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Golden Boys
"Sonya Hartnett's third novel for adults is perfectly formed and utterly compelling, an unflinching and disquieting work from one of Australia's finest writers." - Booktopia
Colt Jenson and his younger brother Bastian live in a world of shiny, new things – skateboards, slot cars, train sets and even the latest BMX. Their affluent father, Rex, has made sure that they'll be the envy of the new, working-class suburb they've moved to.
But underneath the surface of the perfect family, is there something unsettling about the Jensons? To the local kids, Rex becomes a kind of hero, but Colt senses there's something in his father that could destroy their fragile new lives.
Colt Jenson and his younger brother Bastian live in a world of shiny, new things – skateboards, slot cars, train sets and even the latest BMX. Their affluent father, Rex, has made sure that they'll be the envy of the new, working-class suburb they've moved to.
But underneath the surface of the perfect family, is there something unsettling about the Jensons? To the local kids, Rex becomes a kind of hero, but Colt senses there's something in his father that could destroy their fragile new lives.
224 pages, Paperback
First published August 16, 2014
26 people are currently reading
1793 people want to read
About the author
Sonya Hartnett
42 books311 followersSonya Hartnett (also works under the pseudonym Cameron S. Redfern) is, or was, something of an Australian child prodigy author. She wrote her first novel at the age of thirteen, and had it published at fifteen. Her books have also been published in Europe and North America. Her novels have been published traditionally as young adult fiction, but her writing often crosses the divide and is also enjoyed by adults.
"I chose to narrate the story through a child because people like children, they WANT to like them," says Sonya Hartnett of THURSDAY'S CHILD, her brilliantly original coming-of-age story set during the Great Depression. "Harper [the young narrator] is the reason you get sucked into the characters. Even I, who like to distance myself from my characters, felt protective of her."
The acclaimed author of several award-winning young adult novels--the first written when she was just 13--Australian native Sonya Hartnett says she wrote THURSDAY'S CHILD in a mere three months. "It just pulled itself together," she says. "I'd wanted to set a story in the Depression for some time, in an isolated community that was strongly supportive. Once the dual ideas of the boy who tunneled and the young girl as narrator gelled, it almost wrote itself--I had the cast, I had the setting, I just said 'go.' " Accustomed to writing about edgy young adult characters, Sonya Hartnett says that identifying with a seven-year-old protagonist was a challenge at first. "I found her difficult to approach," she admits. "I'm not really used to children. But once I started, I found you could have fun with her: she could tell lies, she could deny the truth." Whereas most children know "only what adults want them to know," the author discovered she could bypass that limitation by "turning Harper into an eavesdropper and giving her older siblings to reveal realities."
In her second book with Candlewick Press, WHAT THE BIRDS SEE, Sonya Hartnett once again creates a portrait of childhood. This time the subject is Adrian, a nine-year-old boy living in the suburbs with his gran and Uncle. For Adrian, childhood is shaped by fear: his dread of quicksand, shopping centers, and self-combustion. Then one day, three neighborhood children vanish--an incident based on a real case in Australia in the 1960s--and Adrian comes to see just how tenuous his safety net is. In speaking about Adrian, the author provocatively reveals parallels between herself and her character. She says, "Adrian is me in many respects, and many of the things that happen to him happened to me."
Sonya Hartnett's consistently inspired writing has built her a legion of devotees. Of THURSDAY'S CHILD, Newbery Honor-winning author Carolyn Coman says, "Hartnett's beautifully rendered vision drew me in from the very start and carried me along, above and under ground, to the very end. This book amazed me." The achingly beautiful WHAT THE BIRDS SEE has just as quickly garnered critical acclaim. Notes PUBLISHERS WEEKLY in a starred review, "Hartnett again captures the ineffable fragility of childhood in this keenly observed tale. . . . Sophisticated readers will appreciate the work's acuity and poetic integrity." Sonya Hartnett's third young adult novel, STRIPES OF THE SIDESTEP WOLF was named an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults.
Sonya Hartnett lives near Melbourne, Australia. Her most recent novels are SURRENDER, a mesmerizing psychological thriller, and THE SILVER DONKEY, a gently told fable for middle-grade readers.
"I chose to narrate the story through a child because people like children, they WANT to like them," says Sonya Hartnett of THURSDAY'S CHILD, her brilliantly original coming-of-age story set during the Great Depression. "Harper [the young narrator] is the reason you get sucked into the characters. Even I, who like to distance myself from my characters, felt protective of her."
The acclaimed author of several award-winning young adult novels--the first written when she was just 13--Australian native Sonya Hartnett says she wrote THURSDAY'S CHILD in a mere three months. "It just pulled itself together," she says. "I'd wanted to set a story in the Depression for some time, in an isolated community that was strongly supportive. Once the dual ideas of the boy who tunneled and the young girl as narrator gelled, it almost wrote itself--I had the cast, I had the setting, I just said 'go.' " Accustomed to writing about edgy young adult characters, Sonya Hartnett says that identifying with a seven-year-old protagonist was a challenge at first. "I found her difficult to approach," she admits. "I'm not really used to children. But once I started, I found you could have fun with her: she could tell lies, she could deny the truth." Whereas most children know "only what adults want them to know," the author discovered she could bypass that limitation by "turning Harper into an eavesdropper and giving her older siblings to reveal realities."
In her second book with Candlewick Press, WHAT THE BIRDS SEE, Sonya Hartnett once again creates a portrait of childhood. This time the subject is Adrian, a nine-year-old boy living in the suburbs with his gran and Uncle. For Adrian, childhood is shaped by fear: his dread of quicksand, shopping centers, and self-combustion. Then one day, three neighborhood children vanish--an incident based on a real case in Australia in the 1960s--and Adrian comes to see just how tenuous his safety net is. In speaking about Adrian, the author provocatively reveals parallels between herself and her character. She says, "Adrian is me in many respects, and many of the things that happen to him happened to me."
Sonya Hartnett's consistently inspired writing has built her a legion of devotees. Of THURSDAY'S CHILD, Newbery Honor-winning author Carolyn Coman says, "Hartnett's beautifully rendered vision drew me in from the very start and carried me along, above and under ground, to the very end. This book amazed me." The achingly beautiful WHAT THE BIRDS SEE has just as quickly garnered critical acclaim. Notes PUBLISHERS WEEKLY in a starred review, "Hartnett again captures the ineffable fragility of childhood in this keenly observed tale. . . . Sophisticated readers will appreciate the work's acuity and poetic integrity." Sonya Hartnett's third young adult novel, STRIPES OF THE SIDESTEP WOLF was named an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults.
Sonya Hartnett lives near Melbourne, Australia. Her most recent novels are SURRENDER, a mesmerizing psychological thriller, and THE SILVER DONKEY, a gently told fable for middle-grade readers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 253 reviews
May 31, 2016
Calling this book YA is a real stretch. If you call Golden Boys YA, you can as well call Ian McEwan's The Cement Garden YA. Both are told from POV's of children, in the case of this book - 10-13 year old kids from two messed up families, but there is no real YA/children's content in them. Golden Boys captures that distinct phase in children's lives when they start to understand the world around them better, and specifically, realize that their parents are flawed, often criminally flawed. Once they do find this realization, the next step is to decide how and if these children will hold their parents responsible for their crimes.
It's a novel laced with dread and suspense and a read simultaneously captivating, scary and heartbreaking.
It's a novel laced with dread and suspense and a read simultaneously captivating, scary and heartbreaking.
July 25, 2018
Some monsters look like monsters, others hide behind an attractive personality, a good upbringing and a cheerful smile. That they are " ordinary people" is even more disconcerting, especially to kids.
