Joyful Strains: Expat Writers on Making Australia Home (ed by Kent MacCarter & Ali Lemer, Affirm Press)

This broad collection of migration stories is an example of a good idea backed up by an excellent execution. Many of the contributors are known names in literary circles: Dmetri Kakmi, Alice Pung, Mark Dapin, Ouyang Yu, Chris Flynn and Hsu-Ming Teo. The 27 essays cover experiences from childhood migration to adult, from negative to positive, long-ago experiences to more recent, flights from places of hardship or comfort, and the heartbreak or relief of loosening family ties. Also diverse is the range of locations covered, from Europe, to the Americas, Asia, the Pacific, the Indian Subcontinent and the Middle East. Perhaps a little more on African experiences would have been welcome. The feeling of being caught in a no-man’s land between two cultures is a consistent theme, as is failure to fit back into the culture left behind, and the grappling with language. Australian-born readers are given fascinating insights into the migrant experience, the kind of welcome this country provides, and the oddities of our language and culture. Given all the contributors are writers, the entries are eloquent and represent the more highly educated end of the spectrum of migrant experiences. Some of the essays are movingly personal, others have a more intellectual slant. I felt privileged to be privy to the memories and emotions shared on the page. I hope that its January release finds this book the attention it deserves. It will make thoughtful holiday reading. This is intelligent, relevant, absorbing writing.

Joanne Shiells is a former retail book buyer and editor

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

Category: Reviews