Clare Chambers: In a good light

Reviewed by SUSAN JACOBS



You never get over a happy childhood." This opening line of Clare Chambers' latest novel had me instantly hooked.

Brother and sister Esther and Christian were largely left to their own devices (hey, this is the 70s) in a huge crumbling former schoolhouse presided over by loving but distracted parents.

Tireless in their efforts to alleviate the lives of the Less Fortunate the parents ignored the practical necessities of their own. Inessentials such as decent wiring, plumbing and head lice were neglected in favour of assisting the Less Fortunate, who were often installed in the bedrooms.

After a playmate received an electric shock from a light switch, few parents allowed their children to visit, but Donovan, offspring of an unhinged mother, and the glamorous Penny, Christian's girlfriend, were two companions who brought in fresh experiences. They represented a world outside scrimping, philanthropy and wearing clothes rejected by the Less Fortunate.

Esther and her adored brother, the survivors of this happy if eccentric childhood, still live together in their 30s, partly because a chilling accident left Christian a tetraplegic and partly because it suits Esther, a successful illustrator by day and waitress by night. She has a comfortable relationship with a married man based on the understanding that neither of them will ever leave their households.

When Esther's complacent world is threatened by Christian's desire to marry his latest caregiver, Elaine, she decides to track down Penny in the hope of rekindling Christian's former passion. In doing so events unfold including encountering Donovan again and finding out what happened the night of Christian's accident.

This is a sweetly old-fashioned coming-of-age tale entwined in a seamless narrative. Even if the ends tie up as neatly as a gift-wrapped parcel they hardly seem contrived because of the tone, gently veering between whimsy and a self-deprecating irony. Moreover, Esther proves to be a blinkered narrator, subverting our expectations of narrative reliability.

But it is above all the unforgettable, beguiling characters, the evocation of place and such priceless lines as "good fortune was endured with the same stoicism as bad fortune" that keep us reading.

In traditional novel-style it ends with a wedding. Mother wings in from Nepal, refusing to buy a new outfit but conceding to the occasion by disguising her old dress with a hairy poncho that looks as if it has come off a yak. A beautifully written, funny, satisfying, uncomplicated read.

* Susan Jacobs is the author of Fighting With the Enemy: New Zealand POWs and the Italian Resistance.

* Random House, $34.95