Book Publishers
I would like to express my feelings after having read the book ?Breaking the Mould? (published 2010 by Sid Harta P/L). I am a Hobartian born and bred but this book astounded me in its description of my hometown ? a description of a town that I did not recognize. Freya and Joy, provide an amazing glimpse into a world of poverty that would be totally unknown by most people alive today. That Joy was able to overcome this seemingly insurmountable obstacle, and build a good and helpful life is the miracle of this story.
?Breaking the Mould? presents a unique view of a Hobart that is so strange and so little known that it really makes this story stand out from any other. Characters such as Joy & her father, Granny Corrie, Grandfather Dooie & Mrs. Kettle, stay with one long after the book is finished. Almost as powerful however is the environment. Familiar Hobart pubs, Mount Nelson, Sunnyside at New Town and Cockle Creek can never be the same again after reading this book.
Having read this book, I no longer feel that my view of the world is the ?normal? view; I have to acknowledge that people, living in the same place at the same time, may have completely different life views and histories due to their experiences. I cannot put myself in Joy?s place, but I feel that I learned about the forces that formed her, and against what influences she had to fight. This story really shakes one out of one?s comfort zone. The story is very powerful and disturbing, I read the book in a day as I was transfixed and could not put the book down until it was over.
Marcus Laycock
Nunamina
RA 444 Nubeena Road
Koonya, Tasmania, 7187
marcuslaycock@bigpond.com
With its roots in a violent and abusive childhood where Joy, her mother and her eight surviving siblings lived under the tyrannical reign of their alcoholic and sadistic father, the path for Joy's life seemed ... Read more about “Breaking the Mould”