annethology
  • Home
    • About Annethology
    • About me >
      • A little more about me
    • About my books
    • Author talks
    • Contact me
    • Forthcoming events
    • World Mental Health Day
    • Privacy
    • Sign up for my newsletter
  • First two novels
    • Sugar and Snails >
      • Acknowledgements
      • Blog tour, Q&A's and feature articles >
        • Birthday blog tour
        • S&S on tour 2022
      • Early endorsements
      • Events >
        • Launch photos
        • Launch party videos
      • in pictures
      • Media
      • If you've read the book
      • Polari
      • Reading group questions
      • Reviews
      • In the media
    • Underneath >
      • Endorsements and reviews
      • Launch party and events
      • Pictures
      • Questions for book groups
      • The stories underneath the novel
  • Matilda Windsor series
    • The accidental series
    • Matilda Windsor >
      • What readers say
      • For book groups
      • Interviews, articles and features
      • Matty on the move
      • Who were you in 1990?
      • Asylum lit
      • Matilda Windsor media
    • Stolen Summers >
      • Stolen Summers reviews
    • Lyrics for the Loved Ones
  • Short stories
    • Somebody’s Daughter
    • Becoming Someone (anthology) >
      • Becoming Someone (video readings)
      • Becoming Someone reviews
      • Becoming Someone online book chat
    • Print and downloads
    • Read it online
    • Quick reads
  • Free ebook
  • Annecdotal
    • Annecdotal blog
    • Annecdotal Press
    • Articles >
      • Print journalism
      • Where psychology meets fiction
    • Fictional therapists
    • Reading and reviews >
      • Reviews A to H
      • Reviews I to M
      • Reviews N to Z
      • Nonfiction
      • Themed quotes
      • Reading around the world
  • Shop
    • Inspired Quill (my publisher)
    • Bookshop.org (affiliate link)
    • Amazon UK
    • Amazon US
    • books2read
  • Main site

Welcome

I started this blog in 2013 to share my reflections on reading, writing and psychology, along with my journey to become a published novelist.​  I soon graduated to about twenty book reviews a month and a weekly 99-word story. Ten years later, I've transferred my writing / publication updates to my new website but will continue here with occasional reviews and flash fiction pieces, and maybe the odd personal post.

ANNE GOODWIN'S WRITING NEWS

Hope Farm by Peggy Frew

7/6/2016

7 Comments

 
Picture
It was like a chain of dominoes toppling down, each person hurting the other. And however much I tried to place myself on the outside, an untouchable observer full of disdain or pity, the truth was that I was in there too, somewhere, falling.
Silver is looking back on the year she was thirteen, when her mother, Ishtar, took her from the Brisbane ashram to live at the hippy community further south at Hope Farm. Silver is used to being periodically uprooted, to being ostracised at school, to sharing a home with a motley collection of other adults to whom she’s not related, to communal meals with drink and dope, but this time she can’t share her mother’s optimism about the move. Perhaps it’s being a teenager, perhaps it’s her mother’s clear infatuation with the bear-like Miller, and her handing over a wad of cash for a car in his name. The house is cold, the promised farm a few chickens and an unfenced plot choked with weeds, and the only other children are a five-year-old kid and a howling baby. Things brighten up when she’s befriended by Ian from a nearby farm, an intense young man subjected at school to horrendous bullying which he can only endure, just as Silver must endure the life her mother’s wanderlust has bestowed on her.

The impact of the hippy lifestyle on the children who have not freely chosen to live this way, has been explored in memoir and fiction, including Ewan Morrison’s novel, Close Your Eyes, and, to a degree, Claire Vay Watkins’ Gold Fame Citrus. The unusual childhood, focused around an intense mother-daughter relationship, also brought to mind Jo McMillan’s novel, Motherland, both, albeit from disparate ideologies, rife with hypocrisy and contradictions. As she matures, Silver begins to rage against the regime that has left her both under and overprotected (p202-3):

There was some kind of rule … to do with listing but pretending not to understand – and now I was breaking it … Why did she always treat me like this, never protecting me from anything and then when I tried to enter her world … slamming down a shutter?

