Southern Aurora
Mark Brandi
Southern Aurora
Mark Brandi
We always listen out for the train when we're down in the cutting because sometimes they come quicker than you expect. There aren't as many trains as there used to be. Mostly just the freight ones, like the one that nearly killed us on the bus . . . The best train is the Southern Aurora. It goes all the way from Melbourne to Sydney, and from Sydney to Melbourne. It stops in Mittigunda because we're pretty much exactly halfway between.'
Jimmy is a kid growing up fast on the poorest street in town. He tries to do everything right and look out for his mum and his younger brother. His older brother is in jail, so it's up to Jimmy to hold things together. But small-town life is unforgiving if you're from the other side of the tracks.
If only his mum didn't drink so much.
If only he could win the school billycart race.
If only his best friend understood.
If only he could stop his mum's boyfriend from getting angry.
If only he was there.
Jimmy soon learns that even when you get things right, everything can still go wrong.
Review
Mark Rubbo
Jimmy likes to take his little brother Sam down to the railway cutting to watch the trains. If the time is right, they’ll see the silver cars of the Southern Aurora flash by; they’ll both get a thrill.
Sam goes to special school; they live with their mum, Nicki, in a rundown house. Jimmy’s older brother, Mick, is in prison for assault and will get out soon. Nicki has a friend Charlie who visits from time to time. Charlie is a Vietnam vet; sometimes he flies off the handle and once or twice he’s hurt Nicki. Nicki has a fondness for the Kaiser – the cask of Kaiser Stuhl wine. Jimmy can’t help watching how much Kaiser she consumes; it will determine whether it’s a good evening or a bad one. Things will be better when Mick comes home.
Meanwhile, Jimmy is trying to hold things together. When his local school announces that they are going to hold a billy cart race, Jimmy, his friend Danny and the new kid Chadwick decide to enter. Jimmy says they can use the cart that Mick made for him; it just needs a bit of love. But Chadwick, the local rich kid, has a super one and Danny is caught in a dilemma. Jimmy is the narrator in this story and his voice is real; one can feel his dilemmas, his concerns, and his joys and achievements.
Mark Brandi’s skill is in making Jimmy’s voice authentic and compelling; from the start the reader is engaged with Jimmy’s story and wants to go on the journey and understand the experiences of this young boy. Brandi has crafted a beautiful and tender story that gives great pleasure and should be read wide and far.
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