environment that many a young person will have experienced at some time, as they seek to define who they are and explore different experiences. Rachel’s search for for ‘balance, harmony, justice and truth’ will resonate with many a reader.

Themes: Travel, Identity, Loss, Mental health, Journey.

Helen Eddy