But it’s hard for a daughter to be as angry as she needs to be with a mother as flaky as Ishtar, whose (p119):

hands gripped the upper sleeves of her own jumper as if underneath was a structure that had not been fitted together properly, an unsteady frame that might collapse at any moment
whose drifting off into depression, while not quite so melodramatic, reminded me of Sofia’s mother Rose and Veblen’s mother from other novels I’ve reviewed recently.


But Ishtar was herself only a teenager when she gave birth at seventeen. Alternating sections extracted from her diary, reveal the challenges she has faced in sexual ignorance, exploitation by a neighbour and the fight against the pressure to give up her baby for adoption. Taking refuge in the ashram, her attempts to be a doting and devoted mother are thwarted by the insistence that all adult members take an equal share of the work and her floundering in the face of insufficient female support, reminiscent of Ari in After Birth.

Hope Farm is about the fragility of attachment and learning about different forms of love, some of which bring as much hurt as pleasure. Although I found it overall extremely compassionate account of wounded people doing their best, it took me a while to settle into it. This was partly because it read as if Silver was hovering slightly above her story (due perhaps to her looking back on these experiences and an adult) and because of switching to a sans serif font, with the omission of apostrophes (presumably to reflect her problems with literacy), something I struggled with in Ryan Ireland’s novel. (We all have our quirks, and some readers can’t stand dialogue without speech marks, which is fine by me, but I’m surprised I didn’t list quirky text as one of the reasons I might give up on a novel – it actually affects me viscerally.)

However, by about page 200, the scenery is painted and the actors in position to progress headlong into tragedy and, from this point, I couldn’t put it down. There are no heroes or villains in this story, as in real life, just a bunch of damaged people in search of a secure base while condemned by their own neediness never to find it. A particularly poignant part of the novel is when Ishtar and Silver are obliged to leave the farm to take refuge in an abandoned miner’s cottage where, despite its state of dilapidation, the girl is unexpectedly happy to have (p207):

what I had always fantasised about: a house that was just mine and Ishtar’s, where we lived together, just the two of us. In a strange and completely unexpected way I had gotten what I’d always wanted

What becomes of the mother-daughter bond after this made me want to revisit some of my own writing about adolescence as not only about forging independence, but as a second chance, albeit disguised as something very different, to create the conditions that weren’t possible in infancy. But that’s for another place. Thanks to Australian publishers Scribe for my review copy and for the slot on the Hope Farm blog tour.
Thanks for reading. I'd love to know what you think. If you've enjoyed this post, you might like to sign up via the sidebar for regular email updates and/or my quarterly Newsletter.
7 Comments
Poppy Peacock link
8/6/2016 08:17:54 am

Great review Anne... it sounds a fabulous read that explores both intriguing premise & narrative techniques. I was hooked by Naomi's review yesterday and you've definitely reeled me in to buy it.

Really interested in your response to the 'quirky' text... is it just the lack of punctuation or grammatical errors in general that irk, even when deliberate to evoke voice and I suppose literacy of a character?

Reply
Annecdotist
8/6/2016 12:04:53 pm

Thanks, Poppy, I’m glad you liked it. Knowing the strength of Naomi’s reviews, I was half tempted to take a peek at hers first before writing my own, but glad I didn’t. We’ve come to the novel from very different but not contradictory perspectives. I do hope you enjoy it.
I’m not absolutely sure how to define the kind of text that does and doesn’t upset me. It’s something about how it looks (hence the change of font and absence of punctuation) rather than how it “sounds” in my head, so dialect and intentionally incorrect grammar can be okay. I did get that the intention here was to demonstrate Ishtar’s vulnerability, perhaps with unrecognised dyslexia, but I found it hard to read.

Reply
Poppy Peacock link
8/6/2016 12:52:09 pm

Interesting... I'm bookmarking your review to come back when I read it.