Two very different families live on the same street, in an Australian lower-middle-class suburb (I can't remember if the city/town was named). Rex Jenson, his wife and two boys, Colt and Bastian, have just moved into the neighbourhood. They're an affluent family, the kids have lots of toys and gadgets, and a pool. On the other end of the socio-economic spectrum are the Kileys, made up of Elizabeth, a stay-at-home mum, her blue-collar, violent and alcoholic husband, Joe, and their six children, ranging in age between two to twelve year old, Freya.
This novel is written through two twelve year old's eyes, Freya Kiley and Colt Jenson. They are both going through their own realisations about their parents. They are not necessarily happy to discover how flawed their parents are.
I haven't had much success with Aussie kids characters, as sometimes I find them too grown-up and unconvincing. I never doubted these kids and didn't raise my metaphorical eyebrow once.
It is a difficult read, about domestic violence and paedophilia. I was impressed by Hartnett's writing and her restraint. She also avoided creating those omniscient, know-it-all kid characters, who don't exist outside a novel's page. What she did brilliantly was to capture the kids' vulnerabilities, their struggles and impotence.
Golden Boys is a small but powerful novel, nuanced, realistic and a bit different. It'll make for a great book club read.
This book goes towards my Aussie Author Challenge 2018, on www.bookloverbookreviews.com
Two very different families live on the same street, in an Australian lower-middle-class suburb (I can't remember if the city/town was named). Rex Jenson, his wife and two boys, Colt and Bastian, have just moved into the neighbourhood. They're an affluent family, the kids have lots of toys and gadgets, and a pool. On the other end of the socio-economic spectrum are the Kileys, made up of Elizabeth, a stay-at-home mum, her blue-collar, violent and alcoholic husband, Joe, and their six children, ranging in age between two to twelve year old, Freya.
This novel is written through two twelve year old's eyes, Freya Kiley and Colt Jenson. They are both going through their own realisations about their parents. They are not necessarily happy to discover how flawed their parents are.
I haven't had much success with Aussie kids characters, as sometimes I find them too grown-up and unconvincing. I never doubted these kids and didn't raise my metaphorical eyebrow once.
It is a difficult read, about domestic violence and paedophilia. I was impressed by Hartnett's writing and her restraint. She also avoided creating those omniscient, know-it-all kid characters, who don't exist outside a novel's page. What she did brilliantly was to capture the kids' vulnerabilities, their struggles and impotence.
Golden Boys is a small but powerful novel, nuanced, realistic and a bit different. It'll make for a great book club read.
This book goes towards my Aussie Author Challenge 2018, on www.bookloverbookreviews.com
October 31, 2017
I had looked forward to this for some time. I listened to the audio version, very well read by the narrator, David Vatousios. I came across it during my library studies and wrote a blurb having not read it.
I quite like time frames that are assumed, but not mentioned specifically. This one would be in the 1980's, in the suburbs of Australia. Bikes, skateboards, and swimming in the summer should be a glorious time.
A new family moves into the area, with shiny toys and the best of everything. The other families established in the area, don't seem to have as much 'stuff' they are not so well off and don't have all the great toys like the newcomers.
It is dark though, the reasons for all the good toys, a monstrous reason. Adults should be taking care of their children. I'm afraid in this story, our young and innocent don't seem to be thought of at all. Dark and depressing, but very, very well written. The ending leaves us hopeful, but sad, mostly.
I quite like time frames that are assumed, but not mentioned specifically. This one would be in the 1980's, in the suburbs of Australia. Bikes, skateboards, and swimming in the summer should be a glorious time.
A new family moves into the area, with shiny toys and the best of everything. The other families established in the area, don't seem to have as much 'stuff' they are not so well off and don't have all the great toys like the newcomers.
It is dark though, the reasons for all the good toys, a monstrous reason. Adults should be taking care of their children. I'm afraid in this story, our young and innocent don't seem to be thought of at all. Dark and depressing, but very, very well written. The ending leaves us hopeful, but sad, mostly.
September 26, 2014
Golden Boys is a look at two neighbouring families, the Jensen’s and Kiley’s through the eyes of their children.
The Kiley’s is a large family of six children, not financially well off and cramped into a small suburban home - which 13-year-old Freya Kiley is starting to resent. She feels their confined space and the babies her mother continues to have is the cause of her fathers’ furious rampages. The atmosphere is tense and bleak, and the Kiley children find refuge roaming the streets. But when the new family arrives to their neighbourhood, the Jensen’s, it’s like a breath of fresh air for the Kiley children and their friends.
The Jensen is at the opposite ends of the spectrum to most of the neighbouring families. They are extremely wealthy, and Rex Jensen, father of Colt and Bastian, likes to lavish his boys with the ‘up to date’ and expensive toys. They have an abundance of food, a swimming pool and willing to share these luxuries with the neighbourhood children. The local kids really liked Rex to begin with; he is generous, attentive and they enjoyed how he fusses over them, - behaviour they’ve never seen or experienced at home by their own parents. But when we delve into 12-year-old Colt’s thoughts, and the pure hatred he feels for his father, we start to get this uneasy feeling that something is just not right.
Golden Boys is not a novel where the drama will hit you immediately head on. It’s a slow building plot, told by the point of view of 10, 12 and 13 year old children. Sonya Hartnett has an acute understanding of what it’s like to be a child in these strained situation. These children can sense something is a bit off or weird, when dealing with adult’s whose intention are deceitful or cunning. And in Golden Boys it’s a look at all the children of different walks of life, and how they deal with what they’re being confronted with.
Out of all the children in this book I found Colt predicament the most complicated one to comprehend immediately. He’s anxious, distress and on guard the whole time, yet through his thoughts he would provide the reader with random bits of detail, that were all over the place - of his home life and relationship with his father. With Colt it was a matter of patience, to piece together the information he provides you, to form a clearer picture - and the picture that develops in your mind is quite horrific then you initially predict.
Like the plot, there is a bit of unraveling of the year this book was set. It’s not told out front, but there’s a familiarity to it. I like the sense of freedom of this year, it reminded me of my own childhood playtime; where we were able to run free on our bikes with no adult supervision, go to our neighbour’s homes uninvited or just talk with friends on the nature strip. So I’m guessing it’s the late 70’s or early 80’s - as there’s no way I’ll let my daughter of today, roam around the street all alone.
I was about to give this a top rating but I didn’t like the abruptness of the ending – I felt slightly cheated. But nonetheless, the events leading up to the ending was magnificently told; the written words had a forbidden, hushed tone to it that felt like it was on the brink of breaking point. Terribly devastating and heartfelt novel, more importantly because innocent children were involved.
Read for #litexp14 - Literary Fiction
The Kiley’s is a large family of six children, not financially well off and cramped into a small suburban home - which 13-year-old Freya Kiley is starting to resent. She feels their confined space and the babies her mother continues to have is the cause of her fathers’ furious rampages. The atmosphere is tense and bleak, and the Kiley children find refuge roaming the streets. But when the new family arrives to their neighbourhood, the Jensen’s, it’s like a breath of fresh air for the Kiley children and their friends.
The Jensen is at the opposite ends of the spectrum to most of the neighbouring families. They are extremely wealthy, and Rex Jensen, father of Colt and Bastian, likes to lavish his boys with the ‘up to date’ and expensive toys. They have an abundance of food, a swimming pool and willing to share these luxuries with the neighbourhood children. The local kids really liked Rex to begin with; he is generous, attentive and they enjoyed how he fusses over them, - behaviour they’ve never seen or experienced at home by their own parents. But when we delve into 12-year-old Colt’s thoughts, and the pure hatred he feels for his father, we start to get this uneasy feeling that something is just not right.
