In this Contribution, I examine the following quite different publications read recently, which I felt I wanted to briefly comment upon, while at the same time providing a few [perhaps more professional] opinions of various reviewers.
- ‘Dark Palace’ by Frank Moorhouse;
- ‘This Much Is True’ by Miriam Margolyes; and
- ‘Quarterly Essay: No. 86 – Sleepwalk to War: Australia’s Unthinking Alliance With America” by Hugh White;
- AFA15: Our Unstable Neighbourhood;
- ‘Amnesia’ by Peter Carey;
- ‘Horse’ by Geraldine Brooks;
- Quarterly Essay No. 87 – ‘Uncivil Wars: How Contempt is Corroding Democracy by Waleed Aly & Scott Stephens
‘Dark Palace’ by Frank Moorhouse, published in 2000, 678 pages.
This is the story of the League of Nations, told with a mix of fact and fiction – quite a fascinating story, the historical part about an organisation I knew about broadly but had little notice of it’s ‘life’ and demise [when it was replaced by the United Nations after WW 2].
Dark Palace is a novel by the Australian author Frank Moorhouse that won the 2001 Miles Franklin Literary Award. The novel forms the second part of the author’s “Edith Trilogy”, following Grand Days, which was published in 1993; and preceding Cold Light, which was published in 2011.
From Goodreads – For those who loved Grand Days, this is its sparkling sequel, following Edith Campbell Berry through the war years in Geneva at the heart of the League of Nations. Her marriage is falling apart but she is reunited with her enigmatic soulmate Ambrose. Edith is a literary creation to rival a Jane Austen character, and the force of her character, as well as the humour and spirit of the book, power the reader through. The backdrop is not only Geneva, but Australia too, and both are rich with atmosphere.
Potts Point Bookshop – Winner of the Miles Franklin Literary Award.
Five years have passed since Edith Campbell Berry’s triumphant arrival at the League of Nations in Geneva, determined to right the wrongs of the world. The idealism of those early Grand Dayshas been eroded by a sense foreboding as the world moves ever closer to another war. Edith’s life too, has changed- her marriage and her work are no longer the anchors in her life – she is restless, unsure, feeling the weight of history upon her and her world.
As her certainties crumble, Edith is once again joined by Ambrose Westwood, her old friend and lover. Their reunion is joyful, and her old anxiety about their unconventional relationship is replaced by a feeling that all things are possible – at least in her private life.
But World War II advances inexorably, and Edith, Ambrose and their fellow officers must come to terms with the knowledge that their best efforts – and those of the well-meaning world – are simply useless against the forces of the time. Moving, wise and utterly engrossing, this is a profound and enriching novel. Grand Days and Dark Palace confirm Frank Moorhouse as one of our greatest writers – a master of tone and timing, an elegant and exuberant stylist, and an unerring chronicler of the human spirit.
Author description
About the author: Frank Moorhouse was born in the coastal town of Nowra, NSW. He worked as an editor of small-town newspapers and as an administrator and tutor for the Workers’ Educational Association, and in the 1970s became a full-time writer. He has written prize-winning fiction, non-fiction and essays. He is best known for the highly acclaimed Edith trilogy, Grand Days, Dark Palace and Cold Light, novels that follow the career of an Australian woman in the League of Nations in the 1920s and 1930s through to the International Atomic Energy Agency in the 1970s. Frank has been awarded a number of fellowships, including writer-in-residence at King’s College, Cambridge, a Fulbright Fellowship and a fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington. His work has been translated into several languages. He was made a member of the Order of Australia for services to literature in 1985, and was made a Doctor of the University by Griffith University in 1997 and a Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) by the University of Sydney in 2015.
The three books of Frank Moorhouse’s Edith Trilogy (Grand Days, Dark Palace and Cold Light) follow the adult life of the ambitious, and somewhat eccentric, Edith Campbell Berry.
As a young woman in the 1920s, Edith travelled from Australia to Geneva to join the League of Nations, and stayed there through WW2 until the collapse of the League in 1950. By the third book, she has moved back to Australia and went to the developing city of Canberra where her life changed – yet again.
