What do you think?
Rate this book
Peace, Love and Khaki Socks
One sultry October morning in Darwin, hemp-wearing army wife Amy Silva grips a trembling fist around two pink lines on a plastic stick. Struggling to come to terms with her rampant fertility, disillusioned with a haughty obstetrician, and infuriated by an inordinate amount of peeing, Amy finds solace in a decision to homebirth. After all, it worked for the cavewomen, right? But as a tropical cyclone threatens to whip down the main street, Amy finds herself facing more than biology.
Peace, Love and Khaki Socks explores what it is to be a woman, an expectant mother, a lover and a friend in a patriarchy. Sometimes horrifying, sometimes hilarious and always honest, this unforgettable story is one woman’s struggle to turn the ordinary into something extraordinary.
Peace, Love and Khaki Socks explores what it is to be a woman, an expectant mother, a lover and a friend in a patriarchy. Sometimes horrifying, sometimes hilarious and always honest, this unforgettable story is one woman’s struggle to turn the ordinary into something extraordinary.
333 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2013
4 people are currently reading
164 people want to read
About the author
Kim Lock
5 books144 followersKim Lock is an internationally published author of four novels, including The Other Side of Beautiful (2021). Her writing has also appeared in Kill Your Darlings, The Guardian, Daily Life and The Sydney Morning Herald online, among others. She lives in regional South Australia with her family.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
April 26, 2013
Peace, Love and Khaki Socks is an engaging debut novel from Australian author Kim Lock. Twenty four year old Amy Silva is stunned to discover she is pregnant and, despite the support of her long term loving partner Dylan, it's a struggle for her to accept the idea of impending birth and motherhood. Amy's busy GP and the abrupt obstetrician she is referred to do nothing to allay her fears and with Dylan, a serving member of the ADF, often absent and her only real friend, Hannah, avoiding her, Amy goes in search of support and validation.
Amy is a likeable protagonist, a little naive and self absorbed but also idealistic, funny and generally well intentioned. A bit of a hippie and free spirit she feels like she doesn't really fit in on the Darwin defence base. She works, by choice, from home as a freelancer, her family is over three thousand miles away in Victoria and as such she relies heavily on Dylan and Hannah for emotional and social support. All of the main characters are well developed and believable and the conflicts that arise between them are genuine, rather than manufactured.
I think that the reader's own experience of pregnancy and birth will dictate the ways in which they will relate to Amy, her journey and her decisions. I sympathised with her experience of morning sickness (though mine lasted for 8 months), the constant need to pee and feeling overwhelmed by an unplanned pregnancy. I have given birth to four children, and had seven pregnancies and have had a range of good, bad, absurd and scary experiences.
I do believe a woman has the right to choose whichever experience suits her as long as she makes an informed choice and had Amy been shown to have made an effort to explore her options, of which there are several between the extremes of hospital/obstetrician managed and home birth, I would have been more sympathetic. Instead, I have to admit I was disappointed by the insinuated bias against medically assisted birth, and I think there needed to be some balance in Amy's decision making process. However I could empathise with Hannah's experience of her miscarriage, I had three, and none of them were handled particularly well.
Regardless of where you stand on the birthing debate, Lock is a talented writer. The writing is strong, characterised by natural dialogue and vivid description. The labour and birth scenes are among the best I have ever read. I particularly enjoyed the author's sense of humour and her frank manner.
Ultimately, Peace, Love and Khaki Socks is a moving, funny and genuine story of Amy's fraught journey through pregnancy.
May 9, 2013
How can two pink lines on a plastic stick cause so much havoc in your life?
With my focus over the last few months being on a lot of deeper and more emotional reading, it has been a long while since I read a novel that gave me so many laugh-out-loud moments, but Kim Lock, through her protagonist, Amy, certainly provided me with a true sense of escapism, even though the subject matter at hand is not laughable and is a very important one for any woman contemplating motherhood.
Having moved inter-state from Victoria to be with Dylan, her childhood sweetheart, partner and Army soldier, Amy has lived in Darwin for the past four years but is still unable to fit in – “I still felt swamped and out of place amongst the air kisses, delighted squeals of recognition and the continuous pomp pomp pomp of the army band on parade” and as with everyone’s life, friendships are a matter of choice and hers is to not bother herself with the “Army Wife Mob” while feeling consistently out of place - after all, she’s a hemp-wearing, meditating, organic food loving “army wife” content with just Dylan and her Darwinian born and bred best friend Hannah and a few other select people in her life.
But things are about to change – if Dylan is her “oasis” then Hannah may well turn out to be her “nemesis”, or is it the other way around!
