The Children’s Bach by Helen Garner (1984) was apparently hailed as one of four perfect short novels in the English language. If I was Helen Garner I would sigh with frustration at such accolades being on the jacket – how is any novel going to live up to that? But it is excellently written, and in a nice W&N Essentials edition too.
The story revolves around Dexter and Athena, a happily married couple with two children, Arthur and Billy.
“They were friends. They lived in a sparsely furnished house near the Merri Creek: its walls were cracking, its floor sloped and its doors hung loosely in their frames.”
Dexter meets an old friend Elizabeth, who has caring responsibilities she wishes she didn’t: her much younger, chaotic sister Vicki. Dexter is pleased to see her, although its unclear if it is Elizabeth herself he’s pleased to see, or what she represents:
“Dexter was mad about the past. He believed in it, it sustained him, he used it to knit meaning into the mess of everything.”
Elizabeth is living a very different life with her sort-of boyfriend Philip. It is the steadiness of what Dexter and Athena represent in contrast that draws Vicki from her sister and Philip, towards those with a more conventional set-up:
“She loved the notes they left for each other, the drawings and silly rhymes, the embarrassing singing, the vegetable garden, the fluster under which lay a generous order, the rushes of activity followed by periods of sunny calm: Vicki was in love with the house, with the family, with the whole establishment of it.”
But Athena and Dexter aren’t too good to be true. There are pressure points in any relationship and without malice, Vicki, Elizabeth and Philip start to force these open.
We follow Dexter and Athena into a more unstable world where the structures they have surrounded themselves with begin crumble. What I thought was a masterstroke was that Garner doesn’t portray this in a linear fashion. We jump forwards, there are gaps, not everything is spelled out. It stops what is in some ways a very ordinary story from becoming pedestrian, and it reflects the way the characters continue along their lives until something jolts them out of routine.
The characters are well realised without being cliches too. Athena is a loving homemaker, but she isn’t self-sacrificing. I found shocking this casual admission about her son Billy, who has an unspecified disability:
“I’m just hanging on till we can get rid of him.”
And Elizabeth, more freewheeling and self-focussed, surprises herself when Vicki moves out:
“She went home on the tram and was surprised to find a small lack in herself, a blankness where the unwelcome responsibility had been.”
Garner isn’t interested in what is easy. She is so skilled at presenting complex human beings while not seeming to take a view on them: they are as they are. I think I preferred The Spare Room of the two Garner’s I’ve read, but that is more to do with themes that I’m interested in rather than the novella itself. Either way, I’m keen to read more of the fiction and non-fiction by this skilled, clear-sighted writer.
madame bibi lophile recommends 
I’ve not read her Madame B, but it sounds as if she’s an excellent write – though, yes, that accolade is going to be hard to live up to!!
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She’s very skilled Kaggsy – she doesn’t waste a word!
Honestly my heart would sink if I was a writer with that sort of comment- lovely in that moment, but then what a weight to bear!
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It’s surprising that publishers never seem to understand that setting up incredibly high expectations is unfair on a book.
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It really is! She’s very well established so doubt it damaged her sales much, but it seems self-defeating.
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I agree that Garner’s not interested in the easy. She challenges her readers but the rewards are well worth it. I reread The Spare Room after a gap of well over two decades a while back and found it just as powerful, if not more so.
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I can imagine her work continues to resonate after significant time between – I’ll have to re-read her! I thought The Spare Room was just brilliant.
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I was looking at this just yesterday and lining up for Novellas in November (as I’m reading The Mushroom Tapes at the moment). I loved The Spare Room so think I would enjoy this
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If you enjoyed The Spare Room I think you’ll like this one Cathy. I’ll look forward to hearing how you find it in NovNov!
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I read this ages ago (and the edition was an old blue hardcover with no jacket… boo) because it was recommnded as one of THE Australian books to read, but I remember… absolutely none of this. heheh Only that I did continue to want to read her. Just the other week, I noticed that her diaries are available over here now, so I hope to add those to my shelves before the opportunity slips away. (She was interviewed on The Shift podcast last year and it was wholly enjoyable. Spotify link to the episode, because who knows what app everyone’s using these days.)
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I’m sure her diaries will be fascinating! I want to read some of her NF now. Thank you so much for the link, I will have a listen!
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I’m interested in what you say about the characters being well-realised – when I read it, I thought the writing and the observations were amazing, but I struggled to know any of the characters.
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You’ve got me wondering if the style of filling in the plot meant I did the same with the characters! I think it’s possible…
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Such an interesting review. I suspect you’ve hit the nail on the head with your comment about Garner not being interested in the easy. She’s an author I’m happy to admire from a distance without wishing to get closer, if that makes any sense, partly because I tried reading The Children’s Bach a year or so ago but bounced off the style!
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Yes absolutely! Some authors are impressive but just don’t work for us! I’ve just read Simon’s review of Rachel Cusk and I wonder if she might be like that for me. I need to try her to find out…
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