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Women & Children
A powerful, personal novel about women and justice, from one of this country's most loved and clear-eyed storytellers.
It's 1965 and Joe Cluny is living in a working-class suburb with his mum, Marion, and sister, Ruby, spending his days trying to avoid trouble with the nuns at the local Catholic primary school. One evening his Aunty Oona appears on the doorstep, distressed and needing somewhere to stay.
As his mum and aunty work out what to do, Joe comes to understand the secrets that the women in his family carry, including on their bodies. Yet their pleas for assistance are met with silence and complicity from all sides. Who will help Joe's family at their time of need?
Women & Children is a novel about the love and courage between two sisters, and a sudden loss of childhood innocence.
It's 1965 and Joe Cluny is living in a working-class suburb with his mum, Marion, and sister, Ruby, spending his days trying to avoid trouble with the nuns at the local Catholic primary school. One evening his Aunty Oona appears on the doorstep, distressed and needing somewhere to stay.
As his mum and aunty work out what to do, Joe comes to understand the secrets that the women in his family carry, including on their bodies. Yet their pleas for assistance are met with silence and complicity from all sides. Who will help Joe's family at their time of need?
Women & Children is a novel about the love and courage between two sisters, and a sudden loss of childhood innocence.
328 pages, Hardcover
First published October 31, 2023
65 people are currently reading
1608 people want to read
About the author
Tony Birch
47 books354 followersTony Birch is the author of Ghost River, which won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Indigenous Writing and Blood, which was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award. He is also the author of Shadowboxing and three short story collections, Father’s Day, The Promise and Common People. In 2017 he was awarded the Patrick White Literary Award. Tony is a frequent contributor to ABC local and national radio and a regular guest at writers’ festivals. He lives in Melbourne and is a Senior Research Fellow at Victoria University.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 182 reviews
December 9, 2023
Women & Children takes place in working-class Melbourne, Australia in 1965. The novel's focus is domestic abuse, abuse at schools run by the Catholic Church, and the racism experienced by the Indigenous Peoples of Australia. Thankfully, things have changed since then, although to what extent I do not know. Now, because I highly recommend you read this book, I want to mention only a few things about it:
The “star” of the book most assuredly is the delightful 11-year-old Joe! What a terrific kid! His relationship with his granddad, Charlie, is another star! It was so incredibly heartwarming. Charlie is the grandfather we all wish we’d had. Supporting roles go to Joe’s mum, Marion, his aunty Oona, his 13-year-old sister, Ruby, and Charlie’s good friend, Ranji. Reading about these wonderful people made me feel awfully good. Marion is a single mom to Joe and Ruby, and such a good mother! She raised those kids well; both are polite and intelligent—perhaps because she had such great role models in her loving, gentle parents, Charlie and Ada. They loved each other until the day Ada died, but in reality, Charlie never stopped loving her and, to this day, is unable to sleep in their bed.
And now, for fear of introducing spoilers, I need to stop. I don’t want to say anything about the more negative aspects of this story. All I will say is that this was an incredibly powerful novel! I think if anyone watched me as I read, they’d have noticed my mouth hanging open in disbelief. The first part of the book was quite enjoyable; it was only once the abuse began that I became quite edgy, and stayed that way ‘til the very end. And what an end!! Holy cow!!😲 Such a shock!😨 I’ll have to admit to something, though… There may have been just the trace of an eerie smile on my face.😏
5 “Women-are-not-your-punching-bags”stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The “star” of the book most assuredly is the delightful 11-year-old Joe! What a terrific kid! His relationship with his granddad, Charlie, is another star! It was so incredibly heartwarming. Charlie is the grandfather we all wish we’d had. Supporting roles go to Joe’s mum, Marion, his aunty Oona, his 13-year-old sister, Ruby, and Charlie’s good friend, Ranji. Reading about these wonderful people made me feel awfully good. Marion is a single mom to Joe and Ruby, and such a good mother! She raised those kids well; both are polite and intelligent—perhaps because she had such great role models in her loving, gentle parents, Charlie and Ada. They loved each other until the day Ada died, but in reality, Charlie never stopped loving her and, to this day, is unable to sleep in their bed.
And now, for fear of introducing spoilers, I need to stop. I don’t want to say anything about the more negative aspects of this story. All I will say is that this was an incredibly powerful novel! I think if anyone watched me as I read, they’d have noticed my mouth hanging open in disbelief. The first part of the book was quite enjoyable; it was only once the abuse began that I became quite edgy, and stayed that way ‘til the very end. And what an end!! Holy cow!!😲 Such a shock!😨 I’ll have to admit to something, though… There may have been just the trace of an eerie smile on my face.😏
5 “Women-are-not-your-punching-bags”stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
November 29, 2024
4★
“He leaned across to his sister, pointed in their direction and whispered, ‘Look at those kids. They’ve been hurt.’
Ruby grabbed him by the arm. ‘Don’t point, Joe. And don’t you ask,’ she added. ‘Never ask.’
He realised his sister was angry with him, but Joe had no idea why. ‘I can’t ask?’ he said. ‘Why not?’
‘Because you never do, that’s all,’ she said. ‘Not about bodies.’”