Amy takes us on a hilarious, albeit candid journey of the trials and tribulations of pregnancy and childbirth. When she finds herself at twenty-four years of age holding that little plastic stick showing two pink lines, trying to triumph over the rampant emotions she feels over a moment that most women look forward to, for Amy it sounds a death knell and her whole world appears to shatter, even more so when she is left feeling bewildered after her visit to the GP in which hints of dating scans and antenatal blood tests abound and she realises that she knows absolutely nothing about pregnancy.
Seeking out Hannah, Amy is surprised to learn that her best friend knows more about pregnancy and the abundant acronyms than she does, while Dylan, knowing about as much as Amy, tries his best to understand and offer support in an unplanned situation.
With a signed twelve-month work contract looming over her head and Dylan’s impending departure for a six week exercise in Malaysia, Amy finally plucks up the courage to make an appointment for her confirmation scan followed by a telephone call to her mother to share her news.
A woman on a search for empowerment and confidence along with revelations by another friend Trish with regard to hospital deliveries and induction failures (enough to make any newly pregnant woman run a mile), and with Dylan having already left for Malaysia, Amy continues to feel totally out of her league, even more so by the cold, almost clinical treatment of her condition by Dr Lavina after which, over a cup of coffee, Hannah discloses her own tragic secret.
What follows is Amy’s account of the remainder of her pregnancy, her foray into the technicalities involved in home-birthing, Dylan’s initial dismissal of the whole idea of home-birthing, her feelings of hurt and anger over Hannah’s indifference towards her, the foolishness of a woman (possibly as a result of too many pregnancy hormones raging through her body) as she endangers the life of both herself and her baby in a daring dash through a monstrous Darwin cyclone, and then, a fabulous midwife who takes Amy on a journey to a wonderful birth sequence where we finally get to see her obtaining the fulfilment she has been seeking.
While Amy drew much sympathy from me over her uncertainties, along with the lack of necessary family support required at times like these, due to hers living so far from her and her partner frequently performing patriotic duties for our country, I felt that her lack of interest in learning more and the total shunning of the traditional hospital birthing system was extreme. But, this is Amy’s journey!
Although I have no knowledge of the procedures involved in pregnancy and childbirth in Australia, I am well aware that home-birthing in South Africa is not too widely embraced - the medical profession preferring to have emergency assistance close at hand - but there are private hospitals that will consider alternative birthing practices in a more relaxed (albeit hospital) environment. While I may have contemplated home birthing for my own first pregnancy, I soon changed my mind after attending a few antenatal classes and my husband’s subtle reminder that I’m a known sook when it comes to pain and I can say in all honesty that my first experience is one which I would not like to re-live, thanks to the self-inflicted pain caused by my determination to go through it with no pain relief – a situation which, I might add, was short-lived as I admitted defeat and called for an epidural.
In saying this though, I also had the most amazing Obstetrician, who allowed me to explore all my options before making my final decision. He truly was very patient, most forthcoming and warm, and in no way made me feel like I was just another pregnant woman, so it irked me that Amy’s first obstetric experience was mired by such an arrogant, impersonal woman such as Dr Lavina and it’s no wonder she decided to explore another option.
This is an entertaining debut by author Kim Lock, one with well-developed and personable characters, situations that this reviewer could truly relate to, along with a well-balanced amount of humour and real-life issues, culminating in a very satisfying and heart-warming conclusion. Of course, for those of you venturing out on that wonderful path to motherhood, remember that this is a work of fiction and, with birthing options remaining an extremely personal choice (and not to be taken lightly), be prepared to read with an open mind.
My thanks goes to Kim Lock for providing me with an e-Book of this, her first novel, and I look forward to reading more from this author who quite clearly has a great sense of humour.
With my focus over the last few months being on a lot of deeper and more emotional reading, it has been a long while since I read a novel that gave me so many laugh-out-loud moments, but Kim Lock, through her protagonist, Amy, certainly provided me with a true sense of escapism, even though the subject matter at hand is not laughable and is a very important one for any woman contemplating motherhood.
Having moved inter-state from Victoria to be with Dylan, her childhood sweetheart, partner and Army soldier, Amy has lived in Darwin for the past four years but is still unable to fit in – “I still felt swamped and out of place amongst the air kisses, delighted squeals of recognition and the continuous pomp pomp pomp of the army band on parade” and as with everyone’s life, friendships are a matter of choice and hers is to not bother herself with the “Army Wife Mob” while feeling consistently out of place - after all, she’s a hemp-wearing, meditating, organic food loving “army wife” content with just Dylan and her Darwinian born and bred best friend Hannah and a few other select people in her life.
