First time novelist, Australian born Annette Young, has certainly proven her mettle in this period piece of interwoven themes, set in the late 1920s in Sydney.
Written within an autobiographical framework by the fifteen year old Irish born character, Lucy Straughan, A Distant Prospect is a deeply moving account of the joys, sorrows, struggles and surprises which Lucy experiences as she advances, not without considerable difficulties, through her first year at St Dominic’s, undergoing the thoughtless, mean and frequently caustic comments about her condition and about the boots she must wear in order to walk and endeavoring to cope with what she clearly sees as a trial to be endured with little expectation of any joy gleaned in the process.
Lucy and her father leave Ireland for Australia during the Irish War of Independence. Lucy, suffering severe trauma, contracts polio soon afterwards, at the age of eight. During a long confinement, she begins to study the cello and her musical mastery, combined with a prodigious mathematical ability, win her, eventually and after much suffering, the respect of her classmates.
Lucy’s cello teacher insists that she form part of a string quartet with students of similar age. Lucy, initially, makes strong objections to this proposal but is finally persuaded and gradually strong friendships are forged with the other three, all of whom have their own particular stories to tell!
“beautiful and poignant”
There are many beautiful and poignant aspects to the tale: the love and total dedication which Lucy’s father lavishes on her, his deep faith and prayerfulness which sustain them through many daily difficulties, the growth in understanding of the child who is initially self absorbed with her physical, albeit very real, problems, finally coming to appreciate how much she owes to those who have helped her on a daily basis. We are intimately brought into the milieu of the string quartet and are given wonderful glimpses of the intricacies and finesses of rehearsal and, finally, of public performances.
There are a number of references in the novel to Bert Hinkler’s first solos flight from England to Australia in 1928 and the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which was formally opened in 1932, a clever way of placing us within the Australian historical context
“full of wisdom”
A Distant Prospect is a splendid account, full of wisdom, insight into the minds of young people on the brink of adulthood, and with a command of the fine points of musical practice and performance as well as of art. It is written in a style which, though easy to read, is graphic and colourful. Personally, I would have liked translations of the numerous Gaelic phrases interspersed throughout the book, particularly in the interchanges between father and daughter, but we are led to understand the deep love there is between them even though we may not understand every word exchange. The story is full of pathos, heart-rending at times, humour and a keen understanding of the human mind and soul. It is a marvellous premiere volume and the author should be heartily congratulated.
Christine McCarthy is a concert pianist and accompanist at present residing in Rome with her husband, John, who is the Australian Ambassador to the Holy See. They have six grown up children, one of whom is a priest. They have also been blessed with five grandchildren.