Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

Image. Advertisement:

Gentle and Fierce (Vanessa Berry, Giramondo)

If you grew up in the 80s you’ll probably remember that infamous scene in The NeverEnding Story where Artax the horse sinks forever into the Swamp of Sadness. Sydney writer and artist Vanessa Berry recalls the cinematic moment that imprinted itself on the collective memory of her generation in Gentle and Fierce, a meditative book of essays—also illustrated by Berry—that explores the many ways animals have shaped the author’s identity and the course of her life. Artax is one of the many creatures, real and imagined, that Berry uses to unlock reflections on herself, her family and her relationship with the world around her. A mink coat connects Berry to the great-grandmother she never knew; a porcelain otter reminds her of a trip to the Berlin Zoo; the spiders that scuttle through the corners of her childhood home offer companionship during a lonely time of illness; and Artax symbolises Berry’s own sadness, both as an introverted child and as an adult living through climate change. The animals in Gentle and Fierce are both central and peripheral, powerful talismans or companions, even when they exist only in photographs or on bookshelves. The most successful essays are those that take a specific object as their starting point, such as the aforementioned mink coat or, in another standout piece, a taxidermied bear named Frank. Gentle and Fierce is an unusual and empathetic book that should appeal to fans of personal essayists such as Fiona Wright and Jessica Friedmann.

Carody Culver is senior editor at Griffith Review and a freelance writer.­

 

Category: Reviews