Joe doesn’t understand, but then there’s a lot he doesn’t understand, other than you’d better do what you’re supposed to because the consequences don’t bear thinking about. The nuns at their school terrify him.
“ Heaven was rarely spoken of by the nuns. Whereas Hell was an ever-present fear.
. . .
‘You must imagine this,’ she would announce, with many of the younger children in tears, ‘that there will be no relief. Although you may beg for it to occur, your body will not be incinerated, and it will continue to burn. The experience of Hell will be far worse than anything you can imagine standing in this hall today.’’
Then Joe hears the story of the gangster who had led a dreadful life and was shot and dying in the gutter. Someone brought a priest to give him absolution so he could go straight to heaven. Joe is now constantly anxious about dying without a priest nearby to save him from the never-ending fires of Hell.
“While trouble trailed some children at the school, it resided in Joe Cluny’s back pocket. Although he never actively sought out mischief, Joe appeared unable to avoid finding himself on the wrong side of the nuns or the parish priest, Father Edmund, a severe man who ruled over his flock with a face so stern and frightening, he rendered students mute by his presence alone.”
His older sister Ruby has questioned faith for a long time but knows it’s wisest to keep quiet about it. It’s the women who are the church-goers and put the children into the care of the nuns and priests, while the men take out whatever grievances they have on their women and children in life.
Joe worries that when his mum’s sister Oona arrives bleeding and battered to hide out at their house, that she’s being punished. Did she do something wrong and is suffering for her sins like Jesus? The nuns have really messed with his mind.
Tony Birch gives us a child’s-eye view of Joe’s suburb in Melbourne of the 1960s.
“Church spires marked both the south and north boundaries of the street, the Catholic cathedral at one end, located on a hill overlooking the city, and a brooding Protestant outpost at the other. The shopping strip that the churches bookended was home to several busy hotels, nightclubs and gambling dens hidden behind curtained shop windows, run by Italian and Greek immigrants. Trams rattled along the street from early mornings until late at night, newspaper boys vocally plied their trade from every intersection, and women wheeled the footpaths on both sides of the street, with prams, shopping trolleys and fuel carts.”
Birch is an Indigenous writer, so we (rightly) infer that part of Joe’s trouble at school is because of his background, of which he is unaware, but we can pick up the hints. There’s no talk of culture or tradition in his family.
He has a dark patch on his cheek, like a birthmark, and gets bullied about it. One summer, his mother left him and Ruby with a nearby childminder.
“The morning that Marion left her son at the house the woman pointed at Joe’s birthmark and told him that there had to be a mongrel in the family’s past. ‘Could have been an Abo. Or even a monkey,’ she said, ‘that come to your mother in the night and did her. Let’s see if you have a tail.’ She cackled and tried pulling Joe’s pants down. He ran around the room until the childminder caught him and slapped his darkened cheek.
Joe touched his cheek and thought about the words of his late grandmother, Ada, who had once stood him in front of a mirror in her bathroom, placed the dark skin of an arm to his birthmark and said, ‘That’s the best of you, Joey. You and me both.’ ”
He asks his grandfather, Charlie, his grandmother was an orphan. Why didn’t she know who her parents were?
There’s a remarkable old Muslim man who runs a scrapyard out by the gasworks. He and Charlie, Joe’s grandfather, have been friends for many years. I enjoyed these two old fellas talking. They’re beyond the reach of the women and the bounds of the Protestant/Catholic neighbourhood.
Birch covers not only the stigmatisation of Aboriginal people with the requirement that they assimilate, but also the accepted and systematic physical abuse of women by the men who own them. As Ruby told Joe, you never ask, not about bodies.
I think it’s wonderful that Birch writes in such an open, straight-forward style about things that must be so close to his heart. In his author’s note, he tells about the people who inspired this story.
“Women & Children is a work of fiction. It is not the story of my own family, but a story motivated by our family’s refusal to accept silence as an option in our lives. It is a story that witnesses both the trauma of violence and the freedom that comes with summary justice, even when satisfaction is a momentary experience.”
. . .
“The photograph on the cover of the novel is of my late aunty and godmother, Maureen, and my eldest sister, Debbie, on the day of her first communion. I thank Debbie and my cousin Kerrie (Maureen’s daughter) for their permission to use the photograph. I also thank the photographer, my mother, Dawn.”
Thanks to you, Tony, for sharing the beautiful photo and for not ‘never asking’.
“He leaned across to his sister, pointed in their direction and whispered, ‘Look at those kids. They’ve been hurt.’
Ruby grabbed him by the arm. ‘Don’t point, Joe. And don’t you ask,’ she added. ‘Never ask.’
He realised his sister was angry with him, but Joe had no idea why. ‘I can’t ask?’ he said. ‘Why not?’
‘Because you never do, that’s all,’ she said. ‘Not about bodies.’”
Joe doesn’t understand, but then there’s a lot he doesn’t understand, other than you’d better do what you’re supposed to because the consequences don’t bear thinking about. The nuns at their school terrify him.
“ Heaven was rarely spoken of by the nuns. Whereas Hell was an ever-present fear.
. . .