Golden Boys is not a novel where the drama will hit you immediately head on. It’s a slow building plot, told by the point of view of 10, 12 and 13 year old children. Sonya Hartnett has an acute understanding of what it’s like to be a child in these strained situation. These children can sense something is a bit off or weird, when dealing with adult’s whose intention are deceitful or cunning. And in Golden Boys it’s a look at all the children of different walks of life, and how they deal with what they’re being confronted with.
Out of all the children in this book I found Colt predicament the most complicated one to comprehend immediately. He’s anxious, distress and on guard the whole time, yet through his thoughts he would provide the reader with random bits of detail, that were all over the place - of his home life and relationship with his father. With Colt it was a matter of patience, to piece together the information he provides you, to form a clearer picture - and the picture that develops in your mind is quite horrific then you initially predict.
Like the plot, there is a bit of unraveling of the year this book was set. It’s not told out front, but there’s a familiarity to it. I like the sense of freedom of this year, it reminded me of my own childhood playtime; where we were able to run free on our bikes with no adult supervision, go to our neighbour’s homes uninvited or just talk with friends on the nature strip. So I’m guessing it’s the late 70’s or early 80’s - as there’s no way I’ll let my daughter of today, roam around the street all alone.
I was about to give this a top rating but I didn’t like the abruptness of the ending – I felt slightly cheated. But nonetheless, the events leading up to the ending was magnificently told; the written words had a forbidden, hushed tone to it that felt like it was on the brink of breaking point. Terribly devastating and heartfelt novel, more importantly because innocent children were involved.
Read for #litexp14 - Literary Fiction
August 10, 2018
3.5 stars
Sonya Hartnett is an Australian author with a string of titles to her name. Golden Boys was the first of which I'd tried and I would be keen to try others if this is an indication of her writing. There was much I enjoyed about this story told from the points of view of two twelve year olds, and there was equally much for me to shake my head about as she expertly handled difficult family situations these kids found themselves in. I especially enjoyed the familiarity I found in the teeny details she provided, the way she included hints of these children's aspirations, all of which provided clues into time and place without ever actually classifying them outright.
It was not a coming of age story in the normal sense because the story took place over the course of a month and the protagonists remained children throughout, yet it had that feeling for me. It was a time when both Colt, new boy to the neighborhood, and Freya, eldest of six children in a local Catholic family, began to form opininions, to cast aside their blinkers and to become judgemental of their parents. And there was plenty to judge. Behind closed doors Freya's dad is a violent drunk, taking out his frustrations with his fists - laying into his wife and his property, scaring the children senseless. Over at the Jensen family, Colt and Bastian's father presents a flawless façade. As the local dentist he has money, he comes across as wonderfully personable, generous, perhaps even likeable. However, it's clear from Colt's reactions to his behaviour that things are not what they appear. The adage, "if something seems too good to be true it probably is" came to mind often. As the story progresses we get the sense that the family has reluctantly moved to this new neighborhood thanks to an indiscretion on the father's part. His overly friendly, touchy feely way with the neighborhood children, the way he lures them to the house with toys or the offer of a swim on hot summer days. Tending to scraped knees, helping kid's dry off after a swim, tucking in untucked shirts. Small actions intended to build trust but which instead gave rise to the feeling that behind the façade lay a predator.
This was a good story well told. The dialogue felt realistic; unfortunately the situations described were probably realistic too and that makes me sad but that's no fault of the author. One last thing....I listened to the audiobook and I thought David Vatousios did a fabulous job of each character.
Sonya Hartnett is an Australian author with a string of titles to her name. Golden Boys was the first of which I'd tried and I would be keen to try others if this is an indication of her writing. There was much I enjoyed about this story told from the points of view of two twelve year olds, and there was equally much for me to shake my head about as she expertly handled difficult family situations these kids found themselves in. I especially enjoyed the familiarity I found in the teeny details she provided, the way she included hints of these children's aspirations, all of which provided clues into time and place without ever actually classifying them outright.
It was not a coming of age story in the normal sense because the story took place over the course of a month and the protagonists remained children throughout, yet it had that feeling for me. It was a time when both Colt, new boy to the neighborhood, and Freya, eldest of six children in a local Catholic family, began to form opininions, to cast aside their blinkers and to become judgemental of their parents. And there was plenty to judge. Behind closed doors Freya's dad is a violent drunk, taking out his frustrations with his fists - laying into his wife and his property, scaring the children senseless. Over at the Jensen family, Colt and Bastian's father presents a flawless façade. As the local dentist he has money, he comes across as wonderfully personable, generous, perhaps even likeable. However, it's clear from Colt's reactions to his behaviour that things are not what they appear. The adage, "if something seems too good to be true it probably is" came to mind often. As the story progresses we get the sense that the family has reluctantly moved to this new neighborhood thanks to an indiscretion on the father's part. His overly friendly, touchy feely way with the neighborhood children, the way he lures them to the house with toys or the offer of a swim on hot summer days. Tending to scraped knees, helping kid's dry off after a swim, tucking in untucked shirts. Small actions intended to build trust but which instead gave rise to the feeling that behind the façade lay a predator.
This was a good story well told. The dialogue felt realistic; unfortunately the situations described were probably realistic too and that makes me sad but that's no fault of the author. One last thing....I listened to the audiobook and I thought David Vatousios did a fabulous job of each character.
January 23, 2015
A new family, the Jensons has moved into a working class neighbourhood. Their two boys, Colt and Bastian have lots of toys; shiny new toys bought by their seemingly doting father. No one knows why the wealthy Jensons have come to live in their suburb, but they are friendly and welcome the local kids in to share their toys and swim in their pool. Colt and Bastian's father, Rex is particularly welcoming and is kindly and attentive to the kids, something they are not used to from their own Dads.
The Kileys are a large family of six children ranging from 2 to 13. Their house is bursting at the seams and sometimes there is not enough food to go around, particularly during the weeks when Dad stops off at the pub on payday. The kids and their Mum live in fear of those nights when Dad is unpredictable and often violent, shouting and smashing furniture. Wanting to break out of the confines of her tense and overwrought home, Freya, the eldest is attracted to the Jensons, envying the order and calmness of their home and parents, whereas her younger brothers Declan and Syd are just happy to go over there to play with their toys. Gradually through the summer, the Kileys and their friends sense that something is not quite right with the Jensons and their unease boils over into their relationships with each other.
Set in the late 70s/early 80s (a time of BMX bikes, skateboards and Starwars toys), the story is told through the point of view of the children. The author is very skilled at seeing the world through the eyes of this pre-adolescent group, smart and knowing but still naive in the ways of adults. 4.5 ★
August 20, 2014
Freya Kiley was twelve years old – she was the eldest of her siblings of which there were five. They all lived in a little cottage with their mother Elizabeth and father Joe, very poor, surviving one week to the next on the minimal of necessities. So when Freya met the new family in their area, the Jensons, after church one Sunday – father Rex and sons Bastian and Colt, she knew there was something different about them.
Declan and Syd, Freya’s younger brothers, were old enough to spend time away from the family home on their bikes – the day they met Colt and Bastian and were invited into their home, they were immediately struck by how many toys the boys owned, how many expensive toys. And Colt could tell you (had you asked) that his father bought himself and Bastian things all the time, things they didn’t want or need, but he’d always been like that – lavishing them with new things that would probably never be used.
With life in the Kiley household becoming tense and full of pressure, Freya and her brothers continually felt the need to escape. The welcome they always received at the Jenson home made them wish their home had the same happy atmosphere. But was everything as happy as it appeared on the surface? Suddenly the fun and laughter amongst all the boys seemed strained and anxious. Were they all heading toward some sort of catastrophic event?
This novel by Aussie author Sonia Hartnett is told in the voices of the children, from their perspectives. Though it started off slowly (for me) it didn’t take long for the pace to pick up and events to continue in a compelling and thought provoking way. The two topics touched on in the story are things that can (and do) happen in households throughout the world and are deeply unsettling. I’m not sure about the ending; it’s confronting and I didn’t want it to end that way! But I have no hesitation in recommending Golden Boys highly.