Norah Colvin link
8/6/2016 08:38:40 am

Hi Anne,
Interesting review. Sounds like an interesting book. One thinks it might appeal with its local (to me) setting, but I'm not sure that gives me any enticement for this one. It sounds very raw, emotional. I was intrigued that you couldn't put it down once it was all set up and they were charging "headlong into tragedy". I guess you wanted to see them survive and come out the other end, right? I was also interested that it caused you to reflect upon teenage relationships in your own stories. I look forward to reading about that. Sadly the situation and the relationships appear all to familiar and not far from home. :)

Reply
Annecdotist
8/6/2016 11:59:38 am

This is similar to a question you’ve asked me before, I think, but I’m not sure I’ve answered very well. I want to feel my reading time has been well spent so, when there’s a buildup, I want it to be followed through. Although I don’t like visceral horrifics, I’m looking for authenticity, which sometimes means tragedy, so I’m not necessarily pinning my hopes on how they come out the other end. I thought this was really well handled in avoiding tying things up in a nice neat ball. Interesting it’s too close to home for you both geographically and psychologically – I guess that closeness is a bit of what I’m hoping to find in my reading.

Reply
Norah Colvin link
13/6/2016 12:36:47 pm

I agree with you about reading time being well spent. I have very little of it so have to be very prudent about how I use it. I guess that's why, although this one has some appeal, I wouldn't put it before others. I can't explain, if I even know, why that is so. While I do look for that closeness (connection) in a book, I don't look for a mirror.

Annecdotist
13/6/2016 05:26:11 pm

I think I'd freak out if I found my life mirrored in a book, but don't see that as very likely!


Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Free ebook: click the image to claim yours.
    Picture
    Available now
    Picture
    The poignant prequel to Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home
    Picture
    Find a review
    Picture
    Fictional therapists
    Picture
    Picture
    About Anne Goodwin
    Picture
    My published books
    entertaining fiction about identity, mental health and social justice
    Picture
    My third novel, published May 2021
    Picture
    My debut novel shortlisted for the 2016 Polari First Book Prize
    Picture
    Picture
    My second novel published May 2017.
    Picture
    Short stories on the theme of identity published 2018
    Anne Goodwin's books on Goodreads
    Sugar and Snails Sugar and Snails
    reviews: 32
    ratings: 52 (avg rating 4.21)

    Underneath Underneath
    reviews: 24
    ratings: 60 (avg rating 3.17)

    Becoming Someone Becoming Someone
    reviews: 8
    ratings: 9 (avg rating 4.56)

    GUD: Greatest Uncommon Denominator, Issue 4 GUD: Greatest Uncommon Denominator, Issue 4
    reviews: 4
    ratings: 9 (avg rating 4.44)

    The Best of Fiction on the Web The Best of Fiction on the Web
    reviews: 3
    ratings: 3 (avg rating 4.67)

    2022 Reading Challenge

    2022 Reading Challenge
    Anne has read 2 books toward their goal of 100 books.
    hide
    2 of 100 (2%)
    view books
    Picture
    Annecdotal is where real life brushes up against the fictional.  
    Picture
    Annecdotist is the blogging persona of Anne Goodwin: 
    reader, writer,

    slug-slayer, tramper of moors, 
    recovering psychologist, 
    struggling soprano, 
    author of three fiction books.

    LATEST POSTS HERE
    I don't post to a schedule, but average  around ten reviews a month (see here for an alphabetical list), 
    some linked to a weekly flash fiction, plus posts on my WIPs and published books.  

    Your comments are welcome any time any where.

    Get new posts direct to your inbox ...

    Enter your email address:

    or click here …

    RSS Feed


    Picture

    Tweets by @Annecdotist
    Picture
    New short story, “My Dirty Weekend”
    Picture
    Let’s keep in touch – subscribe to my newsletter
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Popular posts

    • Compassion: something we all need
    • Do spoilers spoil?
    • How to create a convincing fictional therapist
    • Instructions for a novel
    • Looking at difference, embracing diversity
    • Never let me go: the dilemma of lending books
    • On loving, hating and writers’ block
      On Pop, Pirates and Plagiarism
    • READIN' for HER reviews
    • Relishing the cuts
    • The fast first draft
    • The tragedy of obedience
    • Writers and therapy: a love-hate relationship?

