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Her
Out in that country the sun smeared the sky and nothing ever altered, except that one day a scrap man came by . . .
Her name is scarcely known or remembered. All in all, she is worth less than the nine shillings and sixpence counted into her father’s hand. She bides her time. She does her work.
Way back in the corner of her mind is a thought she is almost too frightened to shine a light one day she will run away.
A dark and unsettling tale from the turn of the twentieth century by a master of Australian literature.
Her name is scarcely known or remembered. All in all, she is worth less than the nine shillings and sixpence counted into her father’s hand. She bides her time. She does her work.
Way back in the corner of her mind is a thought she is almost too frightened to shine a light one day she will run away.
A dark and unsettling tale from the turn of the twentieth century by a master of Australian literature.
145 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2017
43 people are currently reading
300 people want to read
About the author
Garry Disher
91 books722 followersGarry Disher was born in 1949 and grew up on his parents' farm in South Australia.
He gained post graduate degrees from Adelaide and Melbourne Universities. In 1978 he was awarded a creative writing fellowship to Stanford University, where he wrote his first short story collection. He travelled widely overseas, before returning to Australia, where he taught creative writing, finally becoming a full time writer in 1988. He has written more than 40 titles, including general and crime fiction, children's books, textbooks, and books about the craft of writing.
He gained post graduate degrees from Adelaide and Melbourne Universities. In 1978 he was awarded a creative writing fellowship to Stanford University, where he wrote his first short story collection. He travelled widely overseas, before returning to Australia, where he taught creative writing, finally becoming a full time writer in 1988. He has written more than 40 titles, including general and crime fiction, children's books, textbooks, and books about the craft of writing.
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November 23, 2020
EXCERPT: 1909 - out in that country
Out in that country the sun smeared the sky and nothing ever altered, except that one day a scrap man came by with his wife, who had cost him twelve shillings once upon a time, and a wispy girl, who had cost him ten.
The people of the hut heard them first, the clop two three four of hooves, the creature-in-torment shriek of an axle and a mad symphony of rocking and rattling. They froze. Then, from the scrub line, came a bony horse, a wagon hung with pots and pans, a dog panting along in the lurching shade and three faces, dusty and gaunt.
'Whoa!' said the man, spying the hut and hauling on the reins.
The dust settled over the clearing. The pots and pans fell silent on their hooks. The horse hung its head and the dog belly-flopped onto the dirt.
After a while a child appeared, wearing a flour-bag dress and slipping soundlessly from beneath a sulky parked broken-backed in a collar of grass. Other figures joined her, the odds and ends of a used-up family, materialising from the hut, a barn, a post-and-rail fence and the tricky corners of the mallee scrub. Count them: a mother, a father and eleven children, ranging from a baby on a hip to a boy whose voice had broken, all staring at the apparition.
ABOUT 'HER': Out in that country the sun smeared the sky and nothing ever altered, except that one day a scrap man came by . . .
Her name is scarcely known or remembered. All in all, she is worth less than the nine shillings and sixpence counted into her father’s hand. She bides her time. She does her work.
Way back in the corner of her mind is a thought she is almost too frightened to shine a light on: one day she will run away.
MY THOUGHTS: Dark. Unsettling. Heartbreaking.
We follow the unfortunate existence of 'You', a child sold into a life of slavery with the scrap man for the princely sum of nine shillings and sixpence. She becomes one of his possessions, his 'assets', along with Wife and Big Girl. She learns to read human character, not least that of Scrap Man, who is a lazy drunken wastrel, and abuser of women and children.
Her is not a pretty book. It is bleak, but beautifully written. It is a portrait of a time that I am glad I never had to live through. It is a time my grandparents lived through and sometimes spoke of, although their upbringing was somewhat easier than Hers. It is a time of making do, scratching a living, dressing in clothes made from flour sacks, and avoiding the authorities who might take a child away and put into care. For no matter how terrible life may be, it was better the known than the unknown. No school - she could not count, add, subtract, spell, read or write. She could pick pockets and act whatever role was required of her, and quietly rob a house while the Scrap Man kept the homeowner otherwise occupied.
If you have ever thought longingly of the past, this is the book to disabuse you of your romanticized notions. Just like now, vulnerable people were victimized, abused, and left powerless. The gap between the haves and the have nots was just as wide then as it is now. We are, with our constant communication, just far more aware of it today than it was possible to be then. Not that this 'awareness' has made any inroads into fixing the problem.
There are also certain parallels with today's Covid crisis. The country's population, already short of able-bodied men after the first world war, is then decimated by the Spanish Influenza. No more than five people in a shop. A five minute time limit to enjoy a beer in the pub. Social distancing, although that term had not then been coined. And, of course, the mandatory masks, made from whatever was at hand, a pillowcase, an old rag.
If Her teaches us anything, it is that the more things change the more they stay the same.
Her is a powerful book. I loved it. I hated it. It ripped my heart out, but still I came back for more.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
THE AUTHOR: Garry Disher was born in 1949 and grew up on his parents' farm in South Australia.
He gained post graduate degrees from Adelaide and Melbourne Universities. In 1978 he was awarded a creative writing fellowship to Stanford University, where he wrote his first short story collection. He travelled widely overseas, before returning to Australia, where he taught creative writing, finally becoming a full time writer in 1988.
DISCLOSURE: I borrowed my copy of Her, by Garry Disher, published by Hachette Australia from the Waitomo District Library. I actually went to borrow 'Hell to Pay', the first in a trilogy of which I have the second and third books, but it was out on loan. This was the only of his books sitting on the shelf. I am so glad that I picked it up.
All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
Out in that country the sun smeared the sky and nothing ever altered, except that one day a scrap man came by with his wife, who had cost him twelve shillings once upon a time, and a wispy girl, who had cost him ten.