‘You must imagine this,’ she would announce, with many of the younger children in tears, ‘that there will be no relief. Although you may beg for it to occur, your body will not be incinerated, and it will continue to burn. The experience of Hell will be far worse than anything you can imagine standing in this hall today.’’
Then Joe hears the story of the gangster who had led a dreadful life and was shot and dying in the gutter. Someone brought a priest to give him absolution so he could go straight to heaven. Joe is now constantly anxious about dying without a priest nearby to save him from the never-ending fires of Hell.
“While trouble trailed some children at the school, it resided in Joe Cluny’s back pocket. Although he never actively sought out mischief, Joe appeared unable to avoid finding himself on the wrong side of the nuns or the parish priest, Father Edmund, a severe man who ruled over his flock with a face so stern and frightening, he rendered students mute by his presence alone.”
His older sister Ruby has questioned faith for a long time but knows it’s wisest to keep quiet about it. It’s the women who are the church-goers and put the children into the care of the nuns and priests, while the men take out whatever grievances they have on their women and children in life.
Joe worries that when his mum’s sister Oona arrives bleeding and battered to hide out at their house, that she’s being punished. Did she do something wrong and is suffering for her sins like Jesus? The nuns have really messed with his mind.
Tony Birch gives us a child’s-eye view of Joe’s suburb in Melbourne of the 1960s.
“Church spires marked both the south and north boundaries of the street, the Catholic cathedral at one end, located on a hill overlooking the city, and a brooding Protestant outpost at the other. The shopping strip that the churches bookended was home to several busy hotels, nightclubs and gambling dens hidden behind curtained shop windows, run by Italian and Greek immigrants. Trams rattled along the street from early mornings until late at night, newspaper boys vocally plied their trade from every intersection, and women wheeled the footpaths on both sides of the street, with prams, shopping trolleys and fuel carts.”
Birch is an Indigenous writer, so we (rightly) infer that part of Joe’s trouble at school is because of his background, of which he is unaware, but we can pick up the hints. There’s no talk of culture or tradition in his family.
He has a dark patch on his cheek, like a birthmark, and gets bullied about it. One summer, his mother left him and Ruby with a nearby childminder.
“The morning that Marion left her son at the house the woman pointed at Joe’s birthmark and told him that there had to be a mongrel in the family’s past. ‘Could have been an Abo. Or even a monkey,’ she said, ‘that come to your mother in the night and did her. Let’s see if you have a tail.’ She cackled and tried pulling Joe’s pants down. He ran around the room until the childminder caught him and slapped his darkened cheek.
Joe touched his cheek and thought about the words of his late grandmother, Ada, who had once stood him in front of a mirror in her bathroom, placed the dark skin of an arm to his birthmark and said, ‘That’s the best of you, Joey. You and me both.’ ”
He asks his grandfather, Charlie, his grandmother was an orphan. Why didn’t she know who her parents were?
There’s a remarkable old Muslim man who runs a scrapyard out by the gasworks. He and Charlie, Joe’s grandfather, have been friends for many years. I enjoyed these two old fellas talking. They’re beyond the reach of the women and the bounds of the Protestant/Catholic neighbourhood.
Birch covers not only the stigmatisation of Aboriginal people with the requirement that they assimilate, but also the accepted and systematic physical abuse of women by the men who own them. As Ruby told Joe, you never ask, not about bodies.
I think it’s wonderful that Birch writes in such an open, straight-forward style about things that must be so close to his heart. In his author’s note, he tells about the people who inspired this story.
“Women & Children is a work of fiction. It is not the story of my own family, but a story motivated by our family’s refusal to accept silence as an option in our lives. It is a story that witnesses both the trauma of violence and the freedom that comes with summary justice, even when satisfaction is a momentary experience.”
. . .
“The photograph on the cover of the novel is of my late aunty and godmother, Maureen, and my eldest sister, Debbie, on the day of her first communion. I thank Debbie and my cousin Kerrie (Maureen’s daughter) for their permission to use the photograph. I also thank the photographer, my mother, Dawn.”
Thanks to you, Tony, for sharing the beautiful photo and for not ‘never asking’.
November 26, 2023
This is a quiet novel about big problems: rage, justice, powerlessness, and complicity. It's surprisingly readable and terribly confronting.
My full review of Women & Children is up now on Keeping Up With The Penguins.
My full review of Women & Children is up now on Keeping Up With The Penguins.
December 30, 2023
After finishing this novel, I googled and found the information below.
In the year 2021/22, 5606 women (average of 15 women/day) were hospitalised due to family and domestic violence
As of November 2023, 25 females had been killed by an intimate partner.
2020-21, 25 females were killed by intimate partner.
2019-20, 36 females were killed by an intimate partner.
2018-19, 35 females were killed by an intimate partner.
2016-17, 40 females were killed by an intimate partner.
I am sure the reader would know that the theme of this book is domestic violence. Birch’s novel develops into this subject. The early parts of the book are centred around eleven-year-old Joe Cluny, his mother Marion, sister Ruby, Grandfather Charlie, and Aunt Oona. Birch gives us an appraisal of catholic education in 1960s Australia. I am gathering that it was from personal experience. The story has its antecedents in the late eighteenth century writing of Ruth Park’s The Harp in the South. Birch captures 1960s Melbourne in a touching and moving manner.