But things are about to change – if Dylan is her “oasis” then Hannah may well turn out to be her “nemesis”, or is it the other way around!
Amy takes us on a hilarious, albeit candid journey of the trials and tribulations of pregnancy and childbirth. When she finds herself at twenty-four years of age holding that little plastic stick showing two pink lines, trying to triumph over the rampant emotions she feels over a moment that most women look forward to, for Amy it sounds a death knell and her whole world appears to shatter, even more so when she is left feeling bewildered after her visit to the GP in which hints of dating scans and antenatal blood tests abound and she realises that she knows absolutely nothing about pregnancy.
Seeking out Hannah, Amy is surprised to learn that her best friend knows more about pregnancy and the abundant acronyms than she does, while Dylan, knowing about as much as Amy, tries his best to understand and offer support in an unplanned situation.
With a signed twelve-month work contract looming over her head and Dylan’s impending departure for a six week exercise in Malaysia, Amy finally plucks up the courage to make an appointment for her confirmation scan followed by a telephone call to her mother to share her news.
A woman on a search for empowerment and confidence along with revelations by another friend Trish with regard to hospital deliveries and induction failures (enough to make any newly pregnant woman run a mile), and with Dylan having already left for Malaysia, Amy continues to feel totally out of her league, even more so by the cold, almost clinical treatment of her condition by Dr Lavina after which, over a cup of coffee, Hannah discloses her own tragic secret.
What follows is Amy’s account of the remainder of her pregnancy, her foray into the technicalities involved in home-birthing, Dylan’s initial dismissal of the whole idea of home-birthing, her feelings of hurt and anger over Hannah’s indifference towards her, the foolishness of a woman (possibly as a result of too many pregnancy hormones raging through her body) as she endangers the life of both herself and her baby in a daring dash through a monstrous Darwin cyclone, and then, a fabulous midwife who takes Amy on a journey to a wonderful birth sequence where we finally get to see her obtaining the fulfilment she has been seeking.
While Amy drew much sympathy from me over her uncertainties, along with the lack of necessary family support required at times like these, due to hers living so far from her and her partner frequently performing patriotic duties for our country, I felt that her lack of interest in learning more and the total shunning of the traditional hospital birthing system was extreme. But, this is Amy’s journey!
Although I have no knowledge of the procedures involved in pregnancy and childbirth in Australia, I am well aware that home-birthing in South Africa is not too widely embraced - the medical profession preferring to have emergency assistance close at hand - but there are private hospitals that will consider alternative birthing practices in a more relaxed (albeit hospital) environment. While I may have contemplated home birthing for my own first pregnancy, I soon changed my mind after attending a few antenatal classes and my husband’s subtle reminder that I’m a known sook when it comes to pain and I can say in all honesty that my first experience is one which I would not like to re-live, thanks to the self-inflicted pain caused by my determination to go through it with no pain relief – a situation which, I might add, was short-lived as I admitted defeat and called for an epidural.
In saying this though, I also had the most amazing Obstetrician, who allowed me to explore all my options before making my final decision. He truly was very patient, most forthcoming and warm, and in no way made me feel like I was just another pregnant woman, so it irked me that Amy’s first obstetric experience was mired by such an arrogant, impersonal woman such as Dr Lavina and it’s no wonder she decided to explore another option.
This is an entertaining debut by author Kim Lock, one with well-developed and personable characters, situations that this reviewer could truly relate to, along with a well-balanced amount of humour and real-life issues, culminating in a very satisfying and heart-warming conclusion. Of course, for those of you venturing out on that wonderful path to motherhood, remember that this is a work of fiction and, with birthing options remaining an extremely personal choice (and not to be taken lightly), be prepared to read with an open mind.
My thanks goes to Kim Lock for providing me with an e-Book of this, her first novel, and I look forward to reading more from this author who quite clearly has a great sense of humour.
April 15, 2013
I really don’t know where to start when it comes to saying how much I loved and related to PEACE, LOVE AND KHAKI SOCKS. I too got married fairly young and then immediately moved to Darwin far away from friends and relations; I related to actual life in Darwin and then falling pregnant and having NO idea what is expected of you, or what is going to happen. Unlike Amy I had an obstetrician who I could bully into telling me everything I needed to know. I would go to my monthly sessions with a list of questions and he would patiently work his way through them and give me my answers! Home birth was not an option I even contemplated, but I would fight for anyone’s right to have it, and that essentially is what PEACE, LOVE AND KHAKI SOCKS is all about. Amy’s right to choose and be treated with respect. Amy is a peace loving, alternative lifestyle follower whose partner is in the Army. She finds out she is pregnant, which is an unplanned shock, then she is traumatised by a rude and arrogant GP and an even more rude and arrogant obstetrician. Amy is told to do this that and the other without a single gram of compassion or explanation. She is numb and frightened and generally not feeling the love. Then Amy discovers she does have a choice. That choice is to take control of her own birthing process and have a midwife and a home birth. Immediately there is conflict, and the characters in the book start to take sides, sadly her strong and loving partner wants her to go with the obstetrician.