The people of the hut heard them first, the clop two three four of hooves, the creature-in-torment shriek of an axle and a mad symphony of rocking and rattling. They froze. Then, from the scrub line, came a bony horse, a wagon hung with pots and pans, a dog panting along in the lurching shade and three faces, dusty and gaunt.
'Whoa!' said the man, spying the hut and hauling on the reins.
The dust settled over the clearing. The pots and pans fell silent on their hooks. The horse hung its head and the dog belly-flopped onto the dirt.
After a while a child appeared, wearing a flour-bag dress and slipping soundlessly from beneath a sulky parked broken-backed in a collar of grass. Other figures joined her, the odds and ends of a used-up family, materialising from the hut, a barn, a post-and-rail fence and the tricky corners of the mallee scrub. Count them: a mother, a father and eleven children, ranging from a baby on a hip to a boy whose voice had broken, all staring at the apparition.
ABOUT 'HER': Out in that country the sun smeared the sky and nothing ever altered, except that one day a scrap man came by . . .
Her name is scarcely known or remembered. All in all, she is worth less than the nine shillings and sixpence counted into her father’s hand. She bides her time. She does her work.
Way back in the corner of her mind is a thought she is almost too frightened to shine a light on: one day she will run away.
MY THOUGHTS: Dark. Unsettling. Heartbreaking.
We follow the unfortunate existence of 'You', a child sold into a life of slavery with the scrap man for the princely sum of nine shillings and sixpence. She becomes one of his possessions, his 'assets', along with Wife and Big Girl. She learns to read human character, not least that of Scrap Man, who is a lazy drunken wastrel, and abuser of women and children.
Her is not a pretty book. It is bleak, but beautifully written. It is a portrait of a time that I am glad I never had to live through. It is a time my grandparents lived through and sometimes spoke of, although their upbringing was somewhat easier than Hers. It is a time of making do, scratching a living, dressing in clothes made from flour sacks, and avoiding the authorities who might take a child away and put into care. For no matter how terrible life may be, it was better the known than the unknown. No school - she could not count, add, subtract, spell, read or write. She could pick pockets and act whatever role was required of her, and quietly rob a house while the Scrap Man kept the homeowner otherwise occupied.
If you have ever thought longingly of the past, this is the book to disabuse you of your romanticized notions. Just like now, vulnerable people were victimized, abused, and left powerless. The gap between the haves and the have nots was just as wide then as it is now. We are, with our constant communication, just far more aware of it today than it was possible to be then. Not that this 'awareness' has made any inroads into fixing the problem.
There are also certain parallels with today's Covid crisis. The country's population, already short of able-bodied men after the first world war, is then decimated by the Spanish Influenza. No more than five people in a shop. A five minute time limit to enjoy a beer in the pub. Social distancing, although that term had not then been coined. And, of course, the mandatory masks, made from whatever was at hand, a pillowcase, an old rag.
If Her teaches us anything, it is that the more things change the more they stay the same.
Her is a powerful book. I loved it. I hated it. It ripped my heart out, but still I came back for more.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
THE AUTHOR: Garry Disher was born in 1949 and grew up on his parents' farm in South Australia.
He gained post graduate degrees from Adelaide and Melbourne Universities. In 1978 he was awarded a creative writing fellowship to Stanford University, where he wrote his first short story collection. He travelled widely overseas, before returning to Australia, where he taught creative writing, finally becoming a full time writer in 1988.
DISCLOSURE: I borrowed my copy of Her, by Garry Disher, published by Hachette Australia from the Waitomo District Library. I actually went to borrow 'Hell to Pay', the first in a trilogy of which I have the second and third books, but it was out on loan. This was the only of his books sitting on the shelf. I am so glad that I picked it up.
All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
June 19, 2023
Outstanding writing. Bleak content. If you discuss these themes, how does one rate? Probably should be five stars but I am depressed! Review to follow. I probably should round up to 4...
3.5 I have decided on. This is an author I have heard many good things about, and have wanted to read for some time. I will look out for him very soon, my work library stock probably everything he has written, not this one due to its newness.
Historical fiction, bleak but very well written. The price to put on a child? Parents will trade their off spring. This is desperate, unscrupulous, just awful.
A three year old girl knows of herself only as a thing. You. You fends for herself and looks after others - cooking - cleaning - mending - surviving - in her desperate group, run by the 'Scrap man'. A horrible horrible cycle of trying to make money from garbage, and trying to live off 'goods' made by You, 'Big Girl' and 'Wife', all discarded at a young age, rotten teeth, terrible health. You get the drift. All watched over by a man who will take from these woman what he likes, as often as he likes.
Others will like this more than me, I needed something good to happen. I will now see what else this author has to offer.
3.5 I have decided on. This is an author I have heard many good things about, and have wanted to read for some time. I will look out for him very soon, my work library stock probably everything he has written, not this one due to its newness.
Historical fiction, bleak but very well written. The price to put on a child? Parents will trade their off spring. This is desperate, unscrupulous, just awful.
A three year old girl knows of herself only as a thing. You. You fends for herself and looks after others - cooking - cleaning - mending - surviving - in her desperate group, run by the 'Scrap man'. A horrible horrible cycle of trying to make money from garbage, and trying to live off 'goods' made by You, 'Big Girl' and 'Wife', all discarded at a young age, rotten teeth, terrible health. You get the drift. All watched over by a man who will take from these woman what he likes, as often as he likes.
Others will like this more than me, I needed something good to happen. I will now see what else this author has to offer.
November 8, 2024
Three years old she was when the scrap man came and paid her father nine shillings and sixpence. She was chosen over the rest of her siblings; suddenly she belonged to the scrap man while memories of her family faded. Living in a dilapidated jumble of belongings, her name was You; there was Wife and Big Girl – all cowered when the scrap man was angry.
