The full ridiculous by Mark Lamprell
Text, 2013. ISBN 9781922147264.
(Age: Senior secondary) Michael O'Dell, the main character in this
first novel by Mark Lamprell, is having a bad time. Did it start
with his son Declan's over-indulgence in marijuana? Or was it his
daughter Rosie's violent confrontation with an over-indulged
class-mate? Or was it his own cynical movie reviewing that led to a
confrontation with a disappointed director? Or was it being
struck by a blue Volvo on a pedestrian crossing while jogging?
Whenever the start, his life keeps getting worse. He has taken a
year off work to write a definitive work about Australian movies,
but the writing is not going well. He has two mortgages and school
fees to pay. His wife Wendy is tirelessly supportive and loving, as
is Egg, his dog. However his teenage children have escalating
problems that he is unable to solve, because of his own problem, a
deepening depression that his psychiatrist (who he cannot afford)
feels is connected to an unresolved trauma from earlier in his life.
Matters keep getting worse. He feels more and more useless but
evades taking the problem seriously, until he eventually
contemplates suicide. However, he bungles it and lives on, to have a
psychological break through thanks to his psychiatrist. His children
solve their own problems. He is offered work again and joyfully
accepts the chance. Wendy and Egg are still tirelessly loving, one
critically, one totally uncritically. Michael now understands that
love is what matters. This book is a tragi-comedy, with the comedic
elements stronger than the tragic. There is a message here about the
debilitating nature of depression, and the need to take the symptoms
seriously, but much of the novel is simply very entertaining.
Michael's is the voice that tells the story and it is a wry,
perceptive one that captures his own failings accurately and
humorously. Lamprell has a good ear for dialogue and the teenagers'
voices are captured particularly well. This novel is insightful
about family life and about what a father feels his role should be.
It is an easy read and is very entertaining. It is suitable for
older readers.
Jenny Hamilton