I found myself laughing out loud at many of the events in the story, and while I may not have personally approved of what Amy did during the cyclone, I understood why she did it and the description of what it is like to go through one is spot on. Right down to the residents of Darwin just ignoring the warnings until the very last minute. Well not me – I am ready and stocked up from October – but I am considered odd! I related to the characters, they were all very true to life, and I felt that I knew some of those AJ’s – I am sure I have met them!!! I also felt that a more balanced looked at the pros and cons of home birth versus hospital birth could have been given. At times it came over very, very anti- hospital; not all are as uncaring and unfeeling as portrayed; neither are home births as problem free as implied. There is certainly room for both, and women should certainly be allowed a choice. Which I think is the point, it was Amy’s choice and she shouldn’t have been bullied at any point. when she made her choice I admired her one-liner put downs to those who thought she was mad. This was one of those books that once you picked it up then it was not willingly getting put down until finished. A very good debut, now officially waiting for book two.
I found myself laughing out loud at many of the events in the story, and while I may not have personally approved of what Amy did during the cyclone, I understood why she did it and the description of what it is like to go through one is spot on. Right down to the residents of Darwin just ignoring the warnings until the very last minute. Well not me – I am ready and stocked up from October – but I am considered odd! I related to the characters, they were all very true to life, and I felt that I knew some of those AJ’s – I am sure I have met them!!! I also felt that a more balanced looked at the pros and cons of home birth versus hospital birth could have been given. At times it came over very, very anti- hospital; not all are as uncaring and unfeeling as portrayed; neither are home births as problem free as implied. There is certainly room for both, and women should certainly be allowed a choice. Which I think is the point, it was Amy’s choice and she shouldn’t have been bullied at any point. when she made her choice I admired her one-liner put downs to those who thought she was mad. This was one of those books that once you picked it up then it was not willingly getting put down until finished. A very good debut, now officially waiting for book two.
April 16, 2013
I loved it!! I laughed out loud, I cried in public, and I loved the characters. A must-read!!
Can't wait to read more from Kim Lock :)
Can't wait to read more from Kim Lock :)
April 23, 2013
Kim Lock has delivered an exquisite debut novel with Peace, Love and Khaki Socks.
Amy Silva has always done things her own way. Never one for ambling down the well worn paths of conformity by those around her, she's the woman in the hemp skirt, bare foot, following a small trail that will lead her, well, who knows where and that's just the way she likes it. With commitment issues surrounding a big new contract that locks her into semi-permanent employment, (not an easy thing for a dedicated freelancer) imagine her surprise when she discovers she's pregnant! Motherhood is a life long commitment right?
Thrust into a world of modern medical management, faced with an often absent partner (such is the life of an ADF WAG), a family thousands of miles from the house she calls home (for now) on the RAAF base in Darwin, Amy is understandably a little on the edge. Not content with being bullied by an arrogant obstetrician, Amy seeks something, anything, that will help her accept this surprise baby and embrace motherhood.
When Amy decides to talk to a midwife about having a home birth, her world is tipped even further into chaos. Her best friend is avoiding her, her partner- unable to reconcile his fears with a home birth seems to emotionally abandon her, things fall apart at work, she's spending more time in the bathroom than a man with a bowel disorder and to top it all off, there's a tropical cyclone coming right at her.
Amy's story is about family, friendship, love, grief, compassion, individuality, fear, freedom from fear, empowerment and the feminine mystique. You will laugh, cry, rage and triumph as Lock takes you by the hand and draws you into Amy's world. A wonderful journey of life's little twists and turns that will stay with you long after you close the book.
Amy Silva has always done things her own way. Never one for ambling down the well worn paths of conformity by those around her, she's the woman in the hemp skirt, bare foot, following a small trail that will lead her, well, who knows where and that's just the way she likes it. With commitment issues surrounding a big new contract that locks her into semi-permanent employment, (not an easy thing for a dedicated freelancer) imagine her surprise when she discovers she's pregnant! Motherhood is a life long commitment right?