Edith is a mostly likeable character and the people she mixes with – real and imagined – are interesting and often quirky. But these books are more than just about Edith and her ambitions and private life. They are set in times of upheaval and change and that, to me, is a big part of what makes these books such a good read. But, be warned, you have to be strong to read them – they are big books!
[Wendy Kaye – Tom Keneally Centre volunteer].
‘This Much Is True’ by Miriam Margolyes [published 2021], 438 pages.
Interesting, entertaining, and a times a little crude [well more than a little!!] But overall, a fascinating read – her recollection of names and events at aged 80 years is amazing [and encouraging!!]
Hadley Freeman, writing for the Guardian on 22 September, 2021 had the following to say, in part, about Miriam’s book.
“With her naughty stories and cutting remarks, the comic actor spares no blushes – but her account is poignant too. As Miriam herself says ‘And, of course, there’s the sex. “I am now better known for my naughty stories than almost anything else,” she writes, a little regretfully, although that then sparks a thought about the hilarity of penises (“Such an odd dangler to have”).
She never needed them anyway. She worked her way through radio, voiceovers, drama and then Hollywood, winning a Bafta for her performance in Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence. Yet, she is probably best known – certainly to younger generations – for her recent turns on talkshows, shocking the hosts and fellow guests with her tales of licentiousness. “Jesus, Miriam!” one guest shouted, after she recalled the time she gave a handjob to a soldier she discovered masturbating in a tree in Edinburgh. “You’ve got to support the troops,” Margolyes replied. She has become a regular on Graham Norton, who, rightly, finds her an absolute hoot.
But I have had mixed feelings about Margolyes’s talkshow appearances. Partly because, as she says, they have a tendency to overshadow her work, which really has been magnificent (I was especially pleased that her brilliantly weird performance in Kenneth Branagh’s 1991 film, Dead Again, gets a mention in the memoir.) But also because it sometimes feels as if she’s reducing herself to parody, playing the overweight older lesbian who talks – ooh! – about sex. Margolyes is aware of this concern and sweeps it away: “Not a lot of gay women front up on TV, so I hope I give courage to young dykes to be proud and confident. If you tell the truth – and I always do – you shame the devil.”,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Despite all the talk about penises and celebrity prats, The main impression readers are left with is of her kindness. The friends she sweeps up along the way are friends for life, and as a result she has 11,833 names in her phone, and I dearly wish mine was among them. She and I would disagree about Israel, of which she is very much not a fan, and she knows fellow Jews get cross with her about that. But as she says: “How can I not be controversial? It’s like my parents not wanting me to be a lesbian.” A French teacher had her bang to rights: “You were naughty, Miriam, but you were never wicked.”
I include here some quotations directly from the book, which perhaps indicate that Miriam’s writing is more than simply about the more ’crude’ aspects referred to above, there is so much more to her persona.
- [on Palestine] : “Compassion has always being a Jewish tradition. WE are urged to be as compassionate people, but when it comes to the Palestinians, all our compassion evaporates. Jews are taught, like Christians, to love your neighbour as yourself, to treat the stranger with respect and kindness, and yet, here, the opposite is true. The appalling acts of Palestinians and Arab terrorism are not ignored by me. I loathe them and will never defend such things. Their cruelty, insanity and continual murder are facts. But ask yourselves: Why? I don’t acknowledge the claims of history, I care about now, the present. That land must be shared, people must be .treated equally. It is possible, if the will is there…..”
- [about Prince Charles now King Charles III – “I think he’s a good man who cares a great deal for the country, and I can’t bare the horrid things people write about him and the other members of the royal family. I don’t talk politics with him. I don’t think its fair, but I’d a damn sight rather he ran the country than the incompetent buffoon who sits in Number 10” [ Boris];
- [about India] – “E.M.Forster wrote that when you go to India you come face to face with yourself, and I hoped that would happen, but I found that the heat proved too difficult for me. I wasn’t keen on the lack of flush toilets beyond the confines of our hotel. The caste system and the disparity of wealth was equally hard to stomach. In one day we visited both the slums and the palace of the royal family in Jaipur. The striking thing was the standard of politeness and grace was the same in both milieu. The people of India – their courage, energy and intelligence – are remarkable. I’d love to go back, despite my disgust at their prime minister, Modi. He’s one of the evil men of the world”.
