I don’t know what inspired me to pick up this book; it certainly wasn’t the title, but what an amazing recollection it is. In other hands this story could have been portrayed completely differently; the unbearably simple puritan values of Romulus derided and his stubborn eccentricities blamed for all the misery that seems the surround the family and their friends. But amazingly his son Raimond seeks to write an overwhelmingly accepting novel, completely engrossing and able to be read in a single sitting.
It portrays the Australian migrant experience of a former time; of forced life in rural backwaters, and the brutality of isolation. The simplicity of the life described is a revelation and is a big part of the work’s effectiveness and emotional impact. How Raimond turned out ok is anyone’s guess! 5 stars.