With thanks to the publisher for my copy to read and review.
Declan and Syd, Freya’s younger brothers, were old enough to spend time away from the family home on their bikes – the day they met Colt and Bastian and were invited into their home, they were immediately struck by how many toys the boys owned, how many expensive toys. And Colt could tell you (had you asked) that his father bought himself and Bastian things all the time, things they didn’t want or need, but he’d always been like that – lavishing them with new things that would probably never be used.
With life in the Kiley household becoming tense and full of pressure, Freya and her brothers continually felt the need to escape. The welcome they always received at the Jenson home made them wish their home had the same happy atmosphere. But was everything as happy as it appeared on the surface? Suddenly the fun and laughter amongst all the boys seemed strained and anxious. Were they all heading toward some sort of catastrophic event?
This novel by Aussie author Sonia Hartnett is told in the voices of the children, from their perspectives. Though it started off slowly (for me) it didn’t take long for the pace to pick up and events to continue in a compelling and thought provoking way. The two topics touched on in the story are things that can (and do) happen in households throughout the world and are deeply unsettling. I’m not sure about the ending; it’s confronting and I didn’t want it to end that way! But I have no hesitation in recommending Golden Boys highly.
With thanks to the publisher for my copy to read and review.
October 25, 2014
My View:
Evil lurks under the surface.
A book that slowly draws you into its grasp into a time of childhood innocence, of BMX bikes and playing in the local storm water drain, of BBQ’s with the neighbours… a time when kids could be adventurers and start to develop their own identity and work out their place in the world. However all is not quite what it seems, the story told through the eyes of the children in the two families that are spotlighted in this narrative are wise for their age but have not yet learnt how to deal with their wisdom. We watch them struggle to cope with realisations that their family is not quite like everyone else’s and that feelings of love and hate are not mutually exclusive within the family unit.
The story opens with a display of parental teasing and Colt clearly sees the action for what it really is – a display of power over, her reflects; “There’s always some small cruelty, an unpleasant little hoop to be crawled through before what’s good may begin; here is the gift, but first you must guess its colour.” And so even at this early point in the novel Hartnett foreshadows the power plays that will form the crux of this story, power over and manipulation form the structure this narrative is welded to.
This is a finely drawn picture of life in the 70’s in Australian suburbia that does not skimp on domestic detail and family dysfunction. Issues that are “family secrets” are explored and laid bare. I think one of the reasons I felt drawn to this story aside from the poignant characterisations was the ability this narrative had to take me back to my own childhood, I too was a teenager in the 70’s and found life not always that easy. I could empathise with the main characters. I could relate to these times.
This is a disquieting read. The conclusion is confronting.
Evil lurks under the surface.
A book that slowly draws you into its grasp into a time of childhood innocence, of BMX bikes and playing in the local storm water drain, of BBQ’s with the neighbours… a time when kids could be adventurers and start to develop their own identity and work out their place in the world. However all is not quite what it seems, the story told through the eyes of the children in the two families that are spotlighted in this narrative are wise for their age but have not yet learnt how to deal with their wisdom. We watch them struggle to cope with realisations that their family is not quite like everyone else’s and that feelings of love and hate are not mutually exclusive within the family unit.
The story opens with a display of parental teasing and Colt clearly sees the action for what it really is – a display of power over, her reflects; “There’s always some small cruelty, an unpleasant little hoop to be crawled through before what’s good may begin; here is the gift, but first you must guess its colour.” And so even at this early point in the novel Hartnett foreshadows the power plays that will form the crux of this story, power over and manipulation form the structure this narrative is welded to.
This is a finely drawn picture of life in the 70’s in Australian suburbia that does not skimp on domestic detail and family dysfunction. Issues that are “family secrets” are explored and laid bare. I think one of the reasons I felt drawn to this story aside from the poignant characterisations was the ability this narrative had to take me back to my own childhood, I too was a teenager in the 70’s and found life not always that easy. I could empathise with the main characters. I could relate to these times.
This is a disquieting read. The conclusion is confronting.
August 13, 2018
What the frickerfrack was that!!
Literary fiction, man. It does my head in.
So this review is probably gonna be short because here we have another book that was just not my jam.
Aussie suburban kids, summer. Kids doing silly things and making dumb assumptions about adults. Adults being ridiculous and a-typical. DRAMA. At first I thought this was about the over-dramatisation of kids but then I progressed to thinking it was about how observant kids can be and honestly, after finishing, I'm still not clear on which it was.
Colt is a perfect kid who hates his perfect dad. Freya is a silly little girl who hates her dad but loves Colt's. Freya's dad is a jerk who hates everyone, Colt's dad is a mystery who seems to love everyone but possibly doesn't? or does too much? I don't know. I was so confused. I'm still so confused.
I'm starting to realise I kind of hate literary fiction a little bit. Because it spends so much time telling you pointless details (for example half this book is a list of toys and typical Aussie foods) that it almost forgets to include the story, and then when it finally decides to tell you a bit more of the story it assumes you already know it so it's vague and frustrating. I have no idea what this story was about, other than 90s kids and some terrible parenting.
Read this if: you love stories that dance around the plot with vague dialogue and dull details; you love indulging in nostalgia; you enjoy scratching your head wondering what just happened or nodding in appreciation because you're one of the rare people who enjoys untangling all the hidden meanings
Avoid like the plague if you: like action, hate boring details and repetition, didn't grow up in Australia in the 80s or 90s, prefer clear and concise stories.
Didn't hate it, can appreciate it will be enjoyed by many, but not my thing.
Also, that ending. I don't get it.
Literary fiction, man. It does my head in.
So this review is probably gonna be short because here we have another book that was just not my jam.
Aussie suburban kids, summer. Kids doing silly things and making dumb assumptions about adults. Adults being ridiculous and a-typical. DRAMA. At first I thought this was about the over-dramatisation of kids but then I progressed to thinking it was about how observant kids can be and honestly, after finishing, I'm still not clear on which it was.
Colt is a perfect kid who hates his perfect dad. Freya is a silly little girl who hates her dad but loves Colt's. Freya's dad is a jerk who hates everyone, Colt's dad is a mystery who seems to love everyone but possibly doesn't? or does too much? I don't know. I was so confused. I'm still so confused.
I'm starting to realise I kind of hate literary fiction a little bit. Because it spends so much time telling you pointless details (for example half this book is a list of toys and typical Aussie foods) that it almost forgets to include the story, and then when it finally decides to tell you a bit more of the story it assumes you already know it so it's vague and frustrating. I have no idea what this story was about, other than 90s kids and some terrible parenting.
Read this if: you love stories that dance around the plot with vague dialogue and dull details; you love indulging in nostalgia; you enjoy scratching your head wondering what just happened or nodding in appreciation because you're one of the rare people who enjoys untangling all the hidden meanings
Avoid like the plague if you: like action, hate boring details and repetition, didn't grow up in Australia in the 80s or 90s, prefer clear and concise stories.
Didn't hate it, can appreciate it will be enjoyed by many, but not my thing.
Also, that ending. I don't get it.