Seasonally the horse was harnessed to the cart and they ventured out to sell, buy, steal and trick – meandering across the countryside, remembering where not to go if they’d been shunted away last time. Whenever there was a pub nearby the scrap man drank their measly pennies until there wasn’t enough for food. Then he would fly into a rage and beat Wife.
Back at home Wife, Big Girl and You spent their time making things from scrap metal for their next trip through the countryside; while the scrap man drank and womanised. What would happen to the little family? Would You be able to escape? He’d always threatened to kill her if she tried…
Her by Aussie author Garry Disher is set in the bush near Bendigo in Victoria at the turn of the century and is a tale of utter despair, bitterness and how the nameless young women coped at the hands of one unscrupulous and evil man. This is completely different to anything the author has written before, and in my opinion he’s nailed it. A master at his craft, Garry Disher certainly knows how to weave a tale, and Her will stay with me for a long time. Highly recommended.
With thanks to Hachette AU for my ARC to read and review.
Seasonally the horse was harnessed to the cart and they ventured out to sell, buy, steal and trick – meandering across the countryside, remembering where not to go if they’d been shunted away last time. Whenever there was a pub nearby the scrap man drank their measly pennies until there wasn’t enough for food. Then he would fly into a rage and beat Wife.
Back at home Wife, Big Girl and You spent their time making things from scrap metal for their next trip through the countryside; while the scrap man drank and womanised. What would happen to the little family? Would You be able to escape? He’d always threatened to kill her if she tried…
Her by Aussie author Garry Disher is set in the bush near Bendigo in Victoria at the turn of the century and is a tale of utter despair, bitterness and how the nameless young women coped at the hands of one unscrupulous and evil man. This is completely different to anything the author has written before, and in my opinion he’s nailed it. A master at his craft, Garry Disher certainly knows how to weave a tale, and Her will stay with me for a long time. Highly recommended.
With thanks to Hachette AU for my ARC to read and review.
November 13, 2017
She was so young just three years old when the scrap man came calling and unlucky to have been picked out from the rest of her siblings. Money exchanged hands between her father and the scrap man and then she was taken away to a place that resembled nothing more than a rundown old ramshackle. She was named Her and living under the same roof was Wife and Big Girl.
Scrap man was a brutal, abusive and evil, man and life for those who lived with him endured nothing more than pure misery. Escaping was the only means to freedom, but this was a lot harder than it sounded.
Unfortunately I didn't enjoy this book as much as I imagined I would. In saying that I believe it's a good read. I see from the reviews, many other people have really loved it, so PLEASE don't let me put you off from reading this. I put it down to having other things on my mind, so I didn't fully engage in the story like I normally would when I'm reading. Recommended.
Scrap man was a brutal, abusive and evil, man and life for those who lived with him endured nothing more than pure misery. Escaping was the only means to freedom, but this was a lot harder than it sounded.
Unfortunately I didn't enjoy this book as much as I imagined I would. In saying that I believe it's a good read. I see from the reviews, many other people have really loved it, so PLEASE don't let me put you off from reading this. I put it down to having other things on my mind, so I didn't fully engage in the story like I normally would when I'm reading. Recommended.
December 21, 2017
Garry Disher has created a very harsh and uncompromising tale set in country Victoria, Australia, around the time of WWI and the outbreak of the Spanish Flu. The characters – the repugnant and vile ‘scrap man’, ‘wife’, ‘big sister’ and ’you’ live an itinerant life, scrounging a living however they can, whether that be trapping rabbits and selling the furs, buying and selling miscellaneous ‘scrap’ goods and often pickpocketing and stealing from innocent and unsuspecting victims. Told mainly from the perspective of ‘you’, a poor girl who was sold to the scrap man at three years of age, it’s sometimes difficult to read. Such a tough, gruelling way for a young kid to live, virtually being a slave to the alcoholic and abusive scrap man who constantly terrorises all three females. It’s a very quick read and I would have liked the characters and the story fleshed out a bit more but I found it pretty intense and it did hook me in right from the start. 4.5 stars.
November 18, 2017
“Love in this family was inconvenient, insupportable and unwelcome. No one knew precisely what love was. All Lily knew was that she loved Hazel. Hazel her sister, a receptacle of love.”
Her is a stand-alone novel by award-winning Australian author, Garry Disher. When she is three, the scrap man buys Her from her father for nine shillings and sixpence. She joins Wife and Big Girl. They have all been bought like slaves and are used like slaves, for labour and, when he judges them old enough, for his sexual gratification. By the time she is six, she has been trained up enough to accompany him on his tinker’s wagon, collecting scrap metal, repairing pots and trying to sell the shoddy goods they all put together from flour bags and fencing wire and whatever else they can scrounge, beg, trap or steal.
It’s the very early nineteen-hundreds, and in back country Victoria, for isolated families, the tinker’s van is not an uncommon sight, representing the opportunity to both buy and sell. Poverty-stricken families with nothing else to sell and too many mouths to feed might just resort to this drastic deed to ease both.
Disher’s unnamed protagonist soon learns that her new father, this scrap man, is lazy, violent and cruel, both physically and mentally: “Pull a long face and carry on” is his maxim. What little cash they do make is often spent on grog and whores. All three of his possessions know how to behave if caught unawares by the Social, the Education, the Police or those church do-gooders: say nothing and act dumb. Escape is only a dream.
Disher easily captures the backblocks of Victoria in the early twentieth century, and the attitudes of the time. His main character is well-portrayed: her attachment to the only family she can remember having, who are all under scrap man’s control and equally afraid of doing anything to upset him. Her conflict at hating him yet wanting to be his favourite, and her jealousy of her “sister”, not unexpected. But her endurance, resourcefulness and resilience do engender some hope for her future.
