READING ROOM
Two sisters are now grandmothers of two children living in different countries, Australia and the Czech Republic. And while history and circumstance has separated them, their bond is strong and their love runs poignantly deep. The story is set in 1980 but flits back in time as well and is told through the eyes of the children. There’s freespirited Ludek who lives in Prague with his Babi (grandma) and loves to run around its cobbled streets shouting at the statues of the saints on Charles Bridge; and “Mala Liska” as she is called by her Czech grandpa, because of her red hair – it means little fox in Czech – who lives in Melbourne experiencing snippets of her heritage through her grandparents’ cooking and music.
This device of the complexities of adult life seen through the eyes of children has dominated author Favel Parrett’s novels and gives them a unique currency and a poetry all of their own. “As a writer, I am completely fascinated by seeing the world through a child’s eye and imagination,” she says. “In my novels, I feel like children are constantly trying to work out adults’ behaviour while being at the mercy of adults’ decisions. This creates a lot of tension and problems, and that is perfect for my brain.”
This, Parrett’s third novel, is an elegy to a family that was torn apart and a study of the effects of displacement. In many ways it is a universal postwar European immigrant story, but coming at a time when refugee migration is again in the news, there is an urgency to the topic that is impossible to ignore. “I feel like we have lost our way, lost our compassion and the ability to feel empathy for refugees and those fleeing war and persecution,” says Parrett. “It makes me very sad, but I do know that when you walk in someone else’s shoes, you can no longer see that person as
other. This is the great power of books and stories. Reading fiction creates empathy.” While the content and plot of the novel is pure fiction, the essence is based on Parrett’s own experiences and stories she has heard. “My grandma was Czech and I still have relatives in Prague. One of my cousins, Martin, helped me so much by telling me about his childhood in Prague in the 80s and a few threads are in the novel. The rest is completely made up – except for the way I feel about my grandparents. The whole book is a love letter to my grandparents. I loved them with all my heart and it was wonderful to be with them again while writing, even if that was just in my imagination.”