November 22, 2019
Candy coated cruelties scatter all about with the arrival of a new family in town. How stinking appropriate that the opening scene takes place as they encounter one of their long term residents as they exit church. From here Ms. Hartnett offers up a deep dive into the rotting underbelly of family life in suburbia. Once the thin veneer of respectability is stripped we get up close with two sets of parents and the destruction they reap on the “neighbourhood ruffians.” One father, the dentist, is overly eager to befriend the kids. He is the father of the golden boys. The other is an unpredictable alcoholic who terrorizes his six children and dependent wife with verbal abuse and violence. The children in both households exist in a chronic state of anxiety always dreading what dad will do next. It becomes the self elected responsibility of the oldest children, one male, the other female, to do their part to redress all that is wrong. Role reversal is never fun. The loneliness and desolation they experience in their attempts to be heroes is almost overwhelming. Parentified children take center stage in this dark tale of self sacrifice. The story made me ache with sadness for the little children. Hartnett thrusts their fears right up in your face. This will prove an emotionally heartbreaking and wise novel for those who will find themselves revisiting that mysterious pull between love and hate that lies at the heart of every damaged family.
December 31, 2014
Brilliantly observed and menacing tale of the guilt that children bear for the actions of their parents. As always with Hartnett, a disturbing ending that stays long after the last page has been turned.
September 10, 2014
I've said it a million times before and I'll probably say it another million times, Sonya Hartnett is an artist with words. I just love her books so much. They're so real yet also often devastating. Golden Boys, like usual, is just that little bit of a heavy read, in a good way. You wonder what's going to happen and you dread but delight in finding out. I've never read any other books quite so real. They dig in under my skin and don't let go until long after I've out the book down.
September 26, 2016
There is, I think, a moment in a child's life when they realize their parents aren't perfect, that they're just people - maybe not even good people - and make mistakes too. Some children realize this much earlier. Perhaps they have to watch as their father mistreats their mother or other signs of horrible behavior they should never have to witness.
Golden Boys was an interesting look at expectations of people and how families look from the outside compared to what they're actually like. There are those families who seem absolutely wonderful and loving, but every family has their struggles. I've had so many people say about my family, "You guys are perfect!" or "I want to be just like you!" but they don't know the ugly side of things; when we have fights or something terrible happens that effects us all.
This book follows Colt and Bastian Jenson who move to a new town and are from such a family - a seemingly perfect one. Their father, Rex, buys them new presents and invites the other kids in the neighborhood over to his house for a barbecue or a swim in his pool. Thirteen-year-old Freya Kiley watches the Jensons with envy, thinking of her abusive household, how her father hits her mother and loses himself in tantrums.
As the children get to know each other, however, the glamour begins to fade as reality sets in. The illusion of perfection is just that - an illusion. Is Rex Jenson really the perfect father, or is he a pervert as the Kiley boys claim?
Golden Boys was a well written character study that I appreciated. I liked that it was written from young children's point of views, with each of them being well rounded narrators.
One thing I do wish, though, was that the plot had been more interesting. Despite the pronounced message, at the end of the day, how exciting is it to read about a family's day to day life? Not very much. I still liked the theme of this book, but it was too slow with not enough happening for me to rate it any higher.
Golden Boys was an interesting look at expectations of people and how families look from the outside compared to what they're actually like. There are those families who seem absolutely wonderful and loving, but every family has their struggles. I've had so many people say about my family, "You guys are perfect!" or "I want to be just like you!" but they don't know the ugly side of things; when we have fights or something terrible happens that effects us all.
This book follows Colt and Bastian Jenson who move to a new town and are from such a family - a seemingly perfect one. Their father, Rex, buys them new presents and invites the other kids in the neighborhood over to his house for a barbecue or a swim in his pool. Thirteen-year-old Freya Kiley watches the Jensons with envy, thinking of her abusive household, how her father hits her mother and loses himself in tantrums.
As the children get to know each other, however, the glamour begins to fade as reality sets in. The illusion of perfection is just that - an illusion. Is Rex Jenson really the perfect father, or is he a pervert as the Kiley boys claim?
“With their father, there’s always a catch: the truth is enough to make Colt take a step back. There’s always some small cruelty, an unpleasant little hoop to be crawled through before what’s good may begin.”
Golden Boys was a well written character study that I appreciated. I liked that it was written from young children's point of views, with each of them being well rounded narrators.
One thing I do wish, though, was that the plot had been more interesting. Despite the pronounced message, at the end of the day, how exciting is it to read about a family's day to day life? Not very much. I still liked the theme of this book, but it was too slow with not enough happening for me to rate it any higher.
March 19, 2015
Dads, huh.
Many of Hartnett's stories involve bad dads - scary dads, violent dads, physically absent dads, emotionally absent dads...
With "Golden Boys" there's two bad dads for the price of one - as the book centres on the microcosm of the Jensons and the Kileys, whose children exist in an uneasy existence of uncertainty and shame.
The story is told through the kids - a collection of boys already practicing the hardness they'll need for uncomfortable lives as men and the incredible Freya, the complex young woman dying for help (and who I wish was more present in the book's final act).
The beautiful sadness of the book is just how much children do in fact pick up on what is happening in their parents' lives - they are even more sensitive, in fact - and their relationship with each other is just as complex as adult interaction.
It was intriguing to decide exactly what happened with Rex and the kids - it's left to assumption and judgment, not actually confirmed one way or another - instead told through gossip of kids, reflections of children who don't need to full articulate what is happening for the reader and just a general feeling of things being not quite right, of being just "off".
There's also an interesting juxtaposition of neglect and attention - the over-done spoiling of some, the complete lack of adult supervision of others, then those who wish their father would never come home...
The last Harnett I read/reviewed was "Surrender" and I had found myself having trouble with the loftiness of the artistic language (which isn't an utterly terrible complaint to have to make) - however this more recent work was much more approachable with so much happening through approachable language, which made the story much more relatable and vivid - which made the book both easier to read, and so, so much harder.
Many of Hartnett's stories involve bad dads - scary dads, violent dads, physically absent dads, emotionally absent dads...
With "Golden Boys" there's two bad dads for the price of one - as the book centres on the microcosm of the Jensons and the Kileys, whose children exist in an uneasy existence of uncertainty and shame.
The story is told through the kids - a collection of boys already practicing the hardness they'll need for uncomfortable lives as men and the incredible Freya, the complex young woman dying for help (and who I wish was more present in the book's final act).
The beautiful sadness of the book is just how much children do in fact pick up on what is happening in their parents' lives - they are even more sensitive, in fact - and their relationship with each other is just as complex as adult interaction.
It was intriguing to decide exactly what happened with Rex and the kids - it's left to assumption and judgment, not actually confirmed one way or another - instead told through gossip of kids, reflections of children who don't need to full articulate what is happening for the reader and just a general feeling of things being not quite right, of being just "off".
There's also an interesting juxtaposition of neglect and attention - the over-done spoiling of some, the complete lack of adult supervision of others, then those who wish their father would never come home...
The last Harnett I read/reviewed was "Surrender" and I had found myself having trouble with the loftiness of the artistic language (which isn't an utterly terrible complaint to have to make) - however this more recent work was much more approachable with so much happening through approachable language, which made the story much more relatable and vivid - which made the book both easier to read, and so, so much harder.
August 31, 2014
When the affluent Jenson family move in to the neighborhood they quickly attract the attention of the local children. Colt and Bastian have a playroom full of toys, a swimming pool and a charismatic father, all of which they seem prepared to share. The Jenson home quickly becomes a haven for twelve year old Freya and the neighborhood boys, Avery, Garrick and brothers Syd and Declan, eager to escape their working class homes marred by violence, poverty and neglect, but before long the boys sense something is not quite right, and the golden aura of the Jensons begins to tarnish.
Golden Boys is set in the early to mid 1970's, in an outer suburban locale, a landscape familiar to readers who freely roamed their neighborhood during long summer days. It explores the complex dynamics of family, childhood and friendship, and the disquieting undercurrent of violence and abuse seething beneath their ordinary facade.
Freya Kiley, struggling to understand her large family's dynamic, sees Rex Jenson as a possible saviour, but her brother's, Declan and Syd, begin to sense Rex is not quite what he seems. Colt is all too aware of his father's failings but at a loss as to how to admit, or cope with them. Garrick has no such hesitation, the neighborhood bully, he, like most children, is simply certain that someone has to pay for doing wrong by him.
