Almost Sincerely

by Zoe Norton Lodge

Debut book from Zoë Norton Lodge, Writer and Presenter on ABC's The Checkout, Co-founder of Story Club

Zoe Norton Lodge grew up in Annandale, Sydney in the eighties and nineties. God’s country. Heartland of the Inner West. Because of its location an always fertile mix of working-class, migrant, genteel, intellectual and eccentric residents. As she got older she noticed Annandale was changing, and she started hearing new words like ‘architect’ and ‘labradoodle’, and eventually entire weeks would go by with no backyard bomb explosions.

These stories about neighbourhood warfare, wacky relatives, quashed dreams and facial disfigurement are told with Norton Lodge’s characteristic comic verve and eye for absurdity and menace, inspired by her family, friends, acquaintances and nemeses. Their highlights include Greek grandparents who have lived in mutual resentment for decades and beat each other up with colanders, children who dabble in amateur porn and are sent to school with cat-food sandwiches, ‘distressed’ furniture, rampaging eczema, flying babies and other suburban wonders.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Australia

208 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2015

About the author

When Zoë Norton Lodge was growing up in Annandale in the eighties and nineties, the self-proclaimed Heartland of the Inner West was a heady brew of somewhat maladjusted and genuinely unsettling residents. But Annandale was changing. New words like 'architect' and 'labradoodle' drifted out of the overabundance of cafes - and eventually entire weeks would go by with no backyard bomb explosions.

Zoë Norton Lodge is a writer and presenter on The Checkout and The Chaser's Media Circus (ABC1), creator of the hit sellout live event-cum-highly obscure TV show Story Club (ABC2) and has had her work published in Best Australian Stories.

Almost Sincerely will be published in 2015.

Reviews

[Karys McEwen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh no, I was really disappointed with this one! I saw Zoe speak at an event last year, and thought she was hilarious and likeable. But this Australian coming-of-age memoir was slow and the writing felt like it was trying so hard to be funny and crude. I liked a couple of the stories/chapters, but the majority of it fell flat for me. Maybe my expectations were too high!

Read more on my blog: Middle Chapter

[Nisha Feik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining read about her family life in Annandale

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a few stories to start enjoying this collection. Zoe Norton Lodge has a sharp, sarcastic voice, which I dislike when she is narrating stories from her early childhood - it reminds me too much of annoying precocious kids that you'd love to punch. However that tone works beautifully with the later stories, featuring Zoe as a teenager and young adult. Her stories of weird relatives and suburban mayhem are really relatable - I suspect that many people have similarly weird relatives, it's just that Zoe is better at turning such experiences into great stories.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

After a bit of a rough start, the style of the first essay having thrown me, I just devoured this. I thought it was very funny, very warm, very honest and seriously quirky. The war between the neighbours is hysterical and I loved her analysis of the bizarre shops and shopkeepers of Annandale and I loved all of the odd characters in her stories. Her attention to every bizarre, random and even petty detail is amazing and I felt like I was reading the work of a fledgling David Sedaris. I really did enjoy this very much, I think she has a great talent and I look forward to reading more of her work.

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay - I like Norton Lodge a fair bit and for a brief stint she was part of a storytelling show, where I saw her perform the last story in this book, so assumed it would all be like that short performance piece. She's a funny girl from middle Australia with the kooky ethnic grandparents and embarrassing dad many of us can identify with -but I think I would have liked this more if I hadn't read similar, slightly funnier or slightly more heart-warming books like this.

[Maci · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven’t laughed out loud like this reading a book in a very long time. I agree with other reviews that the first couple of chapters weren’t my favorite, but well worth trudging through for one of the funniest books you’ll read for a minute. especially relevant to anyone who also has any experience with or vague interest in the niche subject of the Australian suburbs of Sydney.

[Louise · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really disappointed with this book and can't even finish it. I think it's just trying too hard to be funny and for me doesn't flow. I'm not at all engaged with any of the characters (not that you get much of an opportunity). Will be passing this one on.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Usually avoid books of short stories, but glad I read this one. A couple of chapters miss their mark, but the rest are crackers. Very funny.

[Jenny George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Giggled my head off in public. Read bits out loud to anyone who would listen. Can't stop recommending it to people.

[Vicki Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cynical and a bit twisted in the most delightful way. Loved it.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet small-town snippets of a slightly rambunctious life.

[Meg Hanlon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love a quirky book

[Francesca Nolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you grew up in Australia in the 90s, this book is for you. Full of nostalgia and laugh out loud stories of family and life in suburbia.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much fun to read. I laughed and laughed...

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Elisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this author's style of writing, but it was a bit much for a whole book. I found I had to read a bit and then have a little rest. Overall I really liked her storytelling.

[Antonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book, found myself laughing out loud on several occasions

[Erika]

This was often very funny and often very weird. There is a certain amount of weirdness you need to wade through in order to get to the funny bits, but that's also part of the fun. Some bits arguably fell too far into weird/strange but the humour draws it back to well enjoyable levels.
I think it's at its best when it discusses the most mundane of events with humour, for example, 'Hats' or 'The old curiosity shops' or 'Night of the possums'.
Zoe writes about people particularly well, capturing all the bizarre aspects of these people's characters with a flourish.
Not your typical memoir.