While I was part of the protestant Australia at the time, I did have one friend who was part of the catholic milieu and knew of the social power it had, especially in the Labor Party.
He delves into the family background of some of the older characters. Initially the book had a teen lit feel but as the story progresses and the impact of domestic violence is introduced it takes on more of an adult feel.
I tried to remember of other stories with domestic violence as the main theme. ‘Girl on the Train’ by Paula Hawkins dealt with the issue as part of the mystery. Recently, Michelle Prak's 'The Rush' touched on male treatment of women. The pressures on a woman to stay in a violent relationship are enormous. Where does she go, especially if she has several children, and even babies in her care?
Birch is able to create believable and likeable characters. Ranji, Charlie’s good friend, the school cleaner, the nuns, and the priest (although they’re not all that likeable).
I do not want to give any hint as the ending other than to say I am not a fan of this type of conclusion. I would have preferred a more realistic ending. Marion goes to see her ex-husband to seek his assistance. He says that he would only involve himself if his children were hurt. I thought that could have been the avenue for Ray Lomax to be dealt with rather than the more fanciful ending that Birch has written.
Whenever I hear of the murder of a woman I stop and reflect on the horrendous psychological pain and suffering she must have gone through in the last moments of her life. Domestic violence is a scourge that individuals, society and governments must continually aim to eliminate.
In the year 2021/22, 5606 women (average of 15 women/day) were hospitalised due to family and domestic violence
As of November 2023, 25 females had been killed by an intimate partner.
2020-21, 25 females were killed by intimate partner.
2019-20, 36 females were killed by an intimate partner.
2018-19, 35 females were killed by an intimate partner.
2016-17, 40 females were killed by an intimate partner.
I am sure the reader would know that the theme of this book is domestic violence. Birch’s novel develops into this subject. The early parts of the book are centred around eleven-year-old Joe Cluny, his mother Marion, sister Ruby, Grandfather Charlie, and Aunt Oona. Birch gives us an appraisal of catholic education in 1960s Australia. I am gathering that it was from personal experience. The story has its antecedents in the late eighteenth century writing of Ruth Park’s The Harp in the South. Birch captures 1960s Melbourne in a touching and moving manner.
While I was part of the protestant Australia at the time, I did have one friend who was part of the catholic milieu and knew of the social power it had, especially in the Labor Party.
He delves into the family background of some of the older characters. Initially the book had a teen lit feel but as the story progresses and the impact of domestic violence is introduced it takes on more of an adult feel.
I tried to remember of other stories with domestic violence as the main theme. ‘Girl on the Train’ by Paula Hawkins dealt with the issue as part of the mystery. Recently, Michelle Prak's 'The Rush' touched on male treatment of women. The pressures on a woman to stay in a violent relationship are enormous. Where does she go, especially if she has several children, and even babies in her care?
Birch is able to create believable and likeable characters. Ranji, Charlie’s good friend, the school cleaner, the nuns, and the priest (although they’re not all that likeable).
I do not want to give any hint as the ending other than to say I am not a fan of this type of conclusion. I would have preferred a more realistic ending. Marion goes to see her ex-husband to seek his assistance. He says that he would only involve himself if his children were hurt. I thought that could have been the avenue for Ray Lomax to be dealt with rather than the more fanciful ending that Birch has written.
Whenever I hear of the murder of a woman I stop and reflect on the horrendous psychological pain and suffering she must have gone through in the last moments of her life. Domestic violence is a scourge that individuals, society and governments must continually aim to eliminate.
June 3, 2024
Unflinching and sadly all too relevant. We are in the grip of a national emergency of domestic violence in Australia right now and things need to change.
November 17, 2023
I devoured this in virtually one sitting. It is not a long book, but it has plenty to say about a lot of issues. The Catholic Church, the Catholic education system, domestic violence, racism, police and society in general. There were beautiful moments,especially the relationship betweenJoe and his grandfather Charlie. Having grown up in this era, I could relate to this story. I would have loved to have known what happened next for Joe, Oona and family……would have liked a longer book!
May 9, 2024
A harrowing and powerful novel. I remember sitting in one of Birch’s seminars last year and was absolutely mesmerised where he read a snippet from this book. This was a deeply moving read and Birch’s nuanced exploration of intergenerational trauma, religion, family violence and race is compelling. This is a stunning work of fiction and is no surprise that it has just been awarded The Age Fiction Book of the Year Award!!
January 23, 2025
Love, love, loved this book. So Australian and universal - the story of protection and unconditional love in families. Such a great story.
Read
November 6, 2023Review by Karina Ames
Award-winning Aboriginal author, academic and activist, Tony Birch doesn’t pull punches with his novels.
His latest book, Women & Children, is no exception, as he tackles family violence, religion gone wrong and human decency.
The story follows Joe Cluny, trying to make sense of a world ruled by over-zealous nuns, cruelty and loss.
He has questions that can’t be answered, like why children have bruises on their bodies at the pool.
Joe’s sister Ruby tells him ‘Don’t you ask… never ask.’