With finely crafted characters and evocative storytelling threaded with subtle tension, Sonya Hartnett's Golden Boys is an artful novel.
September 21, 2014
I absolutely loved this book.
Sonya Hartnett's writing is amazing - her portrayal of childhood in the 1970's is spot on and if you were a kid at this time you will be taken back to your friend's backyard swimming pool, every pedal of the bike, and the freedom of taking off for the day. Saying that, Golden Boys is not a feel-good novel where life is all sunshine, school and skateboards, this book has a dark undertone which slowly builds even though you have an inkling from the start where it's unfortunately heading. Told through the eyes of mainly 3 children from two completely different families - one an everyday working class family with too many children in a too small home coping with a father who comes home regularly drunk and abusive, the other a well to do family who have just moved into the street, with their 2 'golden boys' who have everything that any child could want, or at least so it appears.
Personally my favourite character from the book was Syd, I loved what went on in his head, especially his feelings towards Garrick.
I'm so glad I read this - many thanks to TheReadingRoom and Penguin books for my copy.
Sonya Hartnett's writing is amazing - her portrayal of childhood in the 1970's is spot on and if you were a kid at this time you will be taken back to your friend's backyard swimming pool, every pedal of the bike, and the freedom of taking off for the day. Saying that, Golden Boys is not a feel-good novel where life is all sunshine, school and skateboards, this book has a dark undertone which slowly builds even though you have an inkling from the start where it's unfortunately heading. Told through the eyes of mainly 3 children from two completely different families - one an everyday working class family with too many children in a too small home coping with a father who comes home regularly drunk and abusive, the other a well to do family who have just moved into the street, with their 2 'golden boys' who have everything that any child could want, or at least so it appears.
Personally my favourite character from the book was Syd, I loved what went on in his head, especially his feelings towards Garrick.
I'm so glad I read this - many thanks to TheReadingRoom and Penguin books for my copy.
April 21, 2015
Essentially a novel that emphasizes the sins of the father in respect to a son's penance, Golden Boys is a discomforting read about a small neighborhood and the subtleties that can be open to an array of interpretation. A new family moves to the area, the local kids meet the new kids, the parents are seen through the eyes of growing adolescents and suddenly adult fallibility becomes disappointingly clear.
It's a "is he or isn't he" sort of story that is disquieting and asks more questions than it answers. Golden Boys is easy to read and well worth it for the tight prose. However, the abrupt ending left more loose ends than I'd generally prefer.
It's a "is he or isn't he" sort of story that is disquieting and asks more questions than it answers. Golden Boys is easy to read and well worth it for the tight prose. However, the abrupt ending left more loose ends than I'd generally prefer.
December 11, 2022
A compelling, menacing novel narrated from mainly young teenagers perspectives about two very different socio economic Australian families living on the same street. The affluent Jensen family move into a working class suburb. Rex Jensen is a dentist and he buys his two sons, Colt and Bastian, many new things, including skateboards, BMX bike, slot cars, train set and an above ground fiberglass swimming pool. Rex is a friendly man, but just a little too friendly with the boys in the street.
On the same street live the Kileys. The Kileys are a large family with six children, the oldest being thirteen. The father works as a printer, drinks too much, is a mean drunk and beats up his wife.
The novel describes a time, probably the 1970s or 1980s, when children were given freedom to roam the streets, going to neighbor’s homes uninvited. A time before mobile phones existed.
A memorable novel that ends abruptly. Still, this book is a rewarding reading experience with well described characters and good plot momentum.
This book was shortlisted for the 2015 Miles Franklin award.
On the same street live the Kileys. The Kileys are a large family with six children, the oldest being thirteen. The father works as a printer, drinks too much, is a mean drunk and beats up his wife.
The novel describes a time, probably the 1970s or 1980s, when children were given freedom to roam the streets, going to neighbor’s homes uninvited. A time before mobile phones existed.
A memorable novel that ends abruptly. Still, this book is a rewarding reading experience with well described characters and good plot momentum.
This book was shortlisted for the 2015 Miles Franklin award.
November 11, 2014
Although this book is marketed as adult fiction and is a must read for all teachers, it still could be a powerful text to both have in your school library and to use in class with students in years nine and upwards. Enjoy the reading then you’re sure to think about using it in an education context. For adults who have read Hartnett’s fiction before, the slowly emerging menace in the story is more easily felt. The “golden boys” are Colt, 12 and his younger brother Bastian, sons of their dentist father, Rex who has moved his family one more time. The opening event where Rex is teasing his sons about his latest gift of a bike sets up the power plays between all the male characters throughout the novel. Rex enjoys being “the father of envied boys”. His move to an outer suburb ensures that the envy will be successful in crowding the house with the local boys from poor families, drawn in by the masses of toys that surround Colt and Bastian. When Rex adds a swimming pool to the house, those of us who will never forget Hartnett’s 2002 novel Of a Boy are filled with foreboding. I have to ration my reading to 30 pages a day so that I don’t devour the book in one sitting.
Rex’s sons attend an expensive private school, far away and beyond the comprehension of the working class family of Freya, also 12 and her numerous siblings, Declan, Syd, Marigold and Peter, while there is always another baby coming. Rex introduces the boys to Freya’s mother as they leave the church after Sunday mass and, as Freya contrasts them to her own active and noisy brothers, Colt and Bastian stand “placid as giraffes”.
Two other boys complete the cast: Avery has street cat instincts, hates his guardian grandfather but has “the freedom of neglect” while Garrick, who enjoys bullying and is older and larger, comes from a family everyone is terrified of. Bastian, who “looks like a collectable doll” and Colt “like a boy pulled from a cereal box” are easier victims than Avery who has the street skills to avoid and escape more serious harm.
Over one month in the lives of the two contrasting families, Hartnett, with her sharp-eyed observation easily gains my empathy as I read inside her characters’ heads in her gripping present tense narration. Both Colt and Freya are at that age where they begin to see their parents as people with faults and weaknesses. Freya is losing both God and her parents as she finds a confidante in Rex. Syd, being younger, wonders why Freya is telling Rex family secrets about their drunken, abusive father. Declan and Colt are also beginning to understand. Declan finds Rex “just a bit strange. Don’t go there alone, Syd.” However, Colt sees that the toys are “for him”, “not us” and develops a growing but suppressed rage of suspicion and betrayal.
The tension laden climax does involve the pool in an oblique way as Hartnett, with her typically memorable imagery and the kind of sentence progression that reads effortlessly and disguises the writer’s labour, produces an event which in retrospect has inevitable, dramatic power. Simultaneously (and this is her great skill) there remains the subtlety of the relationships which reverberate in my mind as I keep questioning what really happened and what effects it had and will have on the lives of these characters as they look towards adulthood.
Rex’s sons attend an expensive private school, far away and beyond the comprehension of the working class family of Freya, also 12 and her numerous siblings, Declan, Syd, Marigold and Peter, while there is always another baby coming. Rex introduces the boys to Freya’s mother as they leave the church after Sunday mass and, as Freya contrasts them to her own active and noisy brothers, Colt and Bastian stand “placid as giraffes”.
Two other boys complete the cast: Avery has street cat instincts, hates his guardian grandfather but has “the freedom of neglect” while Garrick, who enjoys bullying and is older and larger, comes from a family everyone is terrified of. Bastian, who “looks like a collectable doll” and Colt “like a boy pulled from a cereal box” are easier victims than Avery who has the street skills to avoid and escape more serious harm.