Using some exquisite prose, Disher gives the reader an unvarnished tale of hardship; an unsettling story that, for all its bleakness, is a powerful read.
This edition also includes reading group notes and a suggested bibliography.
With thanks to Hachette Australia and the author for this copy to read and review.
Her is a stand-alone novel by award-winning Australian author, Garry Disher. When she is three, the scrap man buys Her from her father for nine shillings and sixpence. She joins Wife and Big Girl. They have all been bought like slaves and are used like slaves, for labour and, when he judges them old enough, for his sexual gratification. By the time she is six, she has been trained up enough to accompany him on his tinker’s wagon, collecting scrap metal, repairing pots and trying to sell the shoddy goods they all put together from flour bags and fencing wire and whatever else they can scrounge, beg, trap or steal.
It’s the very early nineteen-hundreds, and in back country Victoria, for isolated families, the tinker’s van is not an uncommon sight, representing the opportunity to both buy and sell. Poverty-stricken families with nothing else to sell and too many mouths to feed might just resort to this drastic deed to ease both.
Disher’s unnamed protagonist soon learns that her new father, this scrap man, is lazy, violent and cruel, both physically and mentally: “Pull a long face and carry on” is his maxim. What little cash they do make is often spent on grog and whores. All three of his possessions know how to behave if caught unawares by the Social, the Education, the Police or those church do-gooders: say nothing and act dumb. Escape is only a dream.
Disher easily captures the backblocks of Victoria in the early twentieth century, and the attitudes of the time. His main character is well-portrayed: her attachment to the only family she can remember having, who are all under scrap man’s control and equally afraid of doing anything to upset him. Her conflict at hating him yet wanting to be his favourite, and her jealousy of her “sister”, not unexpected. But her endurance, resourcefulness and resilience do engender some hope for her future.
Using some exquisite prose, Disher gives the reader an unvarnished tale of hardship; an unsettling story that, for all its bleakness, is a powerful read.
This edition also includes reading group notes and a suggested bibliography.
With thanks to Hachette Australia and the author for this copy to read and review.
November 9, 2017
My View:
This is a very quick, very dark, very disturbing read, written with skill and flair. Underpinning the bleak narrative are themes of resilience, the importance of family – in its varied forms, of solidarity and of the female bonds that sustain life and offer hope in desperate situations.
Disher skilfully captures the essence of the times and the Australian locations succinctly – early 1900’s, rural backdrops, you can hear those banjos strumming “Deliverance” style in your head as you turn the pages, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uzae_... the poverty, the gloom, the desperation, the harsh conditions; the landscape ruling with a mean and spiteful fist, its fingers tightly clamped, strangling hope.
This is not what I would call an enjoyable read. This is however a remarkable, memorable, poignant and haunting read that I dare you to forget.
This is a very quick, very dark, very disturbing read, written with skill and flair. Underpinning the bleak narrative are themes of resilience, the importance of family – in its varied forms, of solidarity and of the female bonds that sustain life and offer hope in desperate situations.
Disher skilfully captures the essence of the times and the Australian locations succinctly – early 1900’s, rural backdrops, you can hear those banjos strumming “Deliverance” style in your head as you turn the pages, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uzae_... the poverty, the gloom, the desperation, the harsh conditions; the landscape ruling with a mean and spiteful fist, its fingers tightly clamped, strangling hope.
This is not what I would call an enjoyable read. This is however a remarkable, memorable, poignant and haunting read that I dare you to forget.
October 23, 2017
Her is an atmospheric and enveloping timepiece of early 1900’s Australia where isolation and deprivation are all, and trinkets and compliments are commodities unheard of for the youth central to this story.
I've not read many books that have had such a lasting effect as the characters, Lily in particular, has on me. Sold to the man commonly referred to as the ’Scrap Man’ as a child, Lily knows nothing but the harshness of his hand and word alike. Living on an farm, somewhat segregated from the greater population, Lily, Big Girl, Wife and Scrap Man carve out a living by making goods of questionable quality and selling them to unsuspecting buys in various towns throughout Victoria.
This is a dark and unnerving book at times that has a broader message of family and resilience that isn't fully realized until after the book is finished.
Her is full of complex and lyrical prose and is a joy to read.
My rating: 5/5 stars.
I've not read many books that have had such a lasting effect as the characters, Lily in particular, has on me. Sold to the man commonly referred to as the ’Scrap Man’ as a child, Lily knows nothing but the harshness of his hand and word alike. Living on an farm, somewhat segregated from the greater population, Lily, Big Girl, Wife and Scrap Man carve out a living by making goods of questionable quality and selling them to unsuspecting buys in various towns throughout Victoria.
This is a dark and unnerving book at times that has a broader message of family and resilience that isn't fully realized until after the book is finished.
Her is full of complex and lyrical prose and is a joy to read.
My rating: 5/5 stars.
January 8, 2019
Disher displays all his talents in this bleak story of a young girl sold by her parents to a tinker. It's early 1900s and her life is hard work, long hours, poor diet, filth, poverty and a violent and sexual predator for new father. It's not a pretty book with such a bleak story mixed with clever technique and polished imagery.
I did struggle with how mature the girl was at the age of 6 or 7 but maybe in her life she had no choice.
I did struggle with how mature the girl was at the age of 6 or 7 but maybe in her life she had no choice.
September 17, 2017
Absolutely bloody brilliant! I have not read anything from this author but I will definitely be seeking out more - even though other reviewers have said this is not his usual subject material.