    Categories/Tags

    All
    Animals
    Annecdotist Hosts
    Annecdotist On Tour
    Articles
    Attachment Theory
    Author Interviews
    Becoming Someone
    Being A Writer
    Blogging
    Bodies
    Body
    Bookbirthday
    Books For Writers
    Bookshops
    CB Book Group
    Character
    Childhood
    Christmas
    Classics
    Climate Crisis
    Coming Of Age
    Counsellors Cafe
    Creative Writing Industry
    Creativity
    Cumbria
    Debut Novels
    Disability
    Editing
    Emotion
    Ethics
    Ethis
    Family
    Feedback And Critiques
    Fictional Psychologists & Therapists
    Food
    Friendship
    Futuristic
    Gender
    Genre
    Getting Published
    Giveaways
    Good Enough
    Grammar
    Gratitude
    Group/organisational Dynamics
    Hero’s Journey
    History
    Humour
    Identity
    Illness
    Independent Presses
    Institutions
    International Commemorative Day
    Jane Eyre
    Kidney Disease
    Language
    LGBTQ
    Libraries
    Live Events
    Lyrics For The Loved Ones
    Marketing
    Matilda Windsor
    Memoir
    Memory
    Mental Health
    Microfiction
    Motivation
    Music
    MW Prequel
    Names
    Narrative Voice
    Nature / Gardening
    Networking
    Newcastle
    Nonfiction
    Nottingham
    Novels
    Pandemic
    Peak District
    Perfect Match
    Poetry
    Point Of View
    Politics
    Politics Current Affairs
    Presentation
    Privacy
    Prizes
    Psychoanalytic Theory
    Psychology
    Psycholoists Write
    Psychotherapy
    Race
    Racism
    Rants
    Reading
    Real Vs Imaginary
    Religion
    Repetitive Strain Injury
    Research
    Reviewing
    Romance
    Satire
    Second Novels
    Settings
    Sex
    Shakespeare
    Short Stories General
    Short Stories My Published
    Short Stories Others'
    Siblings
    Snowflake
    Somebody's Daughter
    Stolen Summers
    Storytelling
    Structure
    Sugar And Snails
    Technology
    The
    The Guestlist
    Therapy
    TikTok
    TNTB
    Toiletday
    Tourism
    Toxic Positivity
    Transfiction
    Translation
    Trauma
    Unconscious
    Unconscious, The
    Underneath
    Voice Recognition Software
    War
    WaSBihC
    Weather
    Work
    Writing Process
    Writing Technique

    Archives

    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    March 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    Picture
    BLOGGING COMMUNITIES
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos from havens.michael34, romana klee, mrsdkrebs, Kyle Taylor, Dream It. Do It., adam & lucy, dluders, Joybot, Hammer51012, jorgempf, Sherif Salama, eyspahn, raniel diaz, E. E. Piphanies, scaredofbabies, Nomadic Lass, paulternate, Tony Fischer Photography, archer10 (Dennis), slightly everything, impbox, jonwick04, country_boy_shane, dok1, Out.of.Focus, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region, Elvert Barnes, guillenperez, Richard Perry, jamesnaruke, Juan Carlos Arniz Sanz, El Tuerto, kona99, maveric2003, !anaughty!, Patrick Denker, David Davies, hamilcar_south, idleformat, Dave Goodman, Sharon Mollerus, photosteve101, La Citta Vita, A Girl With Tea, striatic, carlosfpardo, Damork, Elvert Barnes, UNE Photos, jurvetson, quinn.anya, BChristensen93, Joelk75, ashesmonroe, albertogp123, >littleyiye<, mudgalbharat, Swami Stream, Dicemanic, lovelihood, anyjazz65, Tjeerd, albastrica mititica, jimmiehomeschoolmom, joshtasman, tedeytan, striatic, goforchris, torbakhopper, maggibautista, andreboeni, snigl3t, rainy city, frankieleon