Over one month in the lives of the two contrasting families, Hartnett, with her sharp-eyed observation easily gains my empathy as I read inside her characters’ heads in her gripping present tense narration. Both Colt and Freya are at that age where they begin to see their parents as people with faults and weaknesses. Freya is losing both God and her parents as she finds a confidante in Rex. Syd, being younger, wonders why Freya is telling Rex family secrets about their drunken, abusive father. Declan and Colt are also beginning to understand. Declan finds Rex “just a bit strange. Don’t go there alone, Syd.” However, Colt sees that the toys are “for him”, “not us” and develops a growing but suppressed rage of suspicion and betrayal.
The tension laden climax does involve the pool in an oblique way as Hartnett, with her typically memorable imagery and the kind of sentence progression that reads effortlessly and disguises the writer’s labour, produces an event which in retrospect has inevitable, dramatic power. Simultaneously (and this is her great skill) there remains the subtlety of the relationships which reverberate in my mind as I keep questioning what really happened and what effects it had and will have on the lives of these characters as they look towards adulthood.
April 28, 2024
‘With their father, there’s always a catch: the truth is enough to make Colt take a step back.’
Two families are the focus of this novel, which is set in an outer suburb of Melbourne. The Kileys, with their six children, are long-term residents. The Jensons, with their two children, have just moved in. The older of the Jenson brothers is Colt, aged twelve. Colt used to be an athlete, but he doesn’t run anymore. Colt has shelves of statues - of golden boys - as a mute testimony to his past prowess. Rex Jenson, Colt’s father, invites the Kiley boys, Declan and Syd, together with other neighbourhood boys in to play with his sons and their ‘mountain of toys’. And, compared to the other children in the neighbourhood, Colt and Bastian Jenson have everything: including a swimming pool, a BMX bike, and skateboards.
For Freya, aged 13, and eldest of the Kiley children, Rex is much more sophisticated than her dad, Joe. Joe Kiley isn’t happy, and he doesn’t have a lot of money. If Joe drinks too much, then voices are raised, plates are smashed and the younger children are distressed. The older Kiley children, Freya and Declan, do their best to look out for their younger siblings. They try to make things right for others as well: at one stage Declan takes a blow from the neighbourhood bully Garrick to protect a much smaller boy, Avery.
So, for many of the neighbourhood children, Rex is something of a hero. For Freya, he becomes someone she can talk to. But is Rex someone who can be trusted?
While this is marketed as a novel for adults, I think teenagers would also appreciate it. It’s about growing up and the resilience of children, about relationships between children, about the acceptance of domestic violence, and about the insidious way in which money and power can enable predators. The novel raises questions about boundaries, about acceptable behaviour, and about taking responsibility. What can you do to change your world? Will anyone believe you?
While some of the issues covered in this novel are unpleasant, Ms Hartnett certainly provides a realistic depiction of a world that is all too familiar to many. I finished the book, and wondered about all of those Kiley and Jenson families who exist outside fiction.
‘Tomorrow, if the weather is fine, he will run, swim, ride.’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Two families are the focus of this novel, which is set in an outer suburb of Melbourne. The Kileys, with their six children, are long-term residents. The Jensons, with their two children, have just moved in. The older of the Jenson brothers is Colt, aged twelve. Colt used to be an athlete, but he doesn’t run anymore. Colt has shelves of statues - of golden boys - as a mute testimony to his past prowess. Rex Jenson, Colt’s father, invites the Kiley boys, Declan and Syd, together with other neighbourhood boys in to play with his sons and their ‘mountain of toys’. And, compared to the other children in the neighbourhood, Colt and Bastian Jenson have everything: including a swimming pool, a BMX bike, and skateboards.
For Freya, aged 13, and eldest of the Kiley children, Rex is much more sophisticated than her dad, Joe. Joe Kiley isn’t happy, and he doesn’t have a lot of money. If Joe drinks too much, then voices are raised, plates are smashed and the younger children are distressed. The older Kiley children, Freya and Declan, do their best to look out for their younger siblings. They try to make things right for others as well: at one stage Declan takes a blow from the neighbourhood bully Garrick to protect a much smaller boy, Avery.
So, for many of the neighbourhood children, Rex is something of a hero. For Freya, he becomes someone she can talk to. But is Rex someone who can be trusted?
While this is marketed as a novel for adults, I think teenagers would also appreciate it. It’s about growing up and the resilience of children, about relationships between children, about the acceptance of domestic violence, and about the insidious way in which money and power can enable predators. The novel raises questions about boundaries, about acceptable behaviour, and about taking responsibility. What can you do to change your world? Will anyone believe you?
While some of the issues covered in this novel are unpleasant, Ms Hartnett certainly provides a realistic depiction of a world that is all too familiar to many. I finished the book, and wondered about all of those Kiley and Jenson families who exist outside fiction.
‘Tomorrow, if the weather is fine, he will run, swim, ride.’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
October 29, 2016
Artful, tense and menacing. What lies beneath this tale is irksome and is written in Hartnett's trademark way of immersing the reader into the drama knowing that it's not going to be a comfortable journey right to the end.
November 4, 2016
Golden Boys is one of those books that English teachers love, full of symbolism and "language" and "deep thoughts"; but which I abhore because while all the symbols and language and thinking are fine, I really just want to read a story....and this book had no story......or at least not one I could find. The author lays out the issues quite early, but then with all the fussing, and talking and discovering of each others issues, nothing actually happens. It's like watching a reality show that's actual reality, lots of nothing really happening. I read it because it was an assigned review, and I really disliked this book, but upon looking it up; found it had indeed won many awards, and gotten many kudos (a perfect 10 from VOYA? wow); which as far as I'm concerned, just goes to show how far I am from the awards crowd....I'm never looking for anything high brow, just a good story with characters I feel a kinship with (even if we have nothing in common).....I want to be transported, not examine a book for all the parts and then declare it a "feast for the mind".....but if you like that sort of thing, this is your kind of book.
November 5, 2014
The Simpsons meets Desperate Housewives, starring Nelson Muntz as Garrick, Cleetus as Joe, Lisa as Freya, Ralph Wigam as Bastion, a weird and perverted dentist, wealthy neighbours who've got the lot etc etc etc. Featuring dialogue well beyond the ages of the characters and more contrived plot lines than you could find in my great idea for a tv programme amalgam. Sorry - I wanted to like it.
January 31, 2015
Astonishingly beautiful writing, with a gracefulness that persists despite the creeping darkness of the plot.
March 27, 2016
A brilliantly written, psychologically complex, emotionally piercing novel by a consummate storyteller. Subtle, tense and unsettling.
October 11, 2019
This is a dark, bittersweet novel. Bleak, depressing and harsh. I absolutely loved it.
A very realistic portrait of childhood in 1980s Australia, the children at the centre of the story rang very true. I don't want to spoil the story, but do feel like I should say that I was particularly impressed by the way with which the kids deal with the various traumas their flawed parents inflict upon them.
Top stuff. Couldn't put it down.
A very realistic portrait of childhood in 1980s Australia, the children at the centre of the story rang very true. I don't want to spoil the story, but do feel like I should say that I was particularly impressed by the way with which the kids deal with the various traumas their flawed parents inflict upon them.
Top stuff. Couldn't put it down.
April 25, 2018
“She has lost the faith she used to have in her mother and father. It’s obvious they can’t exert any meaningful control over the world. Once they ruled her life like gods, and in important ways, they still do: but it’s clear they can offer their offspring no protection against things becoming worse and worse”.
So beautifully written and short at a mere 237 pages. I was able to read this in a matter of hours. Beautiful & poignant, I couldn’t put it down.
So beautifully written and short at a mere 237 pages. I was able to read this in a matter of hours. Beautiful & poignant, I couldn’t put it down.
January 15, 2020
Great little book despite being a bit simplistic ie. men are evil, women are powerless doormats, kids are innocent victims.