- [herself] – “My appearances on all the talk shows are fraught with danger because my language is often foul. I’ve being reported to Ofcom several times> I know I swear too much, and I’m constantly being reminded to keep it clean. I regret I offend. It’s a bad habit I got into very early……….But saying………………….isn’t as bad as racism or selling drugs. Get real!”
As she writes in the ‘Introduction’ chapter of her book, Miriam Margoyles says “Well, I can’t please everyone all the time. But I honour the Truth. And within these pages you will only find Truth, or at least ‘my’ Truth. There will be some smut inevitably, and it might be a bumpy ride, but I promise you the REAL Miriam Margoyles”.
I think that’s what we got – warts and all – an entertaining read!!
Quarterly essay: No. 86 – Sleepwalk To War: Australia’s Unthinking Alliance with America by Hugh White
A very disturbing but honest viewpoints [in the opinion of White at least] – basically boiling down to the fact that Australian governments on both sides since John Howard have persisted with the line that we must continue to perceive America as the friend and saviour while recognising China as the potential enemy and danger. This view must change – we must learn to live with China as that nation will inevitably become the power nation of the Asia/Pacific region, while America’s influence is dwindling. America will not risk a war against China over Taiwan despite the rhetoric of the USA [and Australia] – it could not win, but instead face catastrophic consequences over such action if nuclear power comes into play. Did not act militarily to support Ukraine, a country whose independence it recognises, why risk all by taking on China over Taiwan which the US unofficially recognises as part of China in any case!!~
From a more professional viewpoint, from the QE promo:
“In this gripping essay, Hugh White explores Australia’s fateful choice to back America to the hilt and oppose China. What led both sides of politics to align with America so absolutely? Is this a case of sleepwalking to war? What tests might a new government face?
White assesses America’s credibility and commitment, by examining AUKUS, the Quad, Trump and Biden. He discusses what the Ukraine conflict tells us about the future. And he argues that the US can neither contain China nor win a war over Taiwan. So where does this leave our future security and prosperity in Asia? Is there a better way to navigate the disruption caused by China’s rise?
This is a powerful and original essay by Australia’s leading strategic thinker.
“Canberra’s rhetoric helps raise the risk of the worst outcome for Australia: a war between China and America, in which we are likely to be involved. Over the past decade, and without any serious discussion, Australian governments have come to believe that America should go to war with China if necessary to preserve US primacy in Asia, and that Australia should, as a matter of course, go to war with it.”—Hugh White, Sleepwalk to War::
As one critic [Chuck Sheldon] has noted – Hugh White makes some interesting and unique arguments in this quarterly essay. Australia should look to move away from its reliance on US power in Asia and look to engage with regional powers such as China, India and Indonesia. He also argues that a war over Taiwan could be a catastrophic disaster in which nuclear weapons could be utilised by both China and the US. Not worth it. If China wants Taiwan, the West might just have to accept that.
The new Labor government now has an opportunity to work more with its regional neighbours and put Australia down a new path and prepare it for a new, multipolar Indo-Pacific [and this point is a clear direction of Hugh white’s essay]
And this one from a Lloyd Downey who provides a good overall view of the Essay and it’s basic contents
“Hugh White has written, what appears to me anyhow, as a reasonably objective view of Australia’s current relations and future outlook with China. Inevitably, Australia’s relations and Alliance with the USA are wrapped up in this.
The subtitle, more or less, explains White’s basic thesis that Australia has an unthinking alliance with America and this could well lead us to “sleepwalk” our way into a conflict (read war) with China. And, from Australia’s perspective, such a war would be catastrophic, to say the least.
Like many in Australia I’ve wondered how we could have gone from a very positive relationship with China just a few years ago to the situation we’ve had in the last year where the Australian Secretary of the Department of Home affairs suggested that the “drums of war” were sounding…and we needed to be prepared. This theme was enthusiastically taken up by Peter Dutton, the Minister for Defence, who suggested we needed to be prepared for war and announced the scrapping of the contract with France for submarines and the planned purchase of nuclear powered subs for Australia. As numerous commentators have pointed out the only real use for the extended range of nuclear powered subs would be to patrol the South China Sea ….much to the ire of China.
