‘You are only dreaming of yourself dreaming.’ (p 134)
From the other side (of the world)
Australia has a wonderful tradition of children’s writing, including some very fine contemporary authors. However their books can be very difficult to get hold of here - and prohibitively expensive to ship. So it is always a treat when one of them is published in the UK too; it happens far too rarely. Even then, I feel they do not always attract the attention they richly deserve. Shirley Marr’s A Glasshouse of Stars was nominated for this year’s Yoto Carnegie Medal, which should help. I certainly hope so, because it is a truly lovely novel. I am only sorry (for myself) that it has taken me so long to get round to reading it.
The basic story, a Chinese girl moving with her parents to start a new life in Australia, is probably a long way from the experience of most UK children. But then I think that is a very good thing. Children of Chinese ethnicity are not found as often in this country as they are in Australia or the United States, but, even so, there are quite a few and they deserve to see themselves in books just as much as any other children. However, for others children too it is so valuable to know about their inherited culture and this novel is outstanding in providing a picture of customs and behaviours, indeed of thinking, that can feel very different.
Differently the same
However, more important are the things that children will find familiar; there are many universal themes and emotions explored here too. Moreover, the writing is so strong that it is easy to identify with protagonist Meixing even when her thinking and behaviour seem strange to us. In fact, this deep exploration of what Meixing goes through, as she struggles to adapt to a completely new life in what feels like an alien place, as well as the trauma of a close family bereavement, is quite breathtakingly sensitive.
‘ . . . all this time you’ve been in survival mode. You’ve been kicking so hard at the deep water you’ve been thrown in, trying to float, that you haven’t thought about swimming, let alone noticed how great the pool is supposed to be.’ (p 130)
Her story is occasionally funny, often deeply touching and always brimming with the level of understanding that supports rich empathy. The couching of her narrative voice in the second person at first feels very odd. However, as the tale develops it seems to work an intriguing magic, emphasising Meixing’s alienation from her new surroundings yet, at the same time, placing the reader vividly into the scenario too.
Dreaming reality
What makes this novel particularly distinctive though is the way its narrative periodically dissolves into a sort of magical hinterland, a world the author calls ‘somewhere between reality and dreaming’. Amazingly, this does nothing to destroy the credibility of Meixing’s affecting journey. Rather it adds a dimension of imagery that enhances and intensifies her experience and makes visible the luminous potential within her quiet personality. She is thankfully far more resilient than her superficial responses to circumstances imply. She can seem cowed by events and the often unkind, even cruel, behaviour of some of those she encounters. Even her own mother can appear outwardly cool towards her. Yet a combination of the support of those who truly care for her and the strength of her own imagination lift her ultimately into a world of love, life and growth.
Although probably not the right book to tempt reluctant or inexperienced readers, sensitive young bookworms will gain a great deal from its beautiful, imagination-rich writing, its hopeful insights and its life-enhancing vision. It clearly has some basis in the author’s own experience and it is hugely encouraging that she has grown into the wonderful writer she has. Like Meixing she has clearly discovered her glasshouse of stars.
‘. . . humans are so complicated, and this is heartbreaking and heart-mending all at once.’ (p 190)
So is this book.
Looking forward
Shirley Marr now has a new MG novel out, All Four Quarters of the Moon, and I look forward to reading it with excitement.