Thrust into a world of modern medical management, faced with an often absent partner (such is the life of an ADF WAG), a family thousands of miles from the house she calls home (for now) on the RAAF base in Darwin, Amy is understandably a little on the edge. Not content with being bullied by an arrogant obstetrician, Amy seeks something, anything, that will help her accept this surprise baby and embrace motherhood.
When Amy decides to talk to a midwife about having a home birth, her world is tipped even further into chaos. Her best friend is avoiding her, her partner- unable to reconcile his fears with a home birth seems to emotionally abandon her, things fall apart at work, she's spending more time in the bathroom than a man with a bowel disorder and to top it all off, there's a tropical cyclone coming right at her.
Amy's story is about family, friendship, love, grief, compassion, individuality, fear, freedom from fear, empowerment and the feminine mystique. You will laugh, cry, rage and triumph as Lock takes you by the hand and draws you into Amy's world. A wonderful journey of life's little twists and turns that will stay with you long after you close the book.
April 9, 2013
Amy Silva is a young woman who has always done things a little differently. She’s not any kind of radical bohemian, but when faced with the ultra conventional culture of life as a Darwin-based ‘Army wife’, she realises she rather likes being open to all that’s outside the square. But her views about life, the universe and everything get a major shake-up when she finds herself suddenly, unexpectedly pregnant. In Peace, Love and Khaki Socks, Kim Lock walks Amy through the intense journey of discovery, bewilderment and empowerment that is a modern, Western pregnancy. Amy knows nothing about pregnancy and birth and, as she learns, the reader is invited to consider the many pros and cons of the medicalisation of this natural process. Ultimately a strong argument for home birth, this book allows a likeably naïve protagonist to discuss some highly controversial concepts within a very straightforward narrative framework. It is a funny and entertaining story – not unlike some of the rural/'outsider' romance novels so popular in contemporary Australian publishing – but it also has a very serious point to make about the way we treat pregnancy and birth in the hospital system. I found this an original, very accessible novel that left me feeling as though I’d been hearing a friend’s birth story over coffee. The final chapters, as Amy meanders between ecstasy and agony in the animalistic process of a long labour and birth are moving and joyful.
A full review is forthcoming at http://thischarmingmum.com
A full review is forthcoming at http://thischarmingmum.com
May 15, 2013
A Brilliant debut novel! Very refreshing and topical subject matter and witty writing style. Loved it!
April 28, 2013
WOW!! I love it from start to finish. I lived in Darwin for almost 4 years and this book took me back!! Now I'm really wanting a laksa!!
Well done Kim!!
Well done Kim!!
January 19, 2014
Fantastic. Wonderfully written and the best, most honest and beautifully true description of labour and birth i've ever read. Loved it.
July 6, 2013
Of my first glimpse of this book I remembered thinking, hhmm… interesting title – bit hippie but yea… maybe… and I moved on. I am thankful though that Kim Lock approached me for a review as it prompted me to a closer look and acceptance. It was such a lovely, heart-warming book and I found myself (unconsciously) smiling all the time whilst reading it. I could barely wipe the smile off my face and it wasn’t because it was funny but because it was all so… relatable to myself as a mother.
Amy Silva has not thought about starting a family and definitely had no idea with what it will involve or what she’d need to do. So when she found herself to be with child, she was absolutely gobsmacked and lost. She tried to seek advice from a GP and then later her obstetrician as she tried to come to terms with her pregnancy but instead of feeling empowered, she felt merely incompetent. It seems that pregnancy just does not agree with Amy Silva.
Amy herself is very lucky in the love department. She is living with the love of her life and whilst their relationship isn’t without its rough patches, they are confident of each other’s love. As Amy struggles to understand pregnancy, its immediate and future consequences, she is really struggling to understand who she really is. Whilst this is not a ‘coming-of-age’ book as its standard definition, in a way it is similar to that or better put ‘coming-of-womanhood’.
Peace, Love and Khaki Socks is a book you can easily dive into and just continue on reading. You’d actually forget to surface to take a breather until something totally startling shocked you out of it. And when it did, I always found that I have unintentionally smiled the whole way through (sorry, train commuters, I swear I’m not a lunatic!). Whilst I couldn’t really relate to Amy’s concerns on pregnancy (I had different concerns), it reminded me so much of what I have forgotten in the experience of pregnancy and birth. There were times, however, that I thought this would’ve been ‘TMI moment’ if I haven’t gone through the same sort of experience. But since I had, I just found it hilarious.
I would recommend this book to all mothers out there –may it bring you many happy memories, and to all non-mothers (if you dare) –may it open your mind to possibilities.