White makes the obvious point, that one way or the other we are going got have to come to terms with China being THE great power in the region. Pretty soon their economy will be larger than the US economy (probably already is so in PPP terms). And pretty soon their military might will equal or exceed that of the USA. (I think I’ve seen elsewhere that with various war-games, the US results predict that they cannot win a (conventional) war with China ….and the alternative, of a nuclear war, is both uncertain and “unthinkable”).
I found it very scary that the thinking in the USA and in Australia seemed to be so woolly or “unthinking”. White says that “the reality is that America has no clear and settled objective in its contest with China. Slogans such as ‘a free and open Indo-Pacific’ merely try to mask this crucial omission. In truth, however, America aims to retain primacy. This is no model of a new role for America in the new Asia of the twenty-first century”. Likewise, the thinking in Australia is equally woolly …more or less along the lines of “All the way with LBJ” and we can see where that got us in the Vietnam war.
And so, we are led down the pathway of the QUAD with the UK, Japan, USA and India supposedly cooperating as a bloc to counter the power of China. But I think , White argues fairly cogently that the QUAD is not going to work. For a start, India has little interest in the Pacific; Britain’s interests are pretty remote; the USA will probably decide that it really doesn’t need to be a power in East Asia …especially if it involves confrontation with China. And all that would leave Australia really in the lurch.
As I read him, White is saying that Australia needs to grasp the nettle and acknowledge that China, for all its faults, is going to become THE great power in our region and we need to deal with that as best we can. And that doesn’t mean going to war with China. In fact, the large proportion of Chinese already living in Australia (and expressing views through the recent election) is indicative of the fact that we probably can come to some sort of mutually beneficial relationship with China. But we also need to be talking-up some sound reasoning to the USA and we should not underplay the significance of our voice in Washington. And we should CERTAINLY NOT be goading the USA into war with China or talking ourselves into war with China.
White mentions…but without much detail …..that we should be taking a lot more notice of Indonesia and the other SE Asian nations. But especially Indonesia, one of the putative great powers, and sitting right on our doorstep. I was glad to see measures being taking yesterday to provide significant resources to Indonesia to help it combat foot and mouth disease. Clearly, a few hundred million dollars of aid here could potentially save many billions of dollars if F&M found its way into Australia.
The scariest aspect of White’s essay is that he underlines the sloppy thinking in both Canberra and Washington. In fact, the lack of thinking. And leaving the thinking up to the likes of the Departments of Defence and the Spooks is a recipe for disaster. I mean. basically, these establishments really thrive best in conflict situations. That’s when they have a purpose and when they get unlimited funding and promotional opportunities. In short, they should never be the source of objective information about international strategy. Contributors? Yes. But not the originators or source of advice.
Can the Labor party undo the work of Dutton and the right of Australian Politics? It remains to be seen. Certainly, the jingoistic appeal to danger and the need to bolster our defences has been an election winner in Australia over many years. But I would hope that saner voices (like those of Hugh White) might gradually start to have some impact on Australia. Though, I know, even among my well educated friends, the number who have (rather suddenly) come to see China as aggressive and a threat which we should resist with all our might is significant. The idea that we are going to have to learn to deal with China as THE great power in our region seems to have escaped them. And the idea that America, when the chips are really down, might abandon us, has not entered their heads. Nor has the idea that there might be other pathways than blindly following the USA into a conflict situation with China over Taiwan.
Really, quite a powerful essay. Well worth reading and worth five stars by my reckoning.”
Overall, an important read, which would generate a mix of support and criticism, when responses from a number of opinion makers appeared in the following Quarterly Essay [see below]
Australian Foreign Affairs [AFA]: Issue 15: Our Unstable Neighbourhood,
Some interesting articles and essays; in this issue of the AFA, which examines the challenges and opportunities for Australian diplomacy in South-East Asia – a region that is at the centre of the contest between the United States and China. Our Unstable Neighbourhood explores the prospects for Australia as it seeks to enhance ties with nations with which it has differing interests, outlooks and anxieties. Leading writers and thinkers – Allan Gyngell, Sebastian Strangio, Nicole Curato and Kishore Mahbubani – look at the future of a fast-growing region that is being reshaped by developments such as China’s rise and the emergence of strongmen rulers.