Set in rural Victoria during the first few years of the 20th century, this books paints a poignant picture of the harsh reality of living in desperate poverty. It portrays the story of five young girls thrust into life at different times with a cruel abusive man through no choice or fault of their own and how (if they even survive it at all) how it would force them to find a way out of their hellish life. Beautifully and honestly written this is Australian historical literature at its finest.
Set in rural Victoria during the first few years of the 20th century, this books paints a poignant picture of the harsh reality of living in desperate poverty. It portrays the story of five young girls thrust into life at different times with a cruel abusive man through no choice or fault of their own and how (if they even survive it at all) how it would force them to find a way out of their hellish life. Beautifully and honestly written this is Australian historical literature at its finest.
November 2, 2017
I should first of all make it clear that this is a historical novel rather than crime fiction, although crimes are committed. My impression is that the intended audience is young adult although the writing style is sophisticated and quite demanding.
The time period is 1913 - early 1920s, the setting rural Victoria. Life is hard and a family with too many children and not enough food sells a three year old girl to the scrap man for nine shillings and sixpence. The scrap man's family consists of Wife, Big Girl and now there is You. The little girl never really knows what her real name is. Years later she sees a boy newly enlisted, who she thinks might be her brother.
Big Girl and You do not go to school - the scrap man hides Big Girl and passes You off as feeble-minded. The scrap man travels the country side hawking items his women folk have made at home out of flour bags, torn sheets, fencing wire, and scrap metal. It depicts an Australia that most of us have never known, of life when the horse was central to transport, of life on the road.
I think this is a novel guaranteed to make an impression on readers, teaching about a period that most would have no idea about. This the way to learn history.
In the final pages are some group reading notes, with discussion questions and suggestions for further reading.
The time period is 1913 - early 1920s, the setting rural Victoria. Life is hard and a family with too many children and not enough food sells a three year old girl to the scrap man for nine shillings and sixpence. The scrap man's family consists of Wife, Big Girl and now there is You. The little girl never really knows what her real name is. Years later she sees a boy newly enlisted, who she thinks might be her brother.
Big Girl and You do not go to school - the scrap man hides Big Girl and passes You off as feeble-minded. The scrap man travels the country side hawking items his women folk have made at home out of flour bags, torn sheets, fencing wire, and scrap metal. It depicts an Australia that most of us have never known, of life when the horse was central to transport, of life on the road.
I think this is a novel guaranteed to make an impression on readers, teaching about a period that most would have no idea about. This the way to learn history.
In the final pages are some group reading notes, with discussion questions and suggestions for further reading.
June 10, 2021
One of the very best Aussie Authors ..... my favorite. Grim, dark but what a read .. move over Shuggie Bain .... make way for Her.
September 8, 2017
Brilliant. I hope this book will be considered for literary prize.
From the opening words, there's a sense of foreboding, and it's familiar to those who have greatgrandparents grandparents, or elderly parents, who lived in that era of Australia's history.
It infuriated me. Good writing will do that, bring an emotional response to a reader, thereby succeeding in what it was intended to do: and that is, entertain.
This is terrific. Will re-read. I did not hurry to finish it, even though friends said "I read it in one sitting !". I like to take time even with the most exciting stories, to let it all sink in and take over the mood.
Well done, Garry Disher ! An author so talented as to write in various genres and styles, always coming up with the next surprise no matter what he writes.
Over fifty books, imagine ! The old saying "Wake Up, Australia !" comes to mind, and I gladly shout out: take notice of this author! Somuch entertainment in every book, can't wait for what's next.
From the opening words, there's a sense of foreboding, and it's familiar to those who have greatgrandparents grandparents, or elderly parents, who lived in that era of Australia's history.
It infuriated me. Good writing will do that, bring an emotional response to a reader, thereby succeeding in what it was intended to do: and that is, entertain.
This is terrific. Will re-read. I did not hurry to finish it, even though friends said "I read it in one sitting !". I like to take time even with the most exciting stories, to let it all sink in and take over the mood.
Well done, Garry Disher ! An author so talented as to write in various genres and styles, always coming up with the next surprise no matter what he writes.
Over fifty books, imagine ! The old saying "Wake Up, Australia !" comes to mind, and I gladly shout out: take notice of this author! Somuch entertainment in every book, can't wait for what's next.
September 6, 2017
A sad and disturbing tale, beautifully written
August 16, 2019
You can find this review and all of my others over at www.readbookrepeat.wordpress.com
She was three years old when the scrap man came. Three years old when her father sold her for nine shillings and sixpence. Thus began her life with the scrap man. Living with him, Wife, and Big Girl, she lives out her days setting traps, and catching rabbits, roaming town to town with the Scrap Man while he peddles their feebly made wares. Not quite understanding what happens at night when the Scrap Man finds his way into Big Girls bed at night leading to a pregnancy. All she dreams about is one day running away, being free of the slavery that she finds herself in, daring to dream a little about a possible better life, and a family that she once, maybe, knew. As she grows older her dreams of running away are just that, dreams. She does her best to get through the days, the thoughts of a new little baby at home to get her by.
She was only three years old the day her father sold her to the Scrap Man, did he know the kind of man he was selling her to?
I read this book as I've been invited to attend a book club meeting, and the possibility of joining up with said local book club if I like it. So this was their book of the month. I rushed into my local library to pick up a copy as I wasn't too keen on spending $13 on a 207 page book on Kindle, I got the call this afternoon to tell me that it was totally fine for me to borrow the book even though it's a book club only one. So I was pretty stoked about that. I figured, hey, this meeting happens next Wednesday so I'd better get started on it just in case it drags. That was like two hours ago... So I can definitely tell you, the story doesn't drag, but that's probably the only positive that I can give you.