I received an eCopy of book courtesy of author, Kim Lock, in exchange of an honest review (apologies for the delay). Thank you, Kim, for the smiles, reminiscences, and even some tears. Am awaiting your next work with great anticipation.
Amy Silva has not thought about starting a family and definitely had no idea with what it will involve or what she’d need to do. So when she found herself to be with child, she was absolutely gobsmacked and lost. She tried to seek advice from a GP and then later her obstetrician as she tried to come to terms with her pregnancy but instead of feeling empowered, she felt merely incompetent. It seems that pregnancy just does not agree with Amy Silva.
Amy herself is very lucky in the love department. She is living with the love of her life and whilst their relationship isn’t without its rough patches, they are confident of each other’s love. As Amy struggles to understand pregnancy, its immediate and future consequences, she is really struggling to understand who she really is. Whilst this is not a ‘coming-of-age’ book as its standard definition, in a way it is similar to that or better put ‘coming-of-womanhood’.
Peace, Love and Khaki Socks is a book you can easily dive into and just continue on reading. You’d actually forget to surface to take a breather until something totally startling shocked you out of it. And when it did, I always found that I have unintentionally smiled the whole way through (sorry, train commuters, I swear I’m not a lunatic!). Whilst I couldn’t really relate to Amy’s concerns on pregnancy (I had different concerns), it reminded me so much of what I have forgotten in the experience of pregnancy and birth. There were times, however, that I thought this would’ve been ‘TMI moment’ if I haven’t gone through the same sort of experience. But since I had, I just found it hilarious.
I would recommend this book to all mothers out there –may it bring you many happy memories, and to all non-mothers (if you dare) –may it open your mind to possibilities.
I received an eCopy of book courtesy of author, Kim Lock, in exchange of an honest review (apologies for the delay). Thank you, Kim, for the smiles, reminiscences, and even some tears. Am awaiting your next work with great anticipation.
January 23, 2014
This was a fun and quick read. Amy is living in Darwin with her partner who is in the army. Amy becomes pregnant, and the novel is about her pregnancy, and the eventual birth. She is conflicted about having a child, and is not happy with conventional medical treatment. She investigates home birth, and eventually decides to have her baby at home. I don't think I have ever read a longer description of a birth. If you are at all squeamish about this you may not want to read the book. This is the first book by this author, I will be on the lookout for her next one.
May 19, 2013
A wonderful book, so readable and beautifully written. OK, so it's a girl's book but I watched my two kids being born and while I wasn't the one pregnant, I remember that time well and the exciting out-of-control ride I took with my wife. Kim writes with self-assured confidence, I certainly would not have taken this for a first book. Well done Kim, keep writing. I look forward to another book, even if it is a 'girl book'.
December 9, 2017
Such a courageous novel, discussing a topic that no one wants to talk about. The witty writing and the character interactions had me laughing out loud. A unique read that everyone needs to get involved with, and a birth scene that will blow your mind. Loved it.
November 11, 2013
My review, which has been published in Transnational Literature Journal, may be found here:
http://dspace.flinders.edu.au/jspui/b...
Hope you enjoy it.
Kay
http://dspace.flinders.edu.au/jspui/b...
Hope you enjoy it.
Kay
September 14, 2013
Amy is in her early 20s and living in Darwin with her partner Dylan, who is serving in the army. She has started coming to terms with the lifestyle there and has plans for her own career, when life as she knows it suddenly changes. A positive pregnancy test suddenly throws a big spanner in the works and despite Dylan's support, Amy struggles to come to terms with this life changing event. Her apprehension is not helped by a brusque obstetrician and her early experiences in the pregnancy and birth "industry". It is only when she meets a woman who has experienced a home birth that Amy starts to see a different way in how she can experience pregnancy and birthing.
Right from the start I engaged with this story - I thought that Amy was a likeable character and that the dilemma she faced was a realistic one. Many women have to face an unplanned pregnancy many years earlier than they planned and coming to terms with it is not always easy. Although Amy's attitude towards the pregnancy may seem a little selfish, I thought it rang true with a character of that age and life experience. I think most people would also be able to relate to unsolicited advice and the sheer volume of information that needs to be absorbed as a couple face impending parenthood.
It is obvious that the author has had a positive experience with home birth and is passionate about sharing this with her audience. I must admit, however, that I did not think it was an entirely balanced view of the topic. I do agree that there are doctors out there who are not nurturing and that some aspects of pregnancy can seem like an industry, rather than a special, personal experience. However as somebody who has had a very positive experience with hospital births and a wonderfully supportive obstetrician, I feel that Peace, Love and Khaki Socks does make some generalisations.
