Beyond Redemption

by Jennifer Dabbs

"Wednesday morning dawned and Mother appeared in my bedroom like the Avenging angel. 'Well' she hissed. 'Have you got it? Has it arrived?' Oh. That. 'Uh, I'm not sure, ' I mumbled. Would I have to look while she stood over me? But as I reached full consciousness, I already knew. It hadn't arrived." Katie Mitchell is a well brought up Catholic girl in the dark ages of the nineteen fifties. Her father loves her very much. Her mother values piety and chastity above all. This is a brave and funny novel about falling rapturously in love and being condemned for it; about wakening sensibility and constraint, and about finding oneself growing up in spite of the voices that say 'no'.

330 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Chris Waterford · Rating 4 out of 5]

A novel of the fifties that I suspect is largely biographical. It's slow in the early parts but compelling when she talks about her first romantic attachments.
7/10

[Marianne Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Generated a few memories of boarding school in the 60’s and the rules that religion imposed on us.

[Samantha Pryse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed it because it was set in Melbourne during the time when my mum was a young woman in Melbourne. I got to see what her life would have been like and the type of restrictions she would have faced. This story was based on the life of a Catholic which also put an interesting spin on things because I went to a Catholic High School so I was able to relate to a lot of this theme running through the story.

[Rania T · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-written novel about growing up as a Catholic teenager in Melbourne in the 1950's. Throw in an overbearing mother, nuns and an Italian lover and you have one hell of a read. This book should be re-released by Penguin as a Modern Australian Classic, in order to find a new audience who will no doubt enjoy it.

[Samantha Pryse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was set in Melbourne during the 50's. It was the life my mum would have lived so has helped weave the mind of my family tapestry.