Also in this issue, Sheila Fitzpatrick examines why the road to peace in Ukraine is not straightforward.
Our Unstable Neighbourhood looks at the fragile state of democracy and the growing threat of instability in the region, as well as the risks for Australia as it navigates ties with nations which have vastly differing interests and outlooks.
Other articles by various writers covered in this Issue include:
- reviews Australia’s diplomacy in the region and puts a case for a new kind of statecraft.
- explores the increasing influence of China in South-East Asia.
- looks at the Marcos comeback in the Philippines and what it reveals about attitudes towards democracy in South-East Asian countries.
- explains how South-East Asia views China differently to Australia and advocates for Australia to change its course.
- examines the war in Ukraine and why the road to peace is not straightforward.
- a call on Australia to bid to host the next major UN climate conference in 2025.
\‘Amnesia’ by Peter Carey [published in 2014, 377 pages’.
This book did not impress me in the slightest [purchased in Daylesford in May this year] – the writing style to me was like a dog’s breakfast, all over the place, couldn’t wait to get to the end of the book, if there was an ending?? No doubt, more expert opinion-makers than myself would praise the style of writing by the author [as per the example below] – but I’m sorry it did nothing for me, other turn me off Peter Carey, even though I’d read one of his books previously – ‘Jack Maggs’ ’in 2013, but at that time, I didn’t actually record any comment about it, so can’t recall my opinion on that occasion. To me, the main interest of the novel was the constant references to contemporary historical events of the 1970s, specifically, the sacking of PM, Gough Whitlam, and associated events. Apart from that, I didn’t get ‘engaged’ with the book to the degree described below.
Writing in the Guardian back in 2014 [30 October], Andrew Motion described the book as follows [partly quoted as follows – the storyline is included in Motion’s article, but I’ll leave that to potential readers to come to grips with!!
‘A novel about internet hacking and 1970s Australian history – few writers mix farce with ferocity to such engaging effect. Peter Carey’s fiction is turbo-charged, hyperenergetic. His language has little time for quiet passages; his minor characters, even at their most incidental, are endowed with details of appearance and speech that belie their status; his narrative lines, when they run into difficulties of any kind, blast through them by introducing new inventions and new possibilities. This is what makes him Dickensian. Amnesia, his 16th book, follows many of its predecessors in yoking these energies to a historical moment, then associating it with something urgent in contemporary times. It is a novel about hacking, and because it shows the revenge of a disaffected Australian on colonial powers, is therefore bound to bring Julian Assange to mind; specifically, it is concerned with the notorious moment in mid-70s Australian history, when the Whitlam government was brought down by American and British interference [the writer’s view], in a way that is now largely forgotten (hence the title)………………..Like many of Carey’s books, Amnesia generates an aura of the fantastical but is completely grounded; it is high-spirited but serious, hectic but never hasty. Sometimes the vital elements of the story don’t all move at the necessary speed ……………. But this doesn’t stop Amnesia being a deeply engaging book. It responds to some of the biggest issues of our time, and reminds us that no other contemporary novelist is better able to mix farce with ferocity, or to better effect’.
‘Horse’ by Geraldine Brooks, published in 2022, 401 pages .
In contrast to the previous book mentioned, this was a truly wonderful read. As I would post to my Face Book page, after reading:
Looking for a gift for your ‘book loving’ Dad, especially if a mix of true history and fiction is his thing? You can’t go past ‘Horse’ by Geraldine Brooks, published this year – a brilliant and intriguing story about a famous horse and the black boy/man who cared and loved the animal throughout it’s life. That horse was Lexington, the greatest horse in US racing history. Go to Google, look for Lexington where you’ll read that Lexington (March 17, 1850 – July 1, 1875) was a United States Thoroughbred race horse who won six of his seven race starts [his career coming to a sudden end, when he went blind]. Perhaps the horse’s greatest fame, was after he became blind, as the most successful sire of the second half of the nineteenth century; he was the leading sire in North America for 16 consecutive years, and broodmare sire of many notable racehorses in the US.