All in all this was an interesting and enjoyable book with well developed, likeable characters and a realistic plot. I also enjoyed the Darwin setting - I don't think I've ever read a novel set there before and I enjoyed the novelty of it. I liked the writing style too - it was simple but engaging and I had no problem staying connected with the story.
Right from the start I engaged with this story - I thought that Amy was a likeable character and that the dilemma she faced was a realistic one. Many women have to face an unplanned pregnancy many years earlier than they planned and coming to terms with it is not always easy. Although Amy's attitude towards the pregnancy may seem a little selfish, I thought it rang true with a character of that age and life experience. I think most people would also be able to relate to unsolicited advice and the sheer volume of information that needs to be absorbed as a couple face impending parenthood.
It is obvious that the author has had a positive experience with home birth and is passionate about sharing this with her audience. I must admit, however, that I did not think it was an entirely balanced view of the topic. I do agree that there are doctors out there who are not nurturing and that some aspects of pregnancy can seem like an industry, rather than a special, personal experience. However as somebody who has had a very positive experience with hospital births and a wonderfully supportive obstetrician, I feel that Peace, Love and Khaki Socks does make some generalisations.
All in all this was an interesting and enjoyable book with well developed, likeable characters and a realistic plot. I also enjoyed the Darwin setting - I don't think I've ever read a novel set there before and I enjoyed the novelty of it. I liked the writing style too - it was simple but engaging and I had no problem staying connected with the story.
September 15, 2013
I really wanted to love this book....and by all accounts I should have; The author is from my state, I have had my babies at home, I believe in empowering women during pregnancy.......but I really didn't love this book. It had some very funny moments and at times I saw myself in the main character BUT it lacked something. I actually think this story would have translated better on screen than it did in print.
July 13, 2013
3.5 stars really.... I really enjoyed this book, especially the bits about Darwin, which is captured SO well. The central dilemma lost me a bit though, which is unfortunate (and possibly due to my own personal history) because it was very well written.
January 29, 2024
I imagine this novel might be partly inspired by the author's own experience as an army wife. Amy finds herself suddenly pregnant to her partner Dylan while he's in the army in Darwin. As she struggles to accept this huge change in her life she learns about empowerment and eventually finds her own voice and manages to make her own choices. A good read. I've enjoyed all Lock's books but had missed this debut novel.
August 21, 2020
A friend of mine gave me whole heap of books and this is one i kept. I thought Amy was quite annoying at the beginning but i admired how she found her strength in the end to go with her beliefs. There were some laugh out loud moments, some cringe, a few tears as i remembered having my babies but all in all an entertaining book.
October 23, 2022
Maybe more a 3.5 rather than a 3. I liked it but couldn't say I loved it. I borrowed it as I had recently finished The Other Side of Beautiful by the same author which I really, really liked.
Still, I enjoyed the depictions of modern day military Darwin, having had a relative deployed there for a time in recent years.
Still, I enjoyed the depictions of modern day military Darwin, having had a relative deployed there for a time in recent years.
April 26, 2024
One of my new Aussie authors!
January 6, 2014
The good
This is Kim Lock's first novel and I think she did a great job. The writing was good and was very engaging. I absolutely loved seeing Darwin - a city that I spent four years of my life and had my own daughter - being brought to life in the written word.
In all I would recommend that people read this book. It's a good example of Australian literature that has some of the lighthearted moments that Aussies are renowned for, but also addresses serious themes. The author crafted a narrative that is easy to read and, while there were some moments that I thought lingered a little too long (see my extended review below), most of the action moved along at a nice pace. There is wonderful description of Darwin and the wet season, and easy to picture what it all actually looks and feels like. Overall the author did a terrific job.
The not so good
At times the book read like homebirth propaganda. I don't like any overt messages (not just homebirth - I mean anything!) seeping into my literature, so I didn't appreciate the pages dedicated to discrediting the medical profession and promoting home birth. One or two mentions would be OK but it just kept popping up and the continuous reinforcement got on my nerves.
Also, the main protagonist was very annoying. I liked her a lot at the start and hated her by the end. She was selfish and I don't think, by the end, she realised it despite thinking she did. She wanted to be empowered with knowledge but did little to empower herself. She ignored what other people said outright, instead of taking steps to discuss. She was upset because the doctors didn't treat her as special, then got mad when people who loved her DID try to treat her as special.
(I REALLY wanted to shake Amy when she decided to drive out in the cyclone and her best friend told her it wasn't safe. Amy's response was "I'm sick of everyone telling me what I can or can't do because I'm pregnant". The sealed the deal on my despising the character. Amy dear, it IS in fact incredibly unsafe to go out in a cyclone, the pregnancy factor is irrelevant. It's also irresponsible - emergency services have better things to do during a cyclone than peel people off roads because they decided to drive out in the storm.)