When his Aunt Oona visits, she is also covered in bruises. Joe doesn’t want to look at her and thinks her injuries have something to do with suffering and sin, like Jesus on the cross.
At school, the nuns are all named Mary but have little in common with the nurturing mother.
When Joe paints his face to look like the ‘Black Sambo’ moneybox in his classroom, they push the limits of punishment to breaking point.
Indigenous heritage a theme
Joe’s Indigenous heritage is what sets him apart at school. He reminds himself that his late grandmother Ada told him about their dark skin.
‘That’s the best of you, Joey. You and me both.’
There are other tender moments. Joe spends time with his grandfather Charlie, eating breakfast and helping Charlie reorder his extensive collection of found objects.
Charlie answers all of Joe’s questions and gives him books to read.
When Joe’s Aunt Oona stays at their house, Joe sees his mother Marion and aunt dancing to their mother’s favourite song in the kitchen.
Joe sees ‘the sparkle in his mother’s eye and the smile on Oona’s face’ as they relive shared memories.
The novel explores absences, with people separated by choice, distance or loss. Joe’s father Stan is off chasing his true loves: ‘cash and arithmetic’ and Marion won’t accept money from him.
Birch delves into what people choose to say and see, or hide or ignore.
As Aunt Oona walks down the street, bystanders pretend not to see her injuries.
When Marion turns to the church and her ex-husband for help, she is met with judgement and silence.
Muslim character is the good guy
The only character at peace with his beliefs is Ranji Kahn, Charlie’s Muslim friend, who works at the scrap yard.
Marion lists Ranji as one of the few decent men she knows and he teaches Joe that prayer should not be about fearing hell, prayer should be about happiness.
Birch’s pared-back writing style suits Joe’s point of view, however the style doesn’t always help the reader make sense of harsh realities Joe faces.
An example is where Charlie briefly tells Joe why Ada didn’t know her birth date, as she was removed from her home as a baby.
One of the least explained events is Joe’s sister Ruby’s visit to a farm on a school-organised holiday.
Ruby wins the holiday for her good behaviour as a model student. Little is said about what happens when she is away, but she comes back knowing how to fight.
The novel culminates in a terrifying incident that brings all of these threads together.
Likeable characters
While it is a satisfying ending, I was left wondering ‘what happens next for Joe?’ I wanted to spend more time with Birch’s characters and see how Joe moved on from his harsh beginnings.
This story felt more personal than Birch’s previous novels, as though he is re-exploring the world as a young boy and trying to make sense of the past. He searches out experiences worth remembering, like a favourite song or a bacon sandwich cooked by your grandfather.
Women & Children is filled with hardship, hope and bravery, as Joe’s family members do their best to protect each other. As they hold up secrets to the light, perpetrators lose their power and the family has hope for the future.
Birch is true to form as he brings sharp social observations exposing the undercurrents of life in some Australian families and exploring how to avoid repeating mistakes of the past.
Though unflinching in his style, there is enough warmth in his characters to leave you wanting more.
Women and Children author Tony Birch
Tony Birch has written four novels, five short fiction collections and two poetry books. In 2022 his book ‘Dark as Last Night’ won the Christina Stead Literary Prize and the Steele Rudd Literary Award. He was the first Indigenous writers to win the Patrick White Award.
‘Women and Children’ is published by University of Queensland Press ($34.99). This reviewer’s copy is from Berkelouw Books in Eumundi.
This review first appeared at The Pineapple, an independent digital magazine based in Queensland.
https://thepineapple.net.au/
Award-winning Aboriginal author, academic and activist, Tony Birch doesn’t pull punches with his novels.
His latest book, Women & Children, is no exception, as he tackles family violence, religion gone wrong and human decency.
The story follows Joe Cluny, trying to make sense of a world ruled by over-zealous nuns, cruelty and loss.
He has questions that can’t be answered, like why children have bruises on their bodies at the pool.
Joe’s sister Ruby tells him ‘Don’t you ask… never ask.’
When his Aunt Oona visits, she is also covered in bruises. Joe doesn’t want to look at her and thinks her injuries have something to do with suffering and sin, like Jesus on the cross.
At school, the nuns are all named Mary but have little in common with the nurturing mother.
When Joe paints his face to look like the ‘Black Sambo’ moneybox in his classroom, they push the limits of punishment to breaking point.
Indigenous heritage a theme
Joe’s Indigenous heritage is what sets him apart at school. He reminds himself that his late grandmother Ada told him about their dark skin.
‘That’s the best of you, Joey. You and me both.’
There are other tender moments. Joe spends time with his grandfather Charlie, eating breakfast and helping Charlie reorder his extensive collection of found objects.
Charlie answers all of Joe’s questions and gives him books to read.
When Joe’s Aunt Oona stays at their house, Joe sees his mother Marion and aunt dancing to their mother’s favourite song in the kitchen.
Joe sees ‘the sparkle in his mother’s eye and the smile on Oona’s face’ as they relive shared memories.
The novel explores absences, with people separated by choice, distance or loss. Joe’s father Stan is off chasing his true loves: ‘cash and arithmetic’ and Marion won’t accept money from him.
Birch delves into what people choose to say and see, or hide or ignore.