I get why dumb people breed, but I'll never really understand why the hell anyone with half a brain would do it to themselves?
I get why dumb people breed, but I'll never really understand why the hell anyone with half a brain would do it to themselves?
January 16, 2015
There are some books I know, if I don't attempt to review them straightaway, I won't end up reviewing them at all. It's because the impact is so powerful, the language so beautiful, I grow afraid I won't do them justice. Golden Boys by Sonya Hartnett is one of those books.
I picked up this novel not knowing what audience it was written for - the only other book by Hartnett I've read is a children's picture book. But this novel is no more suitable for children than Lord of the Flies. (Though I did read that when I was twelve.)
Golden Boys isn't nearly as graphic and violent as Lord of the Flies, but its themes - including family violence, grooming, loneliness, isolation and dislocation - are pretty adult. So is the language. It's rich, poetic, dense. And the pace is slow. Nothing much happens - and yet, everything happens; everything that is painfully ordinary, quotidian, that conveys the angsts and traumas of growing up and learning where one fits in the world.
The protagonists of Golden Boys are a group of kids in a working-class Australian suburb in the not-so-distant past. It is a time before the internet and Facebook, when children were allowed to roam the streets unsupervised, the era of the author's own childhood, perhaps. It is also an era, seemingly, pre-multiculturalism and pre-contraception. Several of the children, Declan, Freya and Syd, belong to one household, a working class home with a drunken father, a harried mother, and too many younger siblings. Hartnett is precise in her description of the chaos that is the Kileys' family life, with "the mess which finds its way through the house like the ratty hem of a juvenile junkyard". When working-class Syd Kiley meets the neighbourhood newcomer and private-school educated Bastian Jensen, Hartnett deftly conveys their differences:
Syd and Bastian look at each other, and it's like a Jack Russell being introduced to a budgerigar: in theory they could be friends, but in practice sooner or later there will be bright feathers on the floor.
But the conflict between the two families, the Kileys and the Jensens, isn't due to class. The Jensens have moved into the neighbourhood to escape something, as Bastian's older brother Colt becomes dimly aware. That "something", barely acknowledged but frightening, provides one of the core tensions of the novel, and has to do with Colt's father, Rex, a dentist. Rex has filled their new home with toys, bikes, skateboards, racing tracks; and their backyard will soon have a pool that all the neighbourhood children are invited to use. As Colt reflects:
His father spends money not merely on making his sons envied but in making them - and the world seems to tip the floor - enticing. His father buys bait.
It is how Colt responds to this growing awareness that leads to the climax and denouement on the novel. The ending is dramatic, though not externally earth-shattering, and conveys a sense of truth about the complexity of family loyalties and the burden of carried shame.
I was wondering, as I read the novel, whether it might be useful for HSC English teachers teaching the new "discovery" module. It deals with the theme of discovery in a number of ways: a new neighbourhood, how different classes live, as well as the discovery of growing up and taking responsibility. It's also packed with language forms and features which students could explore. I read an ebook copy and kept interrupting my reading to highlight Hartnett's skillful use of rhetorical devices, similes and metaphors. (A whole post could be devoted to such an analysis.)
Apart from its promise as an educational text, it is a worthwhile and moving book to read.
This is my first review for both the 2015 Australian Women Writers Challenge and the Aussie Author Challenge.
~
Author: Sonya Hartnett
Title: Golden Boys
Publisher: Penguin
Publication date: August 2014
ISBN: 9781926428611
Review copy kindly supplied to me by the publishers via Netgalley.
I picked up this novel not knowing what audience it was written for - the only other book by Hartnett I've read is a children's picture book. But this novel is no more suitable for children than Lord of the Flies. (Though I did read that when I was twelve.)
Golden Boys isn't nearly as graphic and violent as Lord of the Flies, but its themes - including family violence, grooming, loneliness, isolation and dislocation - are pretty adult. So is the language. It's rich, poetic, dense. And the pace is slow. Nothing much happens - and yet, everything happens; everything that is painfully ordinary, quotidian, that conveys the angsts and traumas of growing up and learning where one fits in the world.
The protagonists of Golden Boys are a group of kids in a working-class Australian suburb in the not-so-distant past. It is a time before the internet and Facebook, when children were allowed to roam the streets unsupervised, the era of the author's own childhood, perhaps. It is also an era, seemingly, pre-multiculturalism and pre-contraception. Several of the children, Declan, Freya and Syd, belong to one household, a working class home with a drunken father, a harried mother, and too many younger siblings. Hartnett is precise in her description of the chaos that is the Kileys' family life, with "the mess which finds its way through the house like the ratty hem of a juvenile junkyard". When working-class Syd Kiley meets the neighbourhood newcomer and private-school educated Bastian Jensen, Hartnett deftly conveys their differences:
Syd and Bastian look at each other, and it's like a Jack Russell being introduced to a budgerigar: in theory they could be friends, but in practice sooner or later there will be bright feathers on the floor.
But the conflict between the two families, the Kileys and the Jensens, isn't due to class. The Jensens have moved into the neighbourhood to escape something, as Bastian's older brother Colt becomes dimly aware. That "something", barely acknowledged but frightening, provides one of the core tensions of the novel, and has to do with Colt's father, Rex, a dentist. Rex has filled their new home with toys, bikes, skateboards, racing tracks; and their backyard will soon have a pool that all the neighbourhood children are invited to use. As Colt reflects:
His father spends money not merely on making his sons envied but in making them - and the world seems to tip the floor - enticing. His father buys bait.
It is how Colt responds to this growing awareness that leads to the climax and denouement on the novel. The ending is dramatic, though not externally earth-shattering, and conveys a sense of truth about the complexity of family loyalties and the burden of carried shame.
I was wondering, as I read the novel, whether it might be useful for HSC English teachers teaching the new "discovery" module. It deals with the theme of discovery in a number of ways: a new neighbourhood, how different classes live, as well as the discovery of growing up and taking responsibility. It's also packed with language forms and features which students could explore. I read an ebook copy and kept interrupting my reading to highlight Hartnett's skillful use of rhetorical devices, similes and metaphors. (A whole post could be devoted to such an analysis.)
Apart from its promise as an educational text, it is a worthwhile and moving book to read.
This is my first review for both the 2015 Australian Women Writers Challenge and the Aussie Author Challenge.
~
Author: Sonya Hartnett
Title: Golden Boys
Publisher: Penguin
Publication date: August 2014
ISBN: 9781926428611
Review copy kindly supplied to me by the publishers via Netgalley.
October 28, 2014
Sonya Hartnett writes books for children and about children for adults. She has a wonderful insight into the feelings, thoughts and behaviour of young children and those on the cusp of adulthood. Perhaps this is because she grew up in a fairly impoverished family of six, not unlike the Kiley family of this novel.
However, there is no indication from her profile (www.sonyahartnett.com.au) that she suffered any physical and psychological abuse such as that inflicted on the Kiley children by their father, Joe, when he is drunk. When the boys of the title move into the neighbourhood, the local kids can’t get over the luxuries their family enjoys – such as contrast to the struggling Kileys, the isolated Avery and the bully boy Garrick.
But all is not as it seems. From the beginning we see through the eyes of the elder boy, Colt, that his father is a manipulator, heaping new possessions on his sons to make them the envy of others. As we read on we see more and more Rex Jenson’s predatory nature and realise that, although he is well-to-do, his children suffer from his nature as much as do the Kileys.
The story is mainly seen through the eyes of the children, particularly Colt Jenson and Freya Kiley, who are gradually realising what is required of them to take a stand against their fathers. As well as being a study of family dysfunction, this is a coming of age novel that is both tender and brutal. I felt immensely sad at the plight of the children but cautiously hopeful that their developing insights and courage might enable them to be survivors.
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