KINDNESS IN DARKNESS
Frances Whiting explores family dynamics and embraces kindness in her new novel
In a long and successful career in newspapers as a journalist and columnist, Frances Whiting has reported on her fair share of tragedy, fear and plain old bad news.
But lately, she says, the world has felt a lot darker — which is why she wanted to use her latest novel, The Best Kind of Beautiful, to highlight the importance of kindness in everyday life.
“Kindness has always been the underpinning of all we should do and what we should be teaching our kids about,” says the Brisbane mother-of-two. “But I think we are seeing — in the inflammatory language of some world leaders and our media, in the rise of social media, in the re-emergence of extremist groups, in anti-migration narrative and the idea that free speech automatically gives people the right to use it as a weapon — that the world can appear less kind than it was.
“I don’t believe that is true, but I think the loudest shouters are getting more air time. I wanted to write a book that celebrated the counterpoint to that, which is the vast majority of souls on this earth are indeed kind, generous and loving.’’
So it is, six years after her successful debut Walking on Trampolines, Whiting introduces us to quirky horticulturalists Florence and Albert, two awkwardly friendly colleagues who enjoy talking books and plants, and think they have each other figured out.
Florence was a child-star singer with her family’s famous jazz group, the Saint Claire Swingers; she loves music but quit performing in her teens, much to her family’s disappointment. Her quiet life seems quite unlike Albert’s, with his dizzying array of parties, concerts and bar-hopping.
“On the surface it’s about family, siblings, mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, books, gardens, jazz, lovers and libraries, with a little bit of mystery thrown in,” Whiting says. “Beneath that, it’s about how many of us hide or blur who we really are at the edges.”
The author’s own love of books and reading comes across strongly.
“Book stores and libraries have superpowers — the ability to both completely transform lives and transport people from one sort of life to another,” Whiting says. “There may be a character whose name is a blending of two well-known Brissie book store owners, but really the whole book is a huge bouquet to books stores, libraries, book lovers, book clubbers, anyone who knows the joy of getting your nose between the pages of a book.
“It’s also a homage to my local library, where I wrote some of this book, a place of sanctuary and, more latterly, a coffee van. Heaven!’’
Whiting answers with a very resounding “No’’ when asked if she has a green thumb herself, though she loves long walks in bushland near her Brisbane home and visiting Mt Coot-tha.
The fictional family life she portrays differs from her own childhood.
“I love my own family very much, but for me the Saint Claires represent the sort of family I was so attracted to as a child growing up in suburban Brisbane.
“Just so vibrant and creative and pulsing with life and this sense, for me, of the other; that there were other worlds out there from one I knew,’’ she says.
“One of the best things about writing is that you can actually create worlds you want to visit and dip into. When I think about the Saint
Claires, making music and loving and fighting beneath the roof of their big old house, I can close my eyes and take myself there.’’
The busy and versatile writer, whose author interviews and reviews occasionally appear in TasWeekend, has already started her next novel.
“It’s about a group of people who were close at high school, now reuniting. It’s a mystery of sorts and touches on a real life event. Other than that, I really can’t say too much.’’
— LEANNE EDMISTONE
The Best Kind of Beautiful, MacMillan Australia, $32.99