As Aunt Oona walks down the street, bystanders pretend not to see her injuries.
When Marion turns to the church and her ex-husband for help, she is met with judgement and silence.
Muslim character is the good guy
The only character at peace with his beliefs is Ranji Kahn, Charlie’s Muslim friend, who works at the scrap yard.
Marion lists Ranji as one of the few decent men she knows and he teaches Joe that prayer should not be about fearing hell, prayer should be about happiness.
Birch’s pared-back writing style suits Joe’s point of view, however the style doesn’t always help the reader make sense of harsh realities Joe faces.
An example is where Charlie briefly tells Joe why Ada didn’t know her birth date, as she was removed from her home as a baby.
One of the least explained events is Joe’s sister Ruby’s visit to a farm on a school-organised holiday.
Ruby wins the holiday for her good behaviour as a model student. Little is said about what happens when she is away, but she comes back knowing how to fight.
The novel culminates in a terrifying incident that brings all of these threads together.
Likeable characters
While it is a satisfying ending, I was left wondering ‘what happens next for Joe?’ I wanted to spend more time with Birch’s characters and see how Joe moved on from his harsh beginnings.
This story felt more personal than Birch’s previous novels, as though he is re-exploring the world as a young boy and trying to make sense of the past. He searches out experiences worth remembering, like a favourite song or a bacon sandwich cooked by your grandfather.
Women & Children is filled with hardship, hope and bravery, as Joe’s family members do their best to protect each other. As they hold up secrets to the light, perpetrators lose their power and the family has hope for the future.
Birch is true to form as he brings sharp social observations exposing the undercurrents of life in some Australian families and exploring how to avoid repeating mistakes of the past.
Though unflinching in his style, there is enough warmth in his characters to leave you wanting more.
Women and Children author Tony Birch
Tony Birch has written four novels, five short fiction collections and two poetry books. In 2022 his book ‘Dark as Last Night’ won the Christina Stead Literary Prize and the Steele Rudd Literary Award. He was the first Indigenous writers to win the Patrick White Award.
‘Women and Children’ is published by University of Queensland Press ($34.99). This reviewer’s copy is from Berkelouw Books in Eumundi.
This review first appeared at The Pineapple, an independent digital magazine based in Queensland.
https://thepineapple.net.au/
May 7, 2024
If anything in this review raises issues for you, visit White Ribbon Australia for help in your location.
Women & Children is such a heartfelt novel, I don't know how to write about my conflicted feelings about it. Though I suspect it was the author's intention, to portray with devastating clarity, how complex the issue of domestic violence is.
Women & Children is an important, powerful book that tells an important, powerful story... it's just that I didn't want to read a book about it right at this time when the nation is having a conversation about violence against women. There is so much about it in the news and the media and publishing and 'entertainment', that it is hard to hang onto the fact that most men are not violent, that violence is not normal in our society, and most men are keen to do what they can to turn things around. I know, and understand, that part of that involves turning over the long history of denial and silence, but I wanted a break from it in my bedtime reading.
And from having heard Tony talk about the book at the Sorrento Writers Festival, where he said he didn't want to write 'an angry book', I was not expecting Women & Children to be a brutal portrayal of violence on a woman's body. The concluding chapter is shocking. I could not sleep without finishing it, and then I couldn't sleep afterwards.
It's true that it's not an angry book. It is, as he said, a book about love. The love that the family has for Oona, the victim of a man's violence, and how each of them confronts their own powerlessness to stop it. It's set in 1965, in what was then an inner-city working-class suburb, at a time when police indifference and corruption meant there was no support to be had from them. The Catholic church, delivering ruthless ideology through the pulpit and the school, represents that old adage, 'you made your bed, now you must lie in it'. People don't look, don't ask, don't interfere and their silence makes them complicit. There's no such thing as a women's refuge, and feminism's Sisterhood had not emerged so Oona and her sister don't have a supportive network of other women around them.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2024/05/07/w...
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence,
call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au.
In an emergency, call 000.
Women & Children is such a heartfelt novel, I don't know how to write about my conflicted feelings about it. Though I suspect it was the author's intention, to portray with devastating clarity, how complex the issue of domestic violence is.
Women & Children is an important, powerful book that tells an important, powerful story... it's just that I didn't want to read a book about it right at this time when the nation is having a conversation about violence against women. There is so much about it in the news and the media and publishing and 'entertainment', that it is hard to hang onto the fact that most men are not violent, that violence is not normal in our society, and most men are keen to do what they can to turn things around. I know, and understand, that part of that involves turning over the long history of denial and silence, but I wanted a break from it in my bedtime reading.
And from having heard Tony talk about the book at the Sorrento Writers Festival, where he said he didn't want to write 'an angry book', I was not expecting Women & Children to be a brutal portrayal of violence on a woman's body. The concluding chapter is shocking. I could not sleep without finishing it, and then I couldn't sleep afterwards.
