Shimmer

by Basia Bonkowski

This is a powerful story of love, life and loss by one of Australia's most distinguished women. Step inside one woman's very private world as Basia and her brothers gather to watch over their mother during the last fourteen days of her life. Heartrendingly poignant, Shimmer is touched with moments of humour and great insight, as author Basia Bonkowski comes to terms both with losing her mother and the heartbreak of her own personal journey. In the process, Basia learns much more about her relationship with her own children. Woven into the story are flashbacks to World War II, when Basia's mother fled Poland ahead of the advancing Russians, with Basia recording the hardships, struggles and secrets that her mother kept close to her heart. Basia's lyrical prose and sharp eye for detail create an unforgettable account of her family over three generations.

Genres: Biography

203 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2009

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A memoir and tribute to her mother, the author traces the days from when she got the phone call with the news that her mum was dying, to her flight interstate and the days she spent at her mother's bedside, processing her response to the crisis and struggling to cope with her mum's imminent death. The structure of the memoir weaves from the hospital bed to scenes and stories from her mother's rich past- a migrant who arrived in Australia post WW2. The contrast between the vulnerable figure lying in the hospital bed and her feisty younger self protecting her family from an approaching bushfire is typical of the alternating images of her mother: strength and fragility; feistiness and vulnerability. At times I felt like I was sitting at the bedside with her, contemplating the awfulness of saying goodbye to a parent. It sounds terribly depressing, but it's not- it's intimate and honest... and some of the anecdotes are hilarious. I felt as though I'd met an indomitable woman whose life story deserved to be known by more than her family. Having read Romulus my Father not long before, I think these stories which have a lot in common (both written in a similar eulogising vein from the perspective of second generation migrant children) are so good to hear. These are the 'wogs' and 'dagos' of the 1950s reminding us that we underestimated them.

[Siteri R · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a difficult book to read because of its subject matter, a daughter's memory and love letter to her elderly mother.

Told over the last thirteen days of her mother's life, the author melds stories of her Polish parents fleeing Europe after WW2 to Australia and the sacrifices they made for their family.

The author Basia Bonkowski passed away in 2022 from lymphoma cancer.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4★ I did enjoy this book, but the only things I could fault with it was that it dragged out a bit for me in the first half and I found it a bit difficult at times to distinguish between the past recollections and the current story. I thought the ending was beautiful and it made me almost tear up a bit which is VERY rare for me when reading