The story is dark and definitely unsettling as the Goodreads synopsis says. Not greatly unsettling, just a bit. It gives off the feeling of being trapped. Having no safety, no one to run to, and no one to save you. The story is set in the early 1900s in Australia, namely near Bendigo in Victoria. We are told this little tidbit about halfway through. It's the story of a young girl who was sold to a man in a father's moment of desperation for the rest of his family, which consisted of a wife and 11 children all up. For me, I feel like this story is one of resilience, 'You' as our protagonist is affectionately known as, is a picture of resilience. She goes through such trauma and hardship, literally worked to the bone by the Scrap Man so that he can make some coin and get drunk, while touting that he's a landowner and all respectable like. This girl goes through an absolute hell of a life (well, for the little of it that we are privy to because of this story anyway), and she keeps going. She has grandiose dreams of running away one day, being free, and getting away from the Scrap Man. Yet I found when she had these chances, she was so afraid of being found out by him that she just didn't do anything. She just kept going about her daily existence hoping not to get hit again.
This story deals with some pretty heavy issues. It deals with domestic abuse, child abuse, sexual abuse, and dare I say it? I would count it as rape, to be honest. Rape of a minor. I know that 'back in those days' it was normal for a grown man to take a pretty much 'child' bride, but it was still a bit disturbing to read about. He was having sex with our protagonist before she'd even got her period. So if you have a rough time with things like that, I wouldn't recommend this book to you.
To be honest, I don't even really know what happened in the story, or really, what the point of it was. We see 'You' go through a bunch of shit stuff and then the end is left open for the reader's interpretation. I'm not sure if it was meant to be an illustration of the time in Australia? Or if it was meant to invoke serious thoughts from reading groups due to the ambiguity of a couple of situations that occurred in the book. I'm just left kinda not knowing the point of the story. There wasn't so much character growth or development other than the characters got older. There was no real issue or problem that needed to be solved, it was literally just a chronicle of a short portion of a girls life in early 1900's Australia. There was no resolution, not that I found anyway.
I can understand why this would be a good read for bookclubs however because it does raise many good points for discussion, such as a couple of things that were left open ended and up to the readers interpretation, so this will definitely create discussion. But I'm almost left wondering whether this book was written purely for the use of book clubs. I can't say that I'm going to be rushing out to try another of Disher's stories as I feel that they will all be written with a similar 'formula' so to speak. I may try another one if the opportunity arises though.
I do have to say that it was a quick and super easy read with nice flowing writing and good descriptions. If you're interested in seeing a snapshot of life in the early 1900's of Australia give it a go, you may just find you like it.
She was three years old when the scrap man came. Three years old when her father sold her for nine shillings and sixpence. Thus began her life with the scrap man. Living with him, Wife, and Big Girl, she lives out her days setting traps, and catching rabbits, roaming town to town with the Scrap Man while he peddles their feebly made wares. Not quite understanding what happens at night when the Scrap Man finds his way into Big Girls bed at night leading to a pregnancy. All she dreams about is one day running away, being free of the slavery that she finds herself in, daring to dream a little about a possible better life, and a family that she once, maybe, knew. As she grows older her dreams of running away are just that, dreams. She does her best to get through the days, the thoughts of a new little baby at home to get her by.
She was only three years old the day her father sold her to the Scrap Man, did he know the kind of man he was selling her to?
I read this book as I've been invited to attend a book club meeting, and the possibility of joining up with said local book club if I like it. So this was their book of the month. I rushed into my local library to pick up a copy as I wasn't too keen on spending $13 on a 207 page book on Kindle, I got the call this afternoon to tell me that it was totally fine for me to borrow the book even though it's a book club only one. So I was pretty stoked about that. I figured, hey, this meeting happens next Wednesday so I'd better get started on it just in case it drags. That was like two hours ago... So I can definitely tell you, the story doesn't drag, but that's probably the only positive that I can give you.
The story is dark and definitely unsettling as the Goodreads synopsis says. Not greatly unsettling, just a bit. It gives off the feeling of being trapped. Having no safety, no one to run to, and no one to save you. The story is set in the early 1900s in Australia, namely near Bendigo in Victoria. We are told this little tidbit about halfway through. It's the story of a young girl who was sold to a man in a father's moment of desperation for the rest of his family, which consisted of a wife and 11 children all up. For me, I feel like this story is one of resilience, 'You' as our protagonist is affectionately known as, is a picture of resilience. She goes through such trauma and hardship, literally worked to the bone by the Scrap Man so that he can make some coin and get drunk, while touting that he's a landowner and all respectable like. This girl goes through an absolute hell of a life (well, for the little of it that we are privy to because of this story anyway), and she keeps going. She has grandiose dreams of running away one day, being free, and getting away from the Scrap Man. Yet I found when she had these chances, she was so afraid of being found out by him that she just didn't do anything. She just kept going about her daily existence hoping not to get hit again.
This story deals with some pretty heavy issues. It deals with domestic abuse, child abuse, sexual abuse, and dare I say it? I would count it as rape, to be honest. Rape of a minor. I know that 'back in those days' it was normal for a grown man to take a pretty much 'child' bride, but it was still a bit disturbing to read about. He was having sex with our protagonist before she'd even got her period. So if you have a rough time with things like that, I wouldn't recommend this book to you.
To be honest, I don't even really know what happened in the story, or really, what the point of it was. We see 'You' go through a bunch of shit stuff and then the end is left open for the reader's interpretation. I'm not sure if it was meant to be an illustration of the time in Australia? Or if it was meant to invoke serious thoughts from reading groups due to the ambiguity of a couple of situations that occurred in the book. I'm just left kinda not knowing the point of the story. There wasn't so much character growth or development other than the characters got older. There was no real issue or problem that needed to be solved, it was literally just a chronicle of a short portion of a girls life in early 1900's Australia. There was no resolution, not that I found anyway.