It's true that it's not an angry book. It is, as he said, a book about love. The love that the family has for Oona, the victim of a man's violence, and how each of them confronts their own powerlessness to stop it. It's set in 1965, in what was then an inner-city working-class suburb, at a time when police indifference and corruption meant there was no support to be had from them. The Catholic church, delivering ruthless ideology through the pulpit and the school, represents that old adage, 'you made your bed, now you must lie in it'. People don't look, don't ask, don't interfere and their silence makes them complicit. There's no such thing as a women's refuge, and feminism's Sisterhood had not emerged so Oona and her sister don't have a supportive network of other women around them.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2024/05/07/w...
November 21, 2023
I doubt there’s a book Tony Birch could ever write that wouldn’t be a compelling read but to cover the terrain he does in a little over 300 pages is a certain kind mastery.
I will think of the Cluny family often, especially young Joe, walking through the world (with all its’ violence and judgement) so innocently drawing upon the incredible strength of his sister Ruby & mum Marion whilst being so lovingly guided by his wise and kind Grandfather Char to courageously denounce the inherent cruelty of the catholics and men circa 1965.
I will think of the Cluny family often, especially young Joe, walking through the world (with all its’ violence and judgement) so innocently drawing upon the incredible strength of his sister Ruby & mum Marion whilst being so lovingly guided by his wise and kind Grandfather Char to courageously denounce the inherent cruelty of the catholics and men circa 1965.
January 29, 2024
Birch always looks his subjects directly in the eye – class, race, domestic violence, power, religion. He takes on big subjects with a light, quiet touch. He is a quintessential working class writer though, as he admits himself, he’s no longer working class, a climbing that interests me personally greatly. This was a tough read at times though I loved seeing the world through the eyes of young Joe. Childhood innocence only lasts so long and his comes crashing down in all kinds of ways. Tenderly done.
June 9, 2024
Deals with difficult topics including domestic violence and power imbalances in relationships. Didn’t find any of the characters had much depth and the plot is predictable (if you’re going to introduce a gun, you then have to use it …) My least favourite read of Birch’s to date.
December 16, 2023
A beautiful quiet book that touches on some heart-wrenching issues.
December 17, 2023
Birch has really created a compelling and compassionate read in this latest novel. A story that captures a generation (or two) of people living a suburban existence; falling through the gaps of support from government, the Church and law enforcement. Basically family and community are all they can count on.
July 22, 2025
4.5 stars. A story of violence against women, sensitively told from the perspective of the family of the tragic figure of Oona. The exposure of her niece and nephew to the horrors of such violence makes for confronting reading.
July 28, 2024
Although this was a serious and sometimes disturbing novel to read on holiday, it was a relief to find something that engaged me deeply after a couple of trivial books. Birch says this isn’t based on his own family except insofar as it reflects a ‘refusal to accept silence as an option in our lives.’
The setting, inner city Melbourne in the 60s, was familiar to me but whereas my family was comfortably eastern suburbs, the families in this novel are strugglers in a tough neighbourhood. The children in the novel are Joe Cluny and his sister Ruby. The women are Marion, the children’s mother, and Oona, their aunt. There are subtle references to their grandmother, Ada, who has died. There are also some very unappealing women characters among the nuns at the local Catholic school!
The children’s father is absent but Joe is particularly close to his grandfather, Charlie, a retired street sweeper and now a collector of miscellaneous ‘stuff’ that he tried to sell to his friend Ranji who runs a scrapyard. These characters come together to deal with what is happening to Oona and how she might escape from an abusive relationship.
Although there is terrible violence in this novel, there is also great tenderness. It is beautifully written with memorable characters. It is a celebration of survival and justice. Highly recommended - four and a half stars.
The setting, inner city Melbourne in the 60s, was familiar to me but whereas my family was comfortably eastern suburbs, the families in this novel are strugglers in a tough neighbourhood. The children in the novel are Joe Cluny and his sister Ruby. The women are Marion, the children’s mother, and Oona, their aunt. There are subtle references to their grandmother, Ada, who has died. There are also some very unappealing women characters among the nuns at the local Catholic school!
The children’s father is absent but Joe is particularly close to his grandfather, Charlie, a retired street sweeper and now a collector of miscellaneous ‘stuff’ that he tried to sell to his friend Ranji who runs a scrapyard. These characters come together to deal with what is happening to Oona and how she might escape from an abusive relationship.
Although there is terrible violence in this novel, there is also great tenderness. It is beautifully written with memorable characters. It is a celebration of survival and justice. Highly recommended - four and a half stars.
November 20, 2023
What an ending!
July 18, 2024
3.5, rounded up.
I do love Tony Birch's gentle prose. He's the humble, stoic, warm and wise observer.
I do love Tony Birch's gentle prose. He's the humble, stoic, warm and wise observer.
September 20, 2023
Would have been 4 but the main character was written as if he was 6 or 7 and he was 11, I found that disconcerting.
December 24, 2023
Another exquisite offering from Tony Birch that I felt sad to have finished, despite the perfect, slightly ambiguous ending, which I loved.
February 22, 2024
An absolute cracker of a read, stunning.
June 3, 2024
I am a big fan of Tony Birch, and chose to listen to this Audiobook while travelling. It tells the story of Joe, a sensitive boy, and the summer that his Aunt Oona came to stay, with bruises on her body. Joe lives in a world where violence is not unusual, whether is it the punishment meted out by the Nuns at his Catholic school who judge him harshly, or the kids he sees at the pool who have bruises. All Joe knows is that you don’t talk about the violence, hiding his punishments from his mum and not interfering in other people’s business.