[Sam Still Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must admit that I picked up this book solely because I’ve seen Zoe on ABC TV’s The Checkout and she is very funny (especially the segments on the things your pets need in relation to fashion and technology. I’m still trying to convince my cockatiel he needs a tuxedo). It was also getting rave reviews on every corner of the internet so I decided to check it out. Almost Sincerely doesn’t quite fit into the memoir category (it’s exceeded the snorting laugh limit for that). It’s more of a series of short stories of Zoe’s life growing up in Annandale, once a forgotten Sydney suburb but slowly turning into a hipster target.

All I knew about Annandale before reading this is that there was a pub there where sometimes there was live music – it’s probably now a gastropub specialising in organic produce grown in north facing paddocks in areas not containing a ‘y’ in their names. But you don’t need to know anything about the suburb before slipping into this book – Zoe will detail it for you as it used to be. When the corner store really was a corner store specialising in nothing but milk and exorbitant prices. Where Survivor really originated – none of this middle of nowhere business, it’s a war of suburbia. And where everyone knew everyone’s business. There are also quite a few pop culture references that really resonated with me.

I loved Zoe’s storytelling in relation to her family. Her grandparents (Yia Yia and Papou) sound like a real hoot and the cultural references (they are Greek) resonated with me (like stuffing grandchildren full of food). Her mum and dad sound just as funny. Little Georgia (her sister) did the illustrations and probably gets away with the most tender reflections. Almost Sincerely is a loving story of a family and a riotous story of growing up that probably doesn’t happen anymore in today’s protected, hyper alert society. Zoe is truly talented when it comes to writing, particularly when getting humour across. She can make even Bell’s Palsy sound hilarious!

Read it at home or anywhere it’s socially acceptable to snort decaf latte up your nose.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com

[Tamzin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fine memoir for an Australian childhood, a few good laughs in there too.

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Randomly picked this novel up in my favourite bookshop. I wanted to read something that I had never heard of before, had never seen, was of Australian origin and of a realistic nature. And there rose 'Almost Sincerely'. A humorous, cynical account of Zoe Norton Lodge's life as she grew up in Annandale.

At first glance, as she told of her time as a toddler in Play Group, I found the writing somewhat obnoxious and slightly annoying, but I soon got into the swing of things. Her sardonic prose made for some amusing anecdotes and her wry outlook on everyday occurrences was unusually charming.

There were moments where I found her derision and contempt for the world mildly trying. I am all for mocking ridiculous situations, but there is a limit to how much mocking you do before it starts to sound like you legitimately hate everyone and everything, and it gets old. The same clever scoffing can easily be used to put a positive spin on a situation, in a hilariously cute way. I suppose this just wasn't Zoe's angle however.

Overall rather enjoyable, with many references I could relate from my own childhood. And with accounts of racist, misogynistic grandfathers, dogged neighbourhood protectorates, playgrounds tussles and nightmare jobs, there's a little something for everyone to enjoy.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to give it 3.5 stars, but Goodreads doesn't do that! :(
Some total cringe moments in this juicy collection of memoirs; lots of laughs, some jaw-drops of disbelief and a boatload of relatable moments - my mum was big into shabby-chic when I was growing up, and we experienced the loss of many fishy family members. I also grew up in a small town where the shops constantly switched owners and ventures, and we certainly had our share of odd neighbours, but maybe not as odd as Zoe's.
This book has everything: the lonely old creepy stranger, the psycho boss, the drunken dad, the grossly inappropriate grandfather, the freak possum invasion... They're all there :') A great read for anyone needing a good laugh, or a distraction from their failures of young adulthood.

[Nicholas J Carey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where can one start with this crazy piece of gold. A solid quick read which will have you in stitches at the absurdity and wit with which Zoe effortlessly describes her life growing up in the middle class inner western Sydney utopia of Annandale. Zoe is a truly gifted story teller, and you will literally laugh out loud wherever you may be reading this.

[Kaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is fantastic! Zoë has the uncanny ability to make you really laugh out loud! I loved her regaling of her childhood in Annandale and can see why the chaser boys live her. She is witty, articulate and brutally honest all at the same time. Hopefully there is more to come from her. Just a wonderfully funny read.

[Megan Crust · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up while breakfasting not far from Annandale - really enjoyed this frolic through Zoe's childhood. Having seen and heard her on TV I could hear her voice narrating the stories.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved most of this book . It is very, very funny but fell away a bit towards the end. Maybe when she stopped talking about her family. Fabulous though

[Sue Gould · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some very amusing anecdotes....but much that I found trivial and tedious, and trying too hard to be funny.

[Ruby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some very funny passages. A good, light holiday read.

[Jodie Schick · Rating 1 out of 5]

After reading 3 pages, and then seeing the author interviewed on TV, I could not bring myself to read this. The author has issues, and there is noooooooooooo way I could torture myself to see these coming out in an obnoxious deprecating character.