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The Woman Next Door
Over the years, the residents of Emerald Street have become more than just neighbours, they have built lasting friendships over a drink and chat on their back verandahs.
Now a new chapter begins with the children having left home. Helen and Dennis have moved from their high maintenance family property to an apartment by the river with all the mod cons. For Joyce and Mac, the empty nest has Joyce craving a new challenge, while Mac fancies retirement on the south coast.
Meanwhile Polly embarks on a surprising long-distance relationship. But she worries about her friend next door. Stella's erratic behaviour is starting to resemble something much more serious than endearing eccentricity...
With her trademark warmth and wisdom, Liz Byrski involves us in the lives and loves of Emerald Street, and reminds us what it is to be truly neighbourly.
"Liz Byrski has a guaranteed cheer squad for her novels which champion...women taking charge of their life and growing old creatively." Daily Telegraph
"The doyenne of women's fiction." West Australian
400 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 28, 2016
64 people are currently reading
321 people want to read
About the author
Liz Byrski
30 books199 followersLiz Byrski is a writer and broadcaster with more than 40 years experience in the British and Australian media. She is the author of eleven non-fiction books and five novels, and her work has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines.
In the nineties Liz was a broadcaster and executive producer with ABC Radio in Perth and later an advisor to a minister in the Western Australian State Government; she now lectures in Professional and Creative Writing at Curtin University of Technology in Perth, and has PhD in writing with a focus on feminist popular fiction.
Liz was born in London and spent most of her childhood in Sussex. As an only child she spent a lot of time alone, much of it buried in books. She began her working life as a secretary and later moved into journalism working as a reporter on a local newspaper until she took up freelance writing when her children were born. Before moving to Western Australia she also worked as an appeals organiser for Oxfam.
After moving to Perth with her family in 1981 she once again established a freelance career writing for Australian publications including The Australian, Homes and Living, Cosmopolitan and Weekend News.
Liz lives between Perth and Fremantle and in addition to enjoying the company of family and friends, she spends most of her time reading, writing and walking. She has two adult sons and twin grandsons.
In the nineties Liz was a broadcaster and executive producer with ABC Radio in Perth and later an advisor to a minister in the Western Australian State Government; she now lectures in Professional and Creative Writing at Curtin University of Technology in Perth, and has PhD in writing with a focus on feminist popular fiction.
Liz was born in London and spent most of her childhood in Sussex. As an only child she spent a lot of time alone, much of it buried in books. She began her working life as a secretary and later moved into journalism working as a reporter on a local newspaper until she took up freelance writing when her children were born. Before moving to Western Australia she also worked as an appeals organiser for Oxfam.
After moving to Perth with her family in 1981 she once again established a freelance career writing for Australian publications including The Australian, Homes and Living, Cosmopolitan and Weekend News.
Liz lives between Perth and Fremantle and in addition to enjoying the company of family and friends, she spends most of her time reading, writing and walking. She has two adult sons and twin grandsons.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews
November 4, 2019
There are a lot of things going on in this book, as a group of friends all reach important moments in their lives, and start to move in individual different directions. Sometimes there was so much going on I almost felt stressed myself!
One of the characters is an older woman starting out on the awful journey of Alzheimer's disease. I think the author may know someone well who has been through this because her description of Stella's decline feel spot on.
As well as that we have a group of friends who are getting older and all feel they want something more out of life before it is too late. One marriage ends, one comes close but survives, one character meets the love of her life or does she? As I said before - there are a lot of things going on!
Everything is resolved by the end with the late introduction of more characters and the promise of new beginnings. A heart warming conclusion to an interesting book.
One of the characters is an older woman starting out on the awful journey of Alzheimer's disease. I think the author may know someone well who has been through this because her description of Stella's decline feel spot on.
As well as that we have a group of friends who are getting older and all feel they want something more out of life before it is too late. One marriage ends, one comes close but survives, one character meets the love of her life or does she? As I said before - there are a lot of things going on!
Everything is resolved by the end with the late introduction of more characters and the promise of new beginnings. A heart warming conclusion to an interesting book.
November 14, 2016
Emerald Street in Fremantle, Western Australia housed people who started off as neighbours but had found lasting friendships. With Joyce and Mac, Helen and Dennis, Stella, and of course Polly, the friendships were deep and abiding. When Helen and Dennis sold their home in Emerald Street, moving to an apartment further away, things began to shift in the relationships.
Stella had been an actress in the soaps – nearing eighty she was starting to become forgetful which was worrying her friends. Mac and Joyce decided to have a year apart – Mac would go to their cottage in Albany to do the “man thing” while Joyce would do something for herself. Meanwhile Polly in her overseas travels would meet a man who stirred her senses.
Slowly Stella’s behaviour worsened; the friends became increasingly worried about her, but tried to keep their concern from Stella. Joyce found an innate strength she didn’t know she had, while Mac gained Charlie, his delightfully friendly golden retriever. And Polly travelled to London, Paris and Bali…
The Woman Next Door by Aussie author Liz Byrski is a wonderfully warm and emotional story about lasting friendships and love. Starting as young families with their children; learning to like and then love their neighbours, then evolving to include their grandchildren. The friends cared for one another, watched out for each other, as well as the occasional sharing of a bottle of wine or a cup of tea and laughter on the verandah of their homes. Emerald Street was one such street, but there would be others the same the world over. I thoroughly enjoyed The Woman Next Door and have no hesitation in recommending it highly.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy to read in exchange for my honest review.
Stella had been an actress in the soaps – nearing eighty she was starting to become forgetful which was worrying her friends. Mac and Joyce decided to have a year apart – Mac would go to their cottage in Albany to do the “man thing” while Joyce would do something for herself. Meanwhile Polly in her overseas travels would meet a man who stirred her senses.
Slowly Stella’s behaviour worsened; the friends became increasingly worried about her, but tried to keep their concern from Stella. Joyce found an innate strength she didn’t know she had, while Mac gained Charlie, his delightfully friendly golden retriever. And Polly travelled to London, Paris and Bali…
The Woman Next Door by Aussie author Liz Byrski is a wonderfully warm and emotional story about lasting friendships and love. Starting as young families with their children; learning to like and then love their neighbours, then evolving to include their grandchildren. The friends cared for one another, watched out for each other, as well as the occasional sharing of a bottle of wine or a cup of tea and laughter on the verandah of their homes. Emerald Street was one such street, but there would be others the same the world over. I thoroughly enjoyed The Woman Next Door and have no hesitation in recommending it highly.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy to read in exchange for my honest review.
February 6, 2017
Four and a half stars
Emerald Street Fremantle, Western Australia has been home to a group of people who become more than just neighbours. They are friends and have been for years until things change. First Helen and Dennis move away to an apartment. The friendship with Joyce and Mac has never been the same since then. But when Joyce and Mac announce their plans to live apart for a time while each pursues their own dreams, the friendship between Joyce and Helen hits more than just a road block. Meanwhile another friend and neighbour Stella is, at eighty, returning to her acting career after having retired twice before. But this time she is not finding it as easy remembering her lines. Her next door neighbour and friend Polly, is concerned there is more going on that just forgetting a few lines. How can she best help? Polly who looks on Stella as almost a mother figure is torn between trying to care for Stela while at the same time maintaining a long distance relationship with her new love Leo.
I like the fact that Liz Byrski writes about older people, people who have had lots of life experience. In their own way, each of these characters is trying to come to terms with the process of aging and all it entails. It was easy to relate to the characters although I found it a bit sad too. Both the setting and the characters are well drawn. I admit to being a big fan of Liz Byrski’s books and this was no exception, though I could have done without some of the language. Leo is a pompous pratt. When he used the f word in relation to Australia I audibly said, ‘Good riddance to you,’ which produced an amused look for my husband. However it probably gives you some idea that I was emotionally involved with the characters in this novel. Right from the beginning I found Polly extremely gullible and couldn’t see what she saw in Leo.
There were moments of anger and tears but also lovely moments shared with these characters. I particularly liked the friendship between Mac and Dennis and how differently men relate in their friendships to women. This is a story of ordinary people dealing with relationships, friendships, caring for others, guilt, aging and loss. It was a book that I started and just wanted to keep reading till I finished. I was up till 2.15 am reading this one till we had a blackout. I couldn't wait to finish it off the next morning .
Emerald Street Fremantle, Western Australia has been home to a group of people who become more than just neighbours. They are friends and have been for years until things change. First Helen and Dennis move away to an apartment. The friendship with Joyce and Mac has never been the same since then. But when Joyce and Mac announce their plans to live apart for a time while each pursues their own dreams, the friendship between Joyce and Helen hits more than just a road block. Meanwhile another friend and neighbour Stella is, at eighty, returning to her acting career after having retired twice before. But this time she is not finding it as easy remembering her lines. Her next door neighbour and friend Polly, is concerned there is more going on that just forgetting a few lines. How can she best help? Polly who looks on Stella as almost a mother figure is torn between trying to care for Stela while at the same time maintaining a long distance relationship with her new love Leo.
I like the fact that Liz Byrski writes about older people, people who have had lots of life experience. In their own way, each of these characters is trying to come to terms with the process of aging and all it entails. It was easy to relate to the characters although I found it a bit sad too. Both the setting and the characters are well drawn. I admit to being a big fan of Liz Byrski’s books and this was no exception, though I could have done without some of the language. Leo is a pompous pratt. When he used the f word in relation to Australia I audibly said, ‘Good riddance to you,’ which produced an amused look for my husband. However it probably gives you some idea that I was emotionally involved with the characters in this novel. Right from the beginning I found Polly extremely gullible and couldn’t see what she saw in Leo.
There were moments of anger and tears but also lovely moments shared with these characters. I particularly liked the friendship between Mac and Dennis and how differently men relate in their friendships to women. This is a story of ordinary people dealing with relationships, friendships, caring for others, guilt, aging and loss. It was a book that I started and just wanted to keep reading till I finished. I was up till 2.15 am reading this one till we had a blackout. I couldn't wait to finish it off the next morning .
October 16, 2016
The Woman Next Door is the ninth novel by British-born Australian author, Liz Byrski. It has been many years since the women who call Emerald Street in South Fremantle home became friends as well as neighbours. While Joyce, Stella and Polly all still live next-door to each other, Helen has moved away, but stays in regular contact with her erstwhile neighbours.
Joyce and Mac are empty nesters, their adult children living across the country and across the globe, with their own families and careers; Stella is an ageing and rather eccentric actress who has been recalled yet again from retirement to reprise her much loved role in a very popular TV soap opera.
Polly is a writer whose research frequently takes her overseas, with detours via Bali to visit her brother Alistair and his partner Steve; with their sons making their own lives away from home, Helen and Dennis had taken the opportunity to sell up and leave Emerald Street for the dream apartment in North Fremantle that Helen has always wanted.
Whilst at a conference in Edinburgh, Polly meets the charming but narcissistic Leo; Joyce and Mac decide to spend a year apart to pursue their differing interests; Stella’s latest acting stint reveals the onset of dementia; and Helen’s unhappiness manifests in increasingly inflammatory remarks. None of them can imagine the depth of change that will be wrought in their lives over the next eighteen months
As always, Byrski expertly conveys her setting: readers even vaguely acquainted with contemporary Perth will recognise it easily, and her descriptions of overseas locations is equally well rendered; her characters, too, are familiar, and most are appealing; their dialogue can be overheard in any backyard or café.
This is a book that will appeal to a broad readership, but will resonate particularly with mature readers who are facing the sorts of issues that Byrski touches on: the approach of dementia in friends and family; the death of contemporaries; the search for fulfilment in later life; the burden of caring for the elderly and infirm.
Topical and age-old themes are also touched upon: the plight of refugees; loyalty, infidelity, deception, men’s sheds, twins and long-distance relationships. Once again, Byrksi gives the reader a brilliant “hen lit” (as opposed to chick lit) book that is an enjoyable and very moving read.
Joyce and Mac are empty nesters, their adult children living across the country and across the globe, with their own families and careers; Stella is an ageing and rather eccentric actress who has been recalled yet again from retirement to reprise her much loved role in a very popular TV soap opera.
Polly is a writer whose research frequently takes her overseas, with detours via Bali to visit her brother Alistair and his partner Steve; with their sons making their own lives away from home, Helen and Dennis had taken the opportunity to sell up and leave Emerald Street for the dream apartment in North Fremantle that Helen has always wanted.
Whilst at a conference in Edinburgh, Polly meets the charming but narcissistic Leo; Joyce and Mac decide to spend a year apart to pursue their differing interests; Stella’s latest acting stint reveals the onset of dementia; and Helen’s unhappiness manifests in increasingly inflammatory remarks. None of them can imagine the depth of change that will be wrought in their lives over the next eighteen months
As always, Byrski expertly conveys her setting: readers even vaguely acquainted with contemporary Perth will recognise it easily, and her descriptions of overseas locations is equally well rendered; her characters, too, are familiar, and most are appealing; their dialogue can be overheard in any backyard or café.
This is a book that will appeal to a broad readership, but will resonate particularly with mature readers who are facing the sorts of issues that Byrski touches on: the approach of dementia in friends and family; the death of contemporaries; the search for fulfilment in later life; the burden of caring for the elderly and infirm.
Topical and age-old themes are also touched upon: the plight of refugees; loyalty, infidelity, deception, men’s sheds, twins and long-distance relationships. Once again, Byrksi gives the reader a brilliant “hen lit” (as opposed to chick lit) book that is an enjoyable and very moving read.
February 6, 2017
This is the second book by Liz Byrski I've read. The first, In the Company of Strangers, introduced me to two women who share a history as child migrants from the UK who settled in Western Australia. "Friends in Western Australia" may be a niche Byrski has carved for herself, because The Woman Next Door also follows this pattern. This time the focus is on Emerald Street and the neighbours, Joyce, Helen, Polly and Stella, who have been in and out of each other's houses over a lifetime, from raising their children and pursuing their careers, to battling ill health and coming to terms with ageing, death and loss. The losses are many, including strains on marriages and on friendships.
In simple language, in a narrative where not much happens, apart from the ups and downs of daily life as the neighbours make decisions that impact on themselves and their friends, Byrski creates a powerfully emotional story. For me, the emotional core of the story comes from the friendship between two of the single characters, Polly and Stella. Polly is a writer, and her nearest and dearest neighbour is the elderly Stella Lamont, stage name of a soapie star who is showing signs of dementia. Through the course of the novel we see them as mother, sister, daughter, confidante, adviser and carer to each other - so much more than just neighbours. It is a moving portrait of a type of love that the Ancient Greeks called "philia", or deep friendship, and in the end brought me to tears.
As I looked up "philia" to check I was using the term correctly, I realised the novel also paints a portrait of three other types of love, as the Greeks termed them: "pragma" or enduring love, shared by the married couple, Joyce and her husband Mac; "agape", or love of all humanity, which Joyce displays when, after successfully fulfilling the roles of wife and mother, she establishes a late career as a volunteer teacher of English to refugees; and "philautia", or self love, which provides one of the central conflicts of the novel (which I won't elaborate on for fear of spoilers). Each of these portraits is moving in its own way and strikes me as being both psychologically and emotionally "true".
Liz Byrski is the author of eight novels and several nonfiction books. She has a PhD in writing from Curtin University and is Director of the China Australia Writing Centre. It's good to know she has a backlist of books to be explored. The Woman Next Door is highly recommended.
In simple language, in a narrative where not much happens, apart from the ups and downs of daily life as the neighbours make decisions that impact on themselves and their friends, Byrski creates a powerfully emotional story. For me, the emotional core of the story comes from the friendship between two of the single characters, Polly and Stella. Polly is a writer, and her nearest and dearest neighbour is the elderly Stella Lamont, stage name of a soapie star who is showing signs of dementia. Through the course of the novel we see them as mother, sister, daughter, confidante, adviser and carer to each other - so much more than just neighbours. It is a moving portrait of a type of love that the Ancient Greeks called "philia", or deep friendship, and in the end brought me to tears.
As I looked up "philia" to check I was using the term correctly, I realised the novel also paints a portrait of three other types of love, as the Greeks termed them: "pragma" or enduring love, shared by the married couple, Joyce and her husband Mac; "agape", or love of all humanity, which Joyce displays when, after successfully fulfilling the roles of wife and mother, she establishes a late career as a volunteer teacher of English to refugees; and "philautia", or self love, which provides one of the central conflicts of the novel (which I won't elaborate on for fear of spoilers). Each of these portraits is moving in its own way and strikes me as being both psychologically and emotionally "true".
Liz Byrski is the author of eight novels and several nonfiction books. She has a PhD in writing from Curtin University and is Director of the China Australia Writing Centre. It's good to know she has a backlist of books to be explored. The Woman Next Door is highly recommended.
July 10, 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed this book as I do most of Liz Byrski's. This one speaks more to those of us of a certain age though I'd be reluctant to categorise the characters as "old" as she does. This is a novel about ageing: the anxieties, the contrast to an earlier professional life, the way forward to creating a new life, and dealing with the competing "demands" of the elderly above us and the younger generations behind. Leo, one of the key characters, deal with this simply by being narcissistically self-obsessed (a tautology).
The novel also highlights the issues and benefits from living in an engaged community or neighbourhood where care and concern for others is key to one's own life and happiness, as well as sadness. The impact of Alzheimer's and dementia is something many of us all fear having or living with.
The novel also highlights the issues and benefits from living in an engaged community or neighbourhood where care and concern for others is key to one's own life and happiness, as well as sadness. The impact of Alzheimer's and dementia is something many of us all fear having or living with.
March 20, 2017
4.5★ I do really enjoy Liz Byrski’s writing. The main subject matter of this book was not an easy one - watching a loved one decline into dementia is an awful experience. But the characters in this book tackle the hard tasks involved with great sensitivity. The sub-plots are also difficult ones, involving a manipulative relationship, and a marriage breakdown along with the breakup of long-standing friendships, with there being one twist about halfway through that I certainly didn’t see coming!!
I felt that it was all well-resolved at the end, with some bitter-sweetness to finish it off.
I felt that it was all well-resolved at the end, with some bitter-sweetness to finish it off.
August 27, 2016
Another great book by Liz Byrski. I love how she writes about people and situations that I can relate to.
July 6, 2019
3 1/2 as this is a cut above in this genre. Nice. Rhythm, writing, characterisation, sense of place. Worth a lazy read. Once in a while.
March 28, 2018
In the interest of full disclosure, I wouldn't have bought this book. My Mum did, read it, and had no room for it in her house (they downsized in retirement) so gave it to me. I have this thing about reading a book though before it has a home here, so it sat on the TBR pile until, in all honesty, I had nothing else to read.
So imagine my surprise when I actually began to enjoy it! I can definitely see why Liz Byrski is a much loved author.
Joyce and Mac, Helen and Dennis, Polly, Stella have been neighbours on Emerald St for decades. They are aging, settling into retirement, and so their lives and friendships take on a different turn.
It took a few chapters, but once I was immersed in this story I really enjoyed it, being a West Australian native, I loved that there were locations I recognised. Beyond that, although the characters were dealing with retirement issues, really, don't we all go through stages regardless of age where we feel out of touch with life and those around us? Where we are trying to figure out our place in the world? Maybe it's just my specific circumstances, but I could really understand a lot of the issues dealt with in this book.
So imagine my surprise when I actually began to enjoy it! I can definitely see why Liz Byrski is a much loved author.
Joyce and Mac, Helen and Dennis, Polly, Stella have been neighbours on Emerald St for decades. They are aging, settling into retirement, and so their lives and friendships take on a different turn.
It took a few chapters, but once I was immersed in this story I really enjoyed it, being a West Australian native, I loved that there were locations I recognised. Beyond that, although the characters were dealing with retirement issues, really, don't we all go through stages regardless of age where we feel out of touch with life and those around us? Where we are trying to figure out our place in the world? Maybe it's just my specific circumstances, but I could really understand a lot of the issues dealt with in this book.
June 18, 2021
I really like the way the author can make you fall in love with the characters in her books. Particularly like the age group that Byrski writes about. It is lovely to read about people in their 60's + and all the life changes and challenges they face. She also includes both male and female perspective which is quite enlightening. Would highly recommend Byrski to people 50+
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October 18, 2025Not my usual fare but an easy read for sleepless nights. I couldn’t relate to any of these characters and actively disliked some of them.
September 29, 2016
Liz Byrski writes mainly about older women in contemporary settings, an almost untapped market that appeals to a lot of readers. The fact this book is set in my neighbourhood, Perth & Fremantle it was like putting on a pair of comfy slippers, a book I could visualise at every turn.
As the title suggests it is a novel involving neighbours. After years of living on Emerald Street the characters are like family, they are a close knit community caring for each other as a new phase in life begins. All their children have left home & it’s a time of change. Helen & Dennis have recently left the street to live in a luxury apartment, low maintenance, overlooking the river. Joyce & Mac have differing opinions about what they want to do, Mac wants to retire to their holiday home in Albany whilst Joyce craves to be useful & use her finally free time. She wants to learn to teach English to migrants, & so they embark on a period of living apart to achieve their goals. Single Polly embarks on a long distance relationship with Leo, a man none of the friends can warm to, whilst she worries about Stella next door, slightly older than the rest of them, whose behaviour is becoming more & more erratic.
This is an easy read, a character based novel exploring the complexities of ageing & the changes it brings. There were a few unexpected elements in the book, one tragic & one joyful which brought light & hope for the future. Liz Byrski fills a gap in the market with down to earth, readable books for an older age group.
As the title suggests it is a novel involving neighbours. After years of living on Emerald Street the characters are like family, they are a close knit community caring for each other as a new phase in life begins. All their children have left home & it’s a time of change. Helen & Dennis have recently left the street to live in a luxury apartment, low maintenance, overlooking the river. Joyce & Mac have differing opinions about what they want to do, Mac wants to retire to their holiday home in Albany whilst Joyce craves to be useful & use her finally free time. She wants to learn to teach English to migrants, & so they embark on a period of living apart to achieve their goals. Single Polly embarks on a long distance relationship with Leo, a man none of the friends can warm to, whilst she worries about Stella next door, slightly older than the rest of them, whose behaviour is becoming more & more erratic.
This is an easy read, a character based novel exploring the complexities of ageing & the changes it brings. There were a few unexpected elements in the book, one tragic & one joyful which brought light & hope for the future. Liz Byrski fills a gap in the market with down to earth, readable books for an older age group.
July 22, 2016
Interesting subject matter (life after 60) and reasonably good storylines, but unfortunately the highly educated and intelligent author does not rise above the usual chick-lit level.
Well, a PhD in writing (!) does not make someone a good writer. (And as is evident on almost every page, it does not guarantee correct syntax and punctuation either).
All of the women are cardboard characters. The author seems incapable of creating personalities which would be real and relatable. As a result, it is really difficult to distinguish between the main characters. As in most popular fiction books, we are told in great detail what the characters eat, drink and wear, or what sort of cars they drive (which really is completely irrelevant), but there is no depth to them, they are all two-dimensional and almost the same.
The 60-somethings appear and behave as if they were all over 70. I had to laugh at the scene when Leo - a man in his 60's - says to Polly he would have seduced her if he were 10 or 20 years younger! Does the author really think that love life ends at 60...?
The joke in this case was unintentional, but some sharp humour would have done the book and its characters a lot of good.
This is the first book by Liz Byrski I have read, and it's been disappointing. I was expecting much more from the author, given her background, experience and credentials.
Well, a PhD in writing (!) does not make someone a good writer. (And as is evident on almost every page, it does not guarantee correct syntax and punctuation either).
All of the women are cardboard characters. The author seems incapable of creating personalities which would be real and relatable. As a result, it is really difficult to distinguish between the main characters. As in most popular fiction books, we are told in great detail what the characters eat, drink and wear, or what sort of cars they drive (which really is completely irrelevant), but there is no depth to them, they are all two-dimensional and almost the same.
The 60-somethings appear and behave as if they were all over 70. I had to laugh at the scene when Leo - a man in his 60's - says to Polly he would have seduced her if he were 10 or 20 years younger! Does the author really think that love life ends at 60...?
The joke in this case was unintentional, but some sharp humour would have done the book and its characters a lot of good.
This is the first book by Liz Byrski I have read, and it's been disappointing. I was expecting much more from the author, given her background, experience and credentials.
November 12, 2019
First of all let me point out that this is not crime fiction (my usual choice).
It is in fact the second novel I've read by this remarkable writer who just seems to hit the spot for me. So many of the scenarios that she uses in this novel resonate with me.
I think when I was young, the people that I knew in their 60s and 70s all seemed at the end of their lives. I never thought of them as embarking on the next stage of life. They had had hard lives, compared with us, and I don't suppose many of them had so many years to go. Things are different now.
Our street, indeed our suburb, is going through something similar to what happens in Emerald Street. People are moving out, houses are being demolished, blocks sub-divided, apartments being built. Those of us left are well into retirement and things have changed for good, and not necessarily for the better.
This is a well constructed, well written book. To use the words of one of the characters, the scenarios feel very "authentic."
I have enjoyed it very much.
It is in fact the second novel I've read by this remarkable writer who just seems to hit the spot for me. So many of the scenarios that she uses in this novel resonate with me.
I think when I was young, the people that I knew in their 60s and 70s all seemed at the end of their lives. I never thought of them as embarking on the next stage of life. They had had hard lives, compared with us, and I don't suppose many of them had so many years to go. Things are different now.
Our street, indeed our suburb, is going through something similar to what happens in Emerald Street. People are moving out, houses are being demolished, blocks sub-divided, apartments being built. Those of us left are well into retirement and things have changed for good, and not necessarily for the better.
This is a well constructed, well written book. To use the words of one of the characters, the scenarios feel very "authentic."
I have enjoyed it very much.
February 3, 2018
Very good book and story. A bit hard for me personally to read, as someone whose mother has dementia. Very well written and accurate portrayal of Stella's demented decline. Very sad to read but excellently done.
The bit where Dorothy explains what is happening to Stella to Polly is heartbreaking and very true. Thank you.
"Outside the main entrance Polly pauses, leans against the wall, eyes closed trying to hold back tears and failing miserably.
‘Are you all right, Polly?’
She looks up to see Dorothy standing beside her.
‘I don’t know how to do this,’ she says. ‘For years we’ve been so close . . .’
‘It’s very hard,’ Dorothy says, ‘but Stella does need to be here. And I promise you this is a good place, Polly. We care for our residents, they become like family to us. Stella will always be treated with respect and kindness. We don’t infantilise or patronise.’
‘I know, I know, but Stella . . . She should be at home in her own house where she can still feel a bit independent. I’ve let her down so badly . . .’
‘No,’ Dorothy insists, ‘you’ve done the right thing, you and your friends all agreed on this when you came to discuss it with us while Stella was still in hospital. Stella is not unhappy. She’s well, and comfortable and she does understand that she needs this sort of care. She knows she can’t live alone, and she knows she’s safe here. You’ve seen how much the other residents love her. Some of them have been her fans for years. They love having a star in their midst.’
‘But that’s not the real Stella, the Stella I know.’
Dorothy sighs. ‘No, it’s not. I understand that and I know it’s hard for you, but it’s the truth. This is who she is now. You still see the old Stella and you grasp at that but you can’t make her come back and you shouldn’t try. Every time you argue with her and try to set her right you put her and yourself under pressure. You can’t make her remember, you can’t force her to have the correct version of things.’
‘But I want her to understand,’ Polly says. ‘She has a right to have the correct information . . . it’s a basic human right, isn’t it, to make your own decisions, or at least have a say?’
Dorothy grabs Polly’s hands and holds them firmly in her own. ‘Polly, you are trying to convince yourself that those moments of rationality mean you can force the old Stella back to life. What you have to learn is to accept who she has become, and from now on that’s something of a work in progress. If you insist on correcting her, trying to make her understand where she’s wrong, you’ll spoil your last months or years with her. I know this because I did it with my parents, my father especially. I needed him to be rational, to be in charge as he had always been. I couldn’t accept the way he had become and so I fought him over every little illusion or distortion, and all it did was hurt both of us. I spoiled our last months together with my insistence that he should accept what I told him and see that it was right. I hurt him, Polly, and I hurt myself. Each time I corrected him I diminished him – he felt that, very keenly I think. Every time you try to set Stella right you diminish who she is, who she has become.’
‘But what can I do?’ Polly says, her voice hoarse now. ‘I want to do what’s best for her, honestly I do.’
‘Then learn to love and accept her as she is now, alongside the memory of how she was. Make the decisions for her wellbeing, reassure her, don’t try to wring decisions from her or force her to understand. Go along with what she says, it doesn’t matter that it’s wrong because five minutes later she’ll have forgotten it and there’ll be something else on her mind.’
‘It’s so chaotic, Dorothy, it feels like madness . . .’
‘Yes, and if you love her you enter into it with her. Let her have her way if it’s not dangerous to her. Grant her some peace in her confusion and delusion. Because you can’t change this, Polly, it’s not going to get better, you are not going to get the old Stella back. Don’t lock yourself into a battle for her rationality because it’s a battle that is already lost.’"
The bit where Dorothy explains what is happening to Stella to Polly is heartbreaking and very true. Thank you.
"Outside the main entrance Polly pauses, leans against the wall, eyes closed trying to hold back tears and failing miserably.
‘Are you all right, Polly?’
She looks up to see Dorothy standing beside her.
‘I don’t know how to do this,’ she says. ‘For years we’ve been so close . . .’
‘It’s very hard,’ Dorothy says, ‘but Stella does need to be here. And I promise you this is a good place, Polly. We care for our residents, they become like family to us. Stella will always be treated with respect and kindness. We don’t infantilise or patronise.’
‘I know, I know, but Stella . . . She should be at home in her own house where she can still feel a bit independent. I’ve let her down so badly . . .’
‘No,’ Dorothy insists, ‘you’ve done the right thing, you and your friends all agreed on this when you came to discuss it with us while Stella was still in hospital. Stella is not unhappy. She’s well, and comfortable and she does understand that she needs this sort of care. She knows she can’t live alone, and she knows she’s safe here. You’ve seen how much the other residents love her. Some of them have been her fans for years. They love having a star in their midst.’
‘But that’s not the real Stella, the Stella I know.’
Dorothy sighs. ‘No, it’s not. I understand that and I know it’s hard for you, but it’s the truth. This is who she is now. You still see the old Stella and you grasp at that but you can’t make her come back and you shouldn’t try. Every time you argue with her and try to set her right you put her and yourself under pressure. You can’t make her remember, you can’t force her to have the correct version of things.’
‘But I want her to understand,’ Polly says. ‘She has a right to have the correct information . . . it’s a basic human right, isn’t it, to make your own decisions, or at least have a say?’
Dorothy grabs Polly’s hands and holds them firmly in her own. ‘Polly, you are trying to convince yourself that those moments of rationality mean you can force the old Stella back to life. What you have to learn is to accept who she has become, and from now on that’s something of a work in progress. If you insist on correcting her, trying to make her understand where she’s wrong, you’ll spoil your last months or years with her. I know this because I did it with my parents, my father especially. I needed him to be rational, to be in charge as he had always been. I couldn’t accept the way he had become and so I fought him over every little illusion or distortion, and all it did was hurt both of us. I spoiled our last months together with my insistence that he should accept what I told him and see that it was right. I hurt him, Polly, and I hurt myself. Each time I corrected him I diminished him – he felt that, very keenly I think. Every time you try to set Stella right you diminish who she is, who she has become.’
‘But what can I do?’ Polly says, her voice hoarse now. ‘I want to do what’s best for her, honestly I do.’
‘Then learn to love and accept her as she is now, alongside the memory of how she was. Make the decisions for her wellbeing, reassure her, don’t try to wring decisions from her or force her to understand. Go along with what she says, it doesn’t matter that it’s wrong because five minutes later she’ll have forgotten it and there’ll be something else on her mind.’
‘It’s so chaotic, Dorothy, it feels like madness . . .’
‘Yes, and if you love her you enter into it with her. Let her have her way if it’s not dangerous to her. Grant her some peace in her confusion and delusion. Because you can’t change this, Polly, it’s not going to get better, you are not going to get the old Stella back. Don’t lock yourself into a battle for her rationality because it’s a battle that is already lost.’"
January 23, 2020
Say I’m biased because I live in South Freo but I loved this book! They were traversing my stomping ground all the time.
Helen is an awful pill. The type of friend you’d want to run screaming for your life from. When she went to Dubai to see her son, his wife, and grandkids, she was a nightmare. I was thinking that to preserve his own sanity perhaps the son should have planted alcohol on her, reported her to the authorities, and had her carted away! When she died a messy death in that fancy North Freo apartment, I didn’t feel a bit sad. I felt sorry for her husband, poor long suffering Dennis, who was driven to the men sheds by her.
I liked the Joyce and Mac characters, although Mac was a bit of a scut for breakfasting and lunching on the sly with that UWA student he had the one night stand with nearly 50 years earlier. I especially liked Joyce’s gumption when she did her intensive TEFL course, and everyone she knew patronised her by telling her it would be too much for her at her age.
I loved the bit where Stella ( 80 and a great character) would blow out other people’s holy candies in the church when she’d light her own.
Leo really is the quintessential Leo, with his ego extraordinaire. He could have done with a swift sharp slap. I enjoyed the Polly character, and liked the way she finally wrote Leo, the oxygen thief, off in the end.
The book focuses on the different decisions made by the characters as they reach retirement age. It’s very well written, and is an absorbing and engaging read.
I re-read it very recently and enjoyed it again the second time around read.
Helen is an awful pill. The type of friend you’d want to run screaming for your life from. When she went to Dubai to see her son, his wife, and grandkids, she was a nightmare. I was thinking that to preserve his own sanity perhaps the son should have planted alcohol on her, reported her to the authorities, and had her carted away! When she died a messy death in that fancy North Freo apartment, I didn’t feel a bit sad. I felt sorry for her husband, poor long suffering Dennis, who was driven to the men sheds by her.
I liked the Joyce and Mac characters, although Mac was a bit of a scut for breakfasting and lunching on the sly with that UWA student he had the one night stand with nearly 50 years earlier. I especially liked Joyce’s gumption when she did her intensive TEFL course, and everyone she knew patronised her by telling her it would be too much for her at her age.
I loved the bit where Stella ( 80 and a great character) would blow out other people’s holy candies in the church when she’d light her own.
Leo really is the quintessential Leo, with his ego extraordinaire. He could have done with a swift sharp slap. I enjoyed the Polly character, and liked the way she finally wrote Leo, the oxygen thief, off in the end.
The book focuses on the different decisions made by the characters as they reach retirement age. It’s very well written, and is an absorbing and engaging read.
I re-read it very recently and enjoyed it again the second time around read.
July 28, 2018
I didn't like the style of writing employed by the author throughout this book. It somehow felt as though I was an observer of everything going on, instead of being immersed in it, or feeling as though I could be one of those characters.
Subject-wise, the material was quite interesting, about people whose children have flown the coop, are retired and trying to figure what they must do to feel useful and still in control of their lives.
However, the writing style completely put me off, with the story being narrated from different points of view, and also the present tense used throughout the book.
I think the author could have made the story more readable and likeable just by correcting some of these things.
Subject-wise, the material was quite interesting, about people whose children have flown the coop, are retired and trying to figure what they must do to feel useful and still in control of their lives.
However, the writing style completely put me off, with the story being narrated from different points of view, and also the present tense used throughout the book.
I think the author could have made the story more readable and likeable just by correcting some of these things.
June 22, 2018
Liz Byrski creates a feel-good warmth in her fiction by her creation of the type of street community most people would love to be a part of. Her depiction of Emerald Street and its occupants could occur in any friendly town or suburb in Australia.
Relationships develop in this book between neighbours that are literally life changing and life long. Polly finds a mother figure in her neighbor Stella and long term friendships become family ties as the younger generation grows up together.
This is a beautifully written novel, well worth reading, full of rounded, but sometimes flawed characters.
Carinya
Relationships develop in this book between neighbours that are literally life changing and life long. Polly finds a mother figure in her neighbor Stella and long term friendships become family ties as the younger generation grows up together.
This is a beautifully written novel, well worth reading, full of rounded, but sometimes flawed characters.
Carinya
September 9, 2023
I read this book with low expectations, but it was terrific. The writing was easy & entertaining. The characters were well drawn & the stories of the many women interesting. In particular Stella’s story was so perceptive, empathic & tragically accurate that she seemed to speak to the reader.
I found Polly’s story well integrated & was going to dislike it if they made her a real wet blanket but not to be & that was uplifting. It wasn’t all neat & tidy at the end either … how could it be with Helen’s story!
This was a good woman’s book, about women without being patronizing or anti male … highly recommended
I found Polly’s story well integrated & was going to dislike it if they made her a real wet blanket but not to be & that was uplifting. It wasn’t all neat & tidy at the end either … how could it be with Helen’s story!
This was a good woman’s book, about women without being patronizing or anti male … highly recommended
August 22, 2020
A nice, warm story of friendship between a group of neighbours. Set in Fremantle, Western Australia, and in the years of retirement and grandchildren and figuring out who you are when you aren’t needed anymore. I feel a bit like I’m eavesdropping on my mum’s friends or something, and the difference in dialog (“whatever do you mean?” instead of “huh?”) is a little jarring for me. But everyone needs to see themselves in stories, and it’s good to peek into other people’s lives. I’m not the author’s target market; I can recommend her just the same.
March 2, 2021
Loved the book. The author uses the right amount of humour,sympathy ,empathy and compassion to tell the readers of the dilemmas that real people with. It may have been simplistic sometimes however there is a real depth to her writing. I'd love to live in Emerald street and be in such a caring environment. I think places like this are very unusual however I think in the past your street would be more like social gatherings. Loved it
June 24, 2018
A delightful read about empty nests, the uncertainties of growing old without fear and the bonds formed with neighbours on Emerald Street. The life changes that happen for these ageing neighbours reminds me of Mr Darwin to quote: "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”
January 25, 2019
Liz Byrski is such a wonderful storyteller. Her endearing characters often become people whom you wished you lived next door to. I loved A Month of Sundays and was excited to delve into the pages of another of her novels and The Woman Next Door didn’t disappoint. Now to work my way through her back catalogue 😃
May 6, 2020
A great read about a group of friends with everyday problems and friendships that cover all age groups. A nice pace and some twists to keep the reader engaged. Some characters were more likeable than others and that reflects real life too. Very enjoyable distraction read during these pandemic times.
January 8, 2022
Love a book set in my home town, makes it so much more relatable. I Always enjoy Liz’s books although I did feel this went on a bit and some of the story lines could have been wound up a lot sooner. The months quoted at the beginning of each chapter were confusing when the story seemed to move day by day and didn’t increase until much later
May 10, 2018
Took me a while to get into it but really enjoyed it once I got going!!! Lovely different story from my usual romance and I loved it!!!! The woman in this story so make it wonderful - thanks LB. our female friendship span generations and map our lives. Xx
June 13, 2020
I really enjoyed this story of neighbours and friends and the cycle of life. The people felt very real as did their struggles and challenges. Liz Byrski has a great gift for exploring the life experiences of the older age group. So much of it I could identify with.
June 28, 2021
This book is a thoroughly enjoyable read, with likeable characters, whom I feel as though I’ve known or know people just like each of them. Challenging in some aspects, hilarious or sad in others. Perhaps this book would be appreciated more by readers that have lived more years than less!
September 9, 2024
3.5 My first Liz Byrski book and I enjoyed it more than I expected. The author has managed to write about people that feel real, rather then the awful brash and unlikable characters that populate so many books these days.
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