This is an excellent book, reminding us that violence against women and children was commonplace, ignored and sometimes perpetrated by institutions like the Catholic Church and the police force. Even though this book is set in 1950s Melbourne, we still see frequent news reports of women and children who have died at the hands of their domestic partners (or ex-partners). This is a history we still need to grapple with. We need to provide alternatives and support those who struggle as victims, including those, like Joe’s grandpa Char, who witnessed domestic violence during childhood, and need to learn new ways of resolving conflict.
The audiobook is well narrated, with the Tamala Shelton using distinct voices for each character. I listened to it at 0.95 speed.
This is an excellent book, reminding us that violence against women and children was commonplace, ignored and sometimes perpetrated by institutions like the Catholic Church and the police force. Even though this book is set in 1950s Melbourne, we still see frequent news reports of women and children who have died at the hands of their domestic partners (or ex-partners). This is a history we still need to grapple with. We need to provide alternatives and support those who struggle as victims, including those, like Joe’s grandpa Char, who witnessed domestic violence during childhood, and need to learn new ways of resolving conflict.
The audiobook is well narrated, with the Tamala Shelton using distinct voices for each character. I listened to it at 0.95 speed.
December 3, 2023
Warning: this book contains domestic violence.
Whether you’re already a fan of author Tony Birch, or you’ve just encountered the news the Royal Society of Literature has named him as an international fellow - this book won’t be the last work of his you’ll read.
Set in suburban, working-class Melbourne, Joseph Cluney is finishing up in his last year of primary school at the local Catholic school, where his own mother and aunt attended also.
Unlike his older, 13 year old sister Ruby, he’s not a star student. Joe acts without considering consequences which invariably see him receiving the strap from the nuns.
The story is set during the 1960s, and these summer holidays Joe’s not spending his days at the local council pool as he’d planned while his mother Marion goes to work. His days are spent with his maternal grandfather, Charlie.
The first third of the book feels like it could have been memoir as fiction, but this is only the build-up.
Throughout the book I kept remembering the book we all read and loved in high school - ‘To kill a mockingbird’ by Harper Lee.
With themes of family, justice, authority and innocence this book could justifiably sit along side it in any Australian high school classroom.
‘Women and children’ by Tony Burch would also make an incredible stage play. Each character is crafted on the page so finely, I can already see in my mind who I would cast.
Much has changed in Australia since the period this story is set, but much is recognisable deftly handled by this capable storyteller.
I shed tears in public reading this book. Thank you, Tony Burch and University Press Queensland. This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. I’ll be talking about this book and its themes with family and friends, as well as gifting it to several others.
Lastly, thank you for Mrs Westgarth.
Whether you’re already a fan of author Tony Birch, or you’ve just encountered the news the Royal Society of Literature has named him as an international fellow - this book won’t be the last work of his you’ll read.
Set in suburban, working-class Melbourne, Joseph Cluney is finishing up in his last year of primary school at the local Catholic school, where his own mother and aunt attended also.
Unlike his older, 13 year old sister Ruby, he’s not a star student. Joe acts without considering consequences which invariably see him receiving the strap from the nuns.
The story is set during the 1960s, and these summer holidays Joe’s not spending his days at the local council pool as he’d planned while his mother Marion goes to work. His days are spent with his maternal grandfather, Charlie.
The first third of the book feels like it could have been memoir as fiction, but this is only the build-up.
Throughout the book I kept remembering the book we all read and loved in high school - ‘To kill a mockingbird’ by Harper Lee.
With themes of family, justice, authority and innocence this book could justifiably sit along side it in any Australian high school classroom.
‘Women and children’ by Tony Burch would also make an incredible stage play. Each character is crafted on the page so finely, I can already see in my mind who I would cast.
Much has changed in Australia since the period this story is set, but much is recognisable deftly handled by this capable storyteller.
I shed tears in public reading this book. Thank you, Tony Burch and University Press Queensland. This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. I’ll be talking about this book and its themes with family and friends, as well as gifting it to several others.
Lastly, thank you for Mrs Westgarth.
February 8, 2024
Fabulous characterisation with a strong insight into the bond of family and how women hold everything together. I love Tony Birch’s clear, direct prose and the way he says a lot with few words. The pace was a bit slow to begin with but it built to a great ending.
September 23, 2025
This searing tale of life for many women and children who end up with violent and abusive men is a sad indictment on the situation with domestic violence in Australia. Sadly, it rings very true. Great writing.
July 2, 2024
A pretty tough read at times. Great characters. Recommended.
November 28, 2024
Excellent,best story teller,you feel like you're there, so captivating can't put it down
September 23, 2025
Short book with a lot of heart.
November 17, 2024
How come I have not read this amazing author before? Such a powerful, heartrending book that is brutally honest about domestic violence. I loved the characters especially the grandfather, Charlie & the strong women. The description of the Catholic school in the 1960’s was complete accurate & I think my PTSD has resurfaced again.
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