In all, I probably would have appreciated the story building towards the decision to have a homebirth and the subsequent conflict Amy had with her partner and extended family if the character had made inroads into taking the effort to educate herself about her options instead of navel gazing and feeling victimised. Overall I understand some of the themes the author was trying to communicate through Amy, but never really felt Amy was actually committed to anything; rather that she took the first option that came along because other things hadn't gone her way.
This is Kim Lock's first novel and I think she did a great job. The writing was good and was very engaging. I absolutely loved seeing Darwin - a city that I spent four years of my life and had my own daughter - being brought to life in the written word.
In all I would recommend that people read this book. It's a good example of Australian literature that has some of the lighthearted moments that Aussies are renowned for, but also addresses serious themes. The author crafted a narrative that is easy to read and, while there were some moments that I thought lingered a little too long (see my extended review below), most of the action moved along at a nice pace. There is wonderful description of Darwin and the wet season, and easy to picture what it all actually looks and feels like. Overall the author did a terrific job.
The not so good
At times the book read like homebirth propaganda. I don't like any overt messages (not just homebirth - I mean anything!) seeping into my literature, so I didn't appreciate the pages dedicated to discrediting the medical profession and promoting home birth. One or two mentions would be OK but it just kept popping up and the continuous reinforcement got on my nerves.
Also, the main protagonist was very annoying. I liked her a lot at the start and hated her by the end. She was selfish and I don't think, by the end, she realised it despite thinking she did. She wanted to be empowered with knowledge but did little to empower herself. She ignored what other people said outright, instead of taking steps to discuss. She was upset because the doctors didn't treat her as special, then got mad when people who loved her DID try to treat her as special.
(I REALLY wanted to shake Amy when she decided to drive out in the cyclone and her best friend told her it wasn't safe. Amy's response was "I'm sick of everyone telling me what I can or can't do because I'm pregnant". The sealed the deal on my despising the character. Amy dear, it IS in fact incredibly unsafe to go out in a cyclone, the pregnancy factor is irrelevant. It's also irresponsible - emergency services have better things to do during a cyclone than peel people off roads because they decided to drive out in the storm.)
In all, I probably would have appreciated the story building towards the decision to have a homebirth and the subsequent conflict Amy had with her partner and extended family if the character had made inroads into taking the effort to educate herself about her options instead of navel gazing and feeling victimised. Overall I understand some of the themes the author was trying to communicate through Amy, but never really felt Amy was actually committed to anything; rather that she took the first option that came along because other things hadn't gone her way.
November 8, 2015
A moving, raw and honest account of childbirth.
Amy Silva, in her early 20s and unexpectedly pregnant, voices many of the realities and fears about pregnancy and childbirth that most women go through but many doctors, textbooks and pregnancy magazines gloss over: having a baby is hard and scary and it changes everything.
Lock's writing has a real freshness and bite.
On her leering boyfriend, Amy has this to say:
"'Yo,' I snapped my fingers, feeling suddenly irritated. I was not my breasts, and whatever they were doing, was not for his entertainment."
When her nosy neighbour wants to know why Amy is labouring on her hands and knees in the backyard during the home birth:
'Yeah,' I managed. 'Tell her if she's not careful, she'll cop a placenta.'
Amy Silva, in her early 20s and unexpectedly pregnant, voices many of the realities and fears about pregnancy and childbirth that most women go through but many doctors, textbooks and pregnancy magazines gloss over: having a baby is hard and scary and it changes everything.
Lock's writing has a real freshness and bite.
On her leering boyfriend, Amy has this to say:
"'Yo,' I snapped my fingers, feeling suddenly irritated. I was not my breasts, and whatever they were doing, was not for his entertainment."
When her nosy neighbour wants to know why Amy is labouring on her hands and knees in the backyard during the home birth:
'Yeah,' I managed. 'Tell her if she's not careful, she'll cop a placenta.'
January 26, 2014
I almost abandoned this because the protagonist was so irritating. The cyclone chapter was well written but I really could not work out why they didnt take cover in the lift...the descriptions of the smell and feel of the tropics were very realistic.
Read
November 6, 2013One of the great eBooks I enjoyed this year, and you can find out more about what I thought of it, here: http://blog.thatbookyoulike.com.au/th...
April 29, 2014
The author captures the feeling of places well, but her characters are a bit one-dimensional. As I read, the book seemed more and more a piece of homebirth propaganda rather than a novel.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews