From: Kim Caraher <caraher>
Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2002 14:17:08 +0930

With regard to Arthur's comments on 'The Red Tree', especially the paraphrase 'the day gets better just as he/she knew it would all along': this is not how I interpret the ending. There is a difference in the narrator's perspective and the reader's perspective in the book. The narrator is caught up in the misery of the day, and does not see the tiny particles of hope (one red leaf per spread) that the author places there for the reader to find. In the end, the narrator does find hope: not because he/she knew it would be there all along, but rather because it is there, whether the narrator looks for it or not, whether the narrator has faith in it or not. That is what I think makes the book so positive: it is not saying that depressed people can feel happy if they try, but rather that good things do exist out there regardless of how you feel yourself, and you might just happen upon something good whether you are looking for it or not. So I think that the book is
'true' in the literary sense: I don't think it's saying 'snap out of it', but rather that there is positive in the outside world as well as negative, and it might be where you least expect it; blossoming in the place that you come from.

On the other hand, I suppose 'deaf machine' is perhaps not the best metaphor in the world; something of a tautology.

With regard to Jody's and Norma Jean's discussion of 'cutting edge realistic fiction' and 'uptight society' (!), I'd like to add a few comments. First, I've heard quite a few Australian authors express concern about a tendency to censorship in terms of what is accepted for publication in the USA. Since I've been gradually exploring more about American writing and publishing myself, I'm starting to suspect that this may be an exaggerated perception, or perhaps more isolated incidences, but I'd be interested to hear other points of view. More than one illustrator has commented on having to add underwear to bare bottoms of children, and one was asked to add a bikini top to a female character (an old lady) who was facing away from the reader, because 'there were implied naked breasts'. As a writer, I have received guidelines from Australian educational publishers hoping to sell series to US publishers with stipulations such as 'no split families' and 'no fantasy characters, including fairies and elves', but I suppose this is more of an educational publisher issue.

In terms of older readers, I think some of the issues have to do with different definitions of 'young adult' readers. In Australia, this tends to be older, up to 18, whereas I have the impression that 'ya' in the US includes 11 and 12 year olds.

A brilliant ya novel I have just read is 'Painted Love Letters' by Catherine Bateson, published by University of Queensland Press. The central character in this novel is a 12 year-old whose artist father is dying of lung cancer. The story centres on what is happening from Chrissie's perspective, as she comes to terms with living in a house that is focussed on death. The depth of feeling is realistically portrayed, without sentimentality. It does include controversial elements though: for example, on one of the 93 pages of the story, Chrissie overhears a discussion among the adults of the possibility of obtaining heroin for pain relief. Chrissie's response is, I think, a realistic one for her character: she is distressed; she hates to hear them talk about it, and remembers what they have been told about it at school. She takes this as another example of how far her family's world has come from the normal one, because suddenly everything that is talked about relates to pain and medication and death.

I would be interested to hear any comments about this or any of the above.

Regards Kim
Received on Mon 22 Jul 2002 11:47:08 PM CDT