Have you ever wondered whether
new surroundings can cause you to lose a sense of yourself? And create a yearning that can turn one
‘Upside down, inside out.’?
Acclaimed Australian writer and
poet, Stephanie Bishop, with strength and tenderness, investigates this notion
by weaving together the lives of Charlotte and Henry who take journeys, in the
1960s, across both hemispheres of the world.
The story traces a complicated displacement of their hearts in a search
for the meaning of home, what it means to depart from it, and whether it can be
found again. Through their eyes as
lovers, parents, and professionals, we experience the rich tapestry of their
feelings as they grapple with their surroundings and events.
I was deeply affected by Bishop’s
writing. I could visualise the climatic
and living conditions which seemed to attach to the psyches of all Bishop’s
characters, causing them this vacillation of emotions. Skilfully, all of our senses are provoked -
the chilling whistle and crunch of English winds and ice, the vivid blinding
summer hues of Western Australia, the acrid fungal smells of emerald Indian
dampness. I am still thinking about it
and them.
I highly recommend The Other Side of the World as a
poignant, memorable fiction and possibly a reality?
