The House Tibet

by Georgia Savage

After 13-year-old Vicky is raped by her straitlaced father, she and her younger brother leave Adelaide for Queensland, where they meet up with a group of other runaways who lead them to an eccentric named Xam and a ramshackle house called Tibet. (Nancy Pearl)

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Coming Of Age, Contemporary

345 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Savage, who was born in Tasmania but left in the 1950’s to marry a footballer, is refreshingly un-academic, provocative, eloquent – and most candid.

(from http://walleahpress.com.au/INT-Savage...)

Reviews

[Alison Sinclair · Rating 5 out of 5]

The novel opens jarringly (which the author fully intended, I'm sure) with thirteen-year-old Victoria, the first person narrator, being raped by her father, staining her new blue dress with blood. Victoria's mother defensively rejects the girl, as does her father's doting mother with the suggestion that Victoria is jealous of her brother and seeking attention, while her self-absorbed aunt appropriates Victoria's hurt for her own psychodrama. Disorientated and deeply wounded, Victoria scrapes together some money and buys a train ticket for Queensland, accompanied by her eight-year-old brother, a bright little boy who does not speak. She renames herself Morgan and her brother Max, and she and Max join a group of other teenagers living on the street: Marcelle, who dreams of being a film star, intimidating and heavily pregnant Allie, drug-addicted Angel, and Josh, whose father has been jailed for a crime he did not commit. But it's a tenuous life, and as events pull the group apart, Josh leaves Morgan and Max a sanctuary, in the form of his room in the boarding house Tibet. There she meets Xam (another Max), an elderly retired lawyer, and starts to write the story of how she came to be where she is. The theme of silencing runs through the novel - many of the characters, children and adults, have been silenced in some way - as does the theme of regaining one's voice. I went into that in more detail in a blog entry, some years back. http://www.alisonsinclair.ca/2007/05/...

Why is this a five-star book for me? Morgan's voice, Morgan and Max's as character, and all the vivid supporting cast, Marcelle, Allie, Angel, Josh, Xam, the keeper and owner of a brothel where Morgan winds up finding a job, the prostitutes themselves, the members of the feminist theatre troop Allie joins, the youth worker Ingrid Frew, Morgan's aikido teacher, Morgan's mother even . . . some of them are in the book for a few pages, but they're all wonderfully drawn and observed by Morgan. It's a serious book about a serious theme, but there's healing in community, in imagination, and in the realization of art.

My one complaint: the cover of the hardcover edition, specifically the painting. It doesn't in the least capture the book's sparkle. There was an earlier softcover that was much more appealing.

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

I agree 100% with the reviewer: "These two kids constitute one of the great character duos of Australian fiction. Despite its darkly topical subject matter of incest and street kids, this is a story which leaves the reader's spirit enlivened, and the mind crowded with new friends who keep talking well after the book itself is done and closed." (The Sydney Morning Herald)

This book was tender and horrific, outrageous and ringing loud with truth. I highly recommend it.

[Lotus Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book, it’s real, raw, emotional, gripping, playful and youthful. Experiencing the main characters’ journeys, their pain, healing and triumphs is such a worthwhile experience. This book does an incredible job of illustrating a young person’s perspective on child sexual abuse, incest, homelessness, friendship, sex and adventure. Trigger warning: this book does have the above themes in detail. However, I love this book and whilst it made me cry, it also made me feel free.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't normally read young-adult fiction, but I picked this up in an op-shop some years ago, and it was fantastic. So engaging and uniquely Australian, the characters were real and understandable, just a really interesting read. Wish I had kept my copy instead of bringing it back to the op-shop! ugh

[Kyleigh Huang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite.. but not my least favorite either. I loved the concept of the book, but found the story dragged on longer than it needed to. The foundation of the book and its characters within it was nice. MANY trigger warnings however. Also the language used within this book relating to race was very dated and in many ways pretty derogatory- stay away from the book if that makes you feel uncomfortable.. or just plain mad.

[George P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the characters excellent and the story of the two runaway Australian siblings a compelling one. The observations of human nature are astute so I really enjoyed it. I will plan on reading another of her books some day- they are not easy to find in the US I think, but the university library here has some and lets me borrow.

[Suubi]

Capturing

[Jamethiel_bane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very confronting book about the aftermath of incest. Set variously in Melbourne and Queensland, Australia, it's a first person narrative from Victoria Ferguson, a thirteen year old who is raped by her father. Faced with disbelief and a lack of support from her female relatives, she runs away to Queensland, taking her mute brother James. She renames herself Morgan Christie, and her brother becomes Max.
Victoria/Morgan is an excellent and believable narrator--she behaves believably for a teenage girl. The most jarring thing for me was the description of some parts of Melbourne--Clifton Hill station doesn't have an underpass, and the tram is about 15-20 minutes walk away from it.
The supporting cast are many and varied. There's a strong theme of "self-determination" running through the book, as well as silencing. All in all, an excellent book, which is why I picked it up when I found it in an op shop!

[Tawnya · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far one of the most enlightening books about incest. The house Tibet thoroughly explored the relationship of a girl and her mother after the mother no longer sees the girl as a daughter but instead as the "other lover" or "the competition". Not at all what the daughter meant, she did what she new, and unfortunately, it couldn't heal her or the family, but she was able to seek refuge with a colony of runaways her age along with her tag along little brother. The journey and the triumphs were epic in their lives.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very confronting text, but well worth a read. The life of a 13 year old girl who runs away from her home in urban Melbourne to live with a bunch of fellow runaways on the streets of Surfer's Paradise following incestuous rape. Not a book for everyone. Simply and sympathetically written, this is one of my favourites.

[Juliette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here is another book that I read several times in high school. I also told everyone I met at the time to read this book. I'm a sucker for books about punk rockers and teen runaways. This was even cooler because it took place in Australia.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written coming of age story about an Australian girl who runs away from home and ends up finding a family and herself.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good story about another unfamiliar culture--both geographically and socioeconomically. Strong characters.

[Bianca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book; I think I read it 3 times so far.

[Vanessa Broekelschen · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books alive ever read.

[Dpic]

lovely