Brooks uses detailed research, historical facts, and the times of US slave labour before, during and after the Civil War in the US, to produce a wonderful read about the life of this horse and the little black boy who cared for the horse for 25 years from it’s birth until death – from a discarded painting in a roadside clean-up, forgotten horse bones in a research archive, and the story of Lexington, Geraldine Brooks has used the strands of fact to create a sweeping story of spirit, obsession and injustice across American history. As described elsewhere, this enthralling novel is a gripping reckoning with the legacy of enslavement and racism in America. Get hold of a copy, a brilliant read!!
One commentary I found about this book [the source of which I’ve mislaid], describes the storyline as follows:
‘Kentucky, 1850. An enslaved groom named Jarret and a bay foal forge a bond of understanding that will carry the horse to record-setting victories across the South, even as the nation reels towards war. An itinerant young artist who makes his name from paintings of the horse takes up arms for the Union and reconnects with the stallion and his groom on a perilous night far from the glamour of the race track.
New York City: 1854: Martha Jackson, a gallery owner celebrated for taking risks on edgy contemporary painters, becomes obsessed with a nineteenth-century equestrian oil painting of mysterious provenance.
Washington, DC: 2019: Jess, a Smithsonian scientist from Australia, and Theo, a Nigerian-American art historian, find themselves unexpectedly connected through their shared interest in the horse – one studying the stallion’s bones for clues to his power and endurance, the other uncovering the lost history of the unsung Black horsemen who were critical to his racing success.
This enthralling novel is a gripping reckoning with the legacy of enslavement and racism in America. Horse is the latest masterpiece from a writer with a prodigious talent for bringing the past to life’.
Quarterly Essay No. 87: ‘Uncivil Wars: How Contempt is Corroding Democracy by Waleed Aly & Scott Stephens
Waleed Aly: writer, academic, lawyer & broadcaster, and Scott Stephens: ABC’s Religions and Ethics online editor; widely published on moral philosophy, etc.
Looking at those two authors, it’s little wonder that I struggled through this Essay – a very difficult read, much of which I found beyond the scope of this reader’s ability to retain, fully understand or comprehend the degree of arguments and theories being presented. – [I found I was more readily anticipating the responses to the previous essay by Hugh White [Sleepwalk to War, mentioned above, which included reactions from people like Malcolm Turnbull and Kevin Rudd].
While I understood I think the broad theory behind the Essay has some realism to it, I just found that ploughing through the authors’ writings to be a rather painstaking exercise!!
Promoting the Essay however, we read that:
In this original, eloquent essay, Waleed Aly and Scott Stephens explore the ethics and politics of public debate – and the threats it now faces. In a healthy democracy we need the capacity to disagree. Yet Aly and Stephens note a growing tendency to dismiss and exile opponents, to treat them with contempt. This toxic partisanship has been imported from the United States, where it has been corrosive – and a temptation for both left and right. Aly and Stephens analyse some telling examples and look back to heroes of democracy who found a better way forward. This compelling essay draws on philosophy, literature and history to make an urgent case about the present.
‘So what do we owe those with whom we might profoundly, even radically, disagree? In our time, the answer increasingly seems to be- Nothing. Absolutely nothing. We’ve come to regard our opponents as not much more than obstructions in the road, impediments standing between us and our desired end. We have grown disinclined to consider what it might mean to go on together meaningfully as partners within a shared democratic project. To put it bluntly, we see no future with our political opponents because we feel we have nothing to learn from them.’ Waleed Aly & Scott Stephens, Uncivil Wars
Certainly, from my vague understanding of the gist of this Essay, it painted a very dismal approach to the future of mankind’s understanding and acceptance of one another, not a promising scenario to leave to our descendants!!
Finally, with the passing a few days ago, of Queen Elizabeth II, I have returned to a book I began to read some years ago [I got through about 100 odd pages at the time] – the forced change in the Monarchy following the Queen’s passing, has drawn this writer back to the 1996 publication of ‘Elizabeth’ by Sarah Bradford [564 pages] but from the beginning again, not where I left off last time.
Ironically, just prior to last week’s sad loss, I was reading about the other royal Elizabeth – ‘The Sultan and the Queen: the Untold Story of Elizabeth I and Islam’, by Jerry Brotton [published in 2016].
No doubt, at some future date, I will have some comments to reflect upon both these publications.
Site Title 
Leave a comment