'Set in Cann River in Australia’s rugged southern wilderness, The Legacy of Old Gran Parks is a tale of a remote town haunted by a legacy, a legacy with ominous consequences.
'It’s a warm evening in the autumn of 1983 when Miriam Forster rolls into town in her broken down car. Frankie the deer hunter, is up in the forested hinterland with her gun. Old Pearl the fisherwoman sits on her front deck down by the lagoon with her whisky and her dog. And Emily, the English backpacker, scrubs out the pie-encrusted kitchen at the roadhouse.
'All is not well. There’s a hoon doing donuts at the crossroads and screaming down the fire trails in the woods; a suspicious-looking city-slicker with two small children, squatting in Fred’s shack down by the lake; a beanie-headed gaunt guy convalescing at the lighthouse; and an acne festooned creature in the hotel room next to Miriam, thrashing about in the night.
'Gran Parks is stirring. Who will survive? Who will get away? Who will stay?'
The Legacy of Old Gran Parks starts with a truly shocking event, the titular Old Gran Parks herself attacking and brutally killing her abusive husband after years of domestic violence. It's a shocking start to the book, and one that prepares the reader for some equally shocking things to come; even if they have to wait a while to get them.
The book follows four women over the course of one week. There's Miriam, a middle-aged local council woman who's making a journey across country following a huge fire that destroyed her home, and much of the neighbourhood she once lived in. With all that she has left piled up in her car she's distressed when she develops a mechanical fault, and she has to stop at a roadhouse cafe and garage in Cann River. Being told that it will take most of the week for the parts needed to fix her car to arrive she's left with no choice but to book herself into the town's hotel. It's here that she discovers the only other guest at the hotel, an odd and dangerous looking man with a suitcase full of drugs staying in the room next to hers.
We also meet Pearl, an older woman who lives near the river on the outskirts of town with her dog as her only companion. Used to her quiet life and her routine she's shocked to discover a man and his two young daughters staying in the house opposite her. Convinced that the man shouldn't be there, Pearl soon learns that not only does the home owner know nothing of this man, but that he broke into the house. Now she's sure that he's up to no good, and fears for the safety of the two girls she suspects must have been kidnapped.
Frankie is another resident of Cann River, though even more removed from the town that Pearl. Living deep in the woods in an old shack Frankie gets by hunting for local wildlife with her rifle and her traps, selling the meat to local businesses and making clothing from the furs of what she kills. Her peaceful existence in the outback is disrupted when a man appears around her shack, driving his old battered pick-up dangerously around the place. When she learns that the man matches the description of a wanted rapist and murderer Frankie makes up a plan to trap the man and exact some justice.
Finally, there's Emily, a British backpacker who made the choice to take a stop in her journey across Australia at Cann River, taking on a job working at the roadhouse cafe. Unfortunately, the woman who runs the cafe is a harsh and often nasty woman. With Emily being worked at all hours, being paid barely enough to get by, and forced to live under harsh rules she's become something of a slave. However, things look like they might be changing for her when she meets a man who's moved into one of the small cottages near the lighthouse by the coast; a man who she feels drawn to.
The plot of The Legacy of Old Gran Parks follows these four women as their lives are changed over the course of the week, with events that will stick with them all for a long time. At first the four stories feel largely unconnected, even if Miriam and Emily cross paths briefly at the roadhouse cafe. But, over the course of the book these four women become drawn together, and help each other as event spiral out of control into dangerous circumstances.
One of the things that I really liked about the book was that at first there wasn't a huge amount to like about some of these characters. With so many stories centring their protagonists as good and honourable people, as the 'heroes' it was a pleasant surprise to get to know some characters who I honestly didn't like too much. I'm not saying there was anything wrong with the characters, simply that if I met her in real life I know I'd not really like Miriam that much because she's uptight and judgemental. Isobel Blackthorn made all of the characters like this, flawed people who never felt perfect, who were more like everyday people than idealised constructs made purely for a story.
At times the story feels like an incredibly dark satire, with some moments that feel a little too ridiculous to be real, but you kind of buy everything that goes on in the book as the characters sell you on things. Their honesty and their determination make even the most ridiculous moments feel real, and seeing the four of them come together to assist each other makes for some satisfying moments, even if you're not completely on board with what they're doing. The women in this book are far from perfect, and some of them do some horrific things with little to no remorse, yet you find yourself being on their side and enjoying the journey.
I'm not sure what I was expecting when I picked up The Legacy of Old Gran Parks, but by the end I'd discovered a book that had fascinated me, with very flawed and real characters, and a town and a history that were truly fascinating. This might not be a story where the lines between good and bad are very clear most of the time, but it's one of the more compelling and honest books I've read in a while.
I can't thank you enough for this review, Amy. It's detailed and insightful. Best wishes, Isobel
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked the review, and thank you for such an engaging read!
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