I can understand why this would be a good read for bookclubs however because it does raise many good points for discussion, such as a couple of things that were left open ended and up to the readers interpretation, so this will definitely create discussion. But I'm almost left wondering whether this book was written purely for the use of book clubs. I can't say that I'm going to be rushing out to try another of Disher's stories as I feel that they will all be written with a similar 'formula' so to speak. I may try another one if the opportunity arises though.
I do have to say that it was a quick and super easy read with nice flowing writing and good descriptions. If you're interested in seeing a snapshot of life in the early 1900's of Australia give it a go, you may just find you like it.
April 16, 2024
Very well written, with memorable descriptions, and a short read at 197 pages. However, the story and what happens to the young women and girls is at times very difficult to read, in that it made me so angry. But "You/Lily", the very young protagonist and heroine, is special, and her intelligence and fortitude, and her caring nature in an extremely uncaring environment make her a heroine who I'll remember for a long time.
Set between 1901-1919, Disher recreates an Australia of back roads and small country towns, and people who have nothing yet manage to survive. WW1 and the Spanish 'flu provide some background, but they barely touch the awareness of the scrap man, who holds Lily's life, and the lives of Wife, Big girl, and Hazel, in his quick fists, and tight-fisted, alcoholic days (and daze). He enjoys screwing anyone and everyone to make himself feel better than them, and can be lost for days in the pub or whore house. Lily is uneducated, and must hide when "the Education" or "the Social" come around their camp or, later, their rude house, but she has a gift for reading people and situations that the scrap man doesn't.
Trigger warnings: sale of girl children; incest/rape.
I couldn't put it down.
Set between 1901-1919, Disher recreates an Australia of back roads and small country towns, and people who have nothing yet manage to survive. WW1 and the Spanish 'flu provide some background, but they barely touch the awareness of the scrap man, who holds Lily's life, and the lives of Wife, Big girl, and Hazel, in his quick fists, and tight-fisted, alcoholic days (and daze). He enjoys screwing anyone and everyone to make himself feel better than them, and can be lost for days in the pub or whore house. Lily is uneducated, and must hide when "the Education" or "the Social" come around their camp or, later, their rude house, but she has a gift for reading people and situations that the scrap man doesn't.
Trigger warnings: sale of girl children; incest/rape.
I couldn't put it down.
February 24, 2024
Raw and harrowing writing style which complemented the book’s content really well. I loved the understated symbolism such as the doll’s house, her period and miscarriage, etc. I think, given that the book doesn’t really go anywhere or have a plot to follow, the symbolism was helpful in tracking Lily’s character development and the way her worldview was slowly changing with age.
The author also did a great job of encapsulating the realities of traumatic and dysfunctional family dynamics. Seeing Lily struggle with a desire to escape, and loyalties to Hazel and the rest of her family, was truthful and realistic.
I found the repeat descriptions of rape a bit overkill. I understand that sexual assault was important to the story, but it felt a little like it was used as shock factor, which wasn’t needed given that everything that happened was pretty horrific.
3.5 stars because it had the potential to do and say a lot more than what it did.
The author also did a great job of encapsulating the realities of traumatic and dysfunctional family dynamics. Seeing Lily struggle with a desire to escape, and loyalties to Hazel and the rest of her family, was truthful and realistic.
I found the repeat descriptions of rape a bit overkill. I understand that sexual assault was important to the story, but it felt a little like it was used as shock factor, which wasn’t needed given that everything that happened was pretty horrific.
3.5 stars because it had the potential to do and say a lot more than what it did.
December 26, 2018
I loved the way this was written. It was so sparse and understated, which suited the story perfectly. No overblown flowery descriptions, just one or two vivid adjectives or an unusual and well-chosen verb. Somehow it managed to express so much in so few words.
The plot was intense and harrowing, not easy to read at times. I suppose it's uplifting, in a way, to read about the triumph of the human spirit in adversity etc etc, but I just so badly wanted the horrible Scrap Man to fall down and break his neck! They would ALL have been happier and better off in every possible way.
It was a quick read and ended rather abruptly, but on a hopeful note. I was left wanting much more! I looked everything else by this author but sadly (for me) Garry seems to have devoted countless thousands of his well-chosen words to *crime fiction* of all things. A genre I really don't enjoy. Oh well.
The plot was intense and harrowing, not easy to read at times. I suppose it's uplifting, in a way, to read about the triumph of the human spirit in adversity etc etc, but I just so badly wanted the horrible Scrap Man to fall down and break his neck! They would ALL have been happier and better off in every possible way.
It was a quick read and ended rather abruptly, but on a hopeful note. I was left wanting much more! I looked everything else by this author but sadly (for me) Garry seems to have devoted countless thousands of his well-chosen words to *crime fiction* of all things. A genre I really don't enjoy. Oh well.
April 5, 2020
Wonderfully written, capturing the bleak existence of a no-hoper itinerant who exists by selling whatever he can cobble together or steal throughout the back blocks of the Australian bush during the tough times of the early 1900s. He does little or no work and drinks away most of the family’s meagre earnings. All chores are done by the abused and downtrodden women of the “family” who are trapped in a hopeless situation. The story spans a decade from the time Lily’s desperate family sell her to this “scrap man” in an effort to earn a few pennies to feed the rest of their tribe. She is only three at the time and even at such a young age must quickly adjust to the misery and harshness of her new life. But she does this well, doing anything and everything she can in order to survive. Dark but compelling.
December 7, 2017
The sparsity of the lives of the girls and women in this tale is expressed eloquently and efficiently through the sparse but evocative prose. Disher has always been able to describe Australia with such precision and clarity. An awful tale of exploitation and abuse set against the backdrop of early 20th century country life, in all its spartan beauty and terror, speaking in memory of those women held to ransom in fear of their own lives, or those of their loved ones. Women forced and shaped to live appalling lives dodging authorities and those who could help them, considered by themselves and the wider community to be less than human, drudges and vagrants eking an existence on the edge of society. Beautiful and terrible all at once,
March 10, 2018
An impeccably written but highly disturbing account of three women and a rural scrap dealer in the pre- WW1 and post WW1 period in central Victoria.
In some lists, its noted as a YA book, but not on my list. The writing is intense, matter of fact, moving as well as poetic. The tale is dark, disturbing and tragic with themes of abandonment, slavery, imprisonment, sexual abuse and violence. The themes are not just referenced, they are on every page. That counts it out as YA fiction for me.
It's a book that comes with discussion notes at the end and it does have significant literary value. Confronting in many ways, not least on how we could reflect on the past and traditional values.
4 stars.
In some lists, its noted as a YA book, but not on my list. The writing is intense, matter of fact, moving as well as poetic. The tale is dark, disturbing and tragic with themes of abandonment, slavery, imprisonment, sexual abuse and violence. The themes are not just referenced, they are on every page. That counts it out as YA fiction for me.
It's a book that comes with discussion notes at the end and it does have significant literary value. Confronting in many ways, not least on how we could reflect on the past and traditional values.
4 stars.
September 2, 2018
Garry writes really well, and the story for this book is well portrayed. The three stars is not reflection on the skill of the writing, but on my feelings about the story. Set in the back blocks of Victoria it is a story of a 'family' formed around a man, but not of blood. A hawker taking advantage of others hard times to acquire a child, and never to call her by name. Of the training of the children in crime. Of the three women forming bonds of sorts to help survive, but having their spirit kept in check by the treatment of the man.
Well structured, making you think about what could happen at times in our past, and to wonder if even with all the protections one would hope are in society now, could it still happen.
Well structured, making you think about what could happen at times in our past, and to wonder if even with all the protections one would hope are in society now, could it still happen.
February 24, 2018
This is a dark and unsettling tale of privation, set in the early 1900's, in the back blocks of the country, where people struggled to survive through drought, war, depression, and the avarice and greed of men. The Saturday Paper reviews it as " an evocation of a post-Federation world of blowflies, fencing wire and rock buns, Her is almost flawless." and I would have to concur.
Rivetting and tragic, and very Australian, it is the story of a young girl, from a large family brought to the brink by poverty, and a scrapman who buys her. The descriptions of land, the close eye of Lily seeing it all, are lyrical, and are so at odds with the brutal and needy scrap man, who has it all.
May 11, 2018
Did anyone else think this was a novel in the horror genre because of the cover image? I rarely read horror, so picked this book up thanks to a reveiw, not its cover. I am glad I did, although the story is disturbing.
Lily survives a childhood isolated, poor and violent. She doesn't have a name for most of the novel, but it's important that when she does get a name it's one she has chosen for herself.
I enjouyed the Australian-ness of it - the landscape, the attitudes and the history.
It's a hard story to read, but it is never without hope and awe at the resilience and adaptabilty of Her.
Lily survives a childhood isolated, poor and violent. She doesn't have a name for most of the novel, but it's important that when she does get a name it's one she has chosen for herself.
I enjouyed the Australian-ness of it - the landscape, the attitudes and the history.
It's a hard story to read, but it is never without hope and awe at the resilience and adaptabilty of Her.
October 8, 2017
It's a bleak tale of a 1900s travelling scrap-man who buys a young girl from an impoverished family to assist his daily thievery. There's little hope in this story of enslavement, desperation and violence. Disher has a way with sparse prose that nicely matches the empty lives of his characters. It is an interesting excursion into the first twenty years of the 20th century from a new perspective. It gets you in but it's certainly no feel-good adventure, that's for sure!
March 11, 2018
It is difficult to review the issues underlying this wonderful story without spoiling the plot. Disher delves into the poverty in aspects of our late nineteenth and early twentieth Century culture. In doing so he challenges the romantic view often held of the past, particularly the sacred idea of 'family values'.
The book is written in gorgeous prose that builds evocative pictures of the places and people, the time and the country, the towns and the vastness of rural Australia.
The book is written in gorgeous prose that builds evocative pictures of the places and people, the time and the country, the towns and the vastness of rural Australia.
January 6, 2020
with a 1/2. GD's excellent writing creates a movie like image of the outback at the turn of the 20th C. Bleak it may be but not without 'Australian ' humour, " why carry them (anvils) from the barn to wagon when you could have driven the wagon to the barn”. The notion of the 'scrapman' being able to purchase a young girl is nothing short of scandalous ...white Australia has a lot to answer for and our past MUST be confronted for the country to truly become homogeneous.
August 7, 2021
Previously read 2018. Chilling story of slavery set in the early 1900s in Australia where the laws of society failed to reach or to deal with effectively - in a society where rampant poverty meant children could be bought by human predators from struggling, desperate families, some facing starvation. Also partially set in the years the world was ravaged by the Spanish flu that killed millions worldwide after WW1. Skilfully written.
May 14, 2018
You would like to think that something like this could never have happened in Australia, but it seems totally believable in all its heart breaking reality. How could anyone be so poor and hopeless that a child can be sold for coins! What a bleak and brutal life and how amazing that a child called “Her” can still hold on to love and to hope after what befalls her.
May 14, 2018
A very different style of writing from Disher, he still manages to weave his tale full of intricate details of Australian culture, giving us an insight into a life that is almost too painful at times to comprehend....yet Disher gives us such beautiful moments of hope that this does not become a tale of bitterness, it shows a strength in what makes us human...I do wonder what became of Her...
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