Quill

by Neal Drinnan

As Rose Elliot sits in a Sydney apartment, the home of a scandalous author who just happens to be her son, she contemplates the release of his autobiography, fearful of what is may reveal. She has never quite fathomed why the Lord blessed her with a son like Berni. A boy full of surprise - and so many other of them painful.

But Rose isn't the only one to feel the sharp prick of Quill. The wounded are many, as Blaise discovered to his cost several years ago when Je Louse was published,, bearing it's prescient warning 'Beware of ex-lovers with quills'. Some things are better left unsaid, but what joy is there in knowing without saying? Is discretion truly the better part of valour?

234 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Neal Drinnan was born in Melbourne, Australia, sometime in the 1960s. At seventeen he abandoned his family and education for the lure of life’s more ephemeral things (they lasted longer than he expected).

He has worked in publishing and journalism for many years. He is the author of five novels—Glove Puppet, Pussy’s Bow, Quill, Izzy and Eve and Rare Bird of Truth, as well as The Rough Guide to Gay and Lesbian Australia and numerous short stories. Readers who find themselves shocked by the morality of his tales should perhaps spare a thought for the author and his diligent research. He is a regular commentator on issues surrounding life love and laughter but never politics if he can avoid it.

Drinnan is generally polite, well-spoken, and well-read (although not necessarily well-behaved) and—like vodka in tonic—he mixes freely and sometimes even glows in the dark.

Reviews

[Meg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Blurb:

As Rose Elliot sits in a Sydney apartment, the home of a scandalous author who happens to be her son, she contemplates the release of his autobiography, fearful of what it may reveal. She has never quite fathomed why the Lord blessed her with a son like Berni. A boy full of surprises -- and so many of them painful.

But Rose is not the only one to feel the sharp prick of Quill. The wounded are many, as Blaise discovered to his cost several years ago when Je Louse was published, bearing its prescient warning 'Beware of ex lovers with quills'. Some things are better left unsaid, but what joy is there in knowing without saying? Is discretion truly the better part of valour?

"Once the feathers start to fly, no-one's secrets are safe."

My Thoughts:

This book was one I picked up on an impulse the last time I was in Borders. It sat for some time in my TBR pile before I got sick of something else I was reading and decided to pick this up instead.

It is an interesting book with some very well drawn characters and relationships contained within the pages. Interesting, though is about as high a mark as I am willing to give it.

Blaise, Berni and Woodrow tend to rub against each other with a snideness which I found a little bit overdone at times and it really didn't do much for me. Whether or not this is a true representation of gay men in Australia, I don't really know, but it seemed a little stilted and contrived at times.

The first half of the book deals with Berni's ex-partner, Blaise and his new partner Woodrow (Woodie) and the impact that Berni's tell all novel Je Louse has on them and their relationship. The characters in the novel are very thinly disguised representations of Blaise and Woodie and the story is, in fact, a retelling of the relationship breakdown between Blaise and Bernie some years before.

Blaise reads the novel despite Woodrow's insistance that he not read it (while Woodrow himself is reading it, on the sly).

I found the excerpts of Je Louse which are interspersed throughout Drinnan's narrative, actually more interesting than the main storyline.

By the time he's finished reading the novel, Blaise has been rather unsubtly seduced and when Berni turns up back in Sydney it is inevitable that Blaise will break of his already floundering relationship with Woodie and go back to Berni.

The second half of the novel deals with the reflections of Rose Elliot, Berni's mother as she thinks back over her son's life and career and contemplates the release of his autobiography.

Rose is elderly, and for most of the time, she is drunk, distracted and her thoughts ramble. This, unfortunately, means that the story also rambles and I had the feeling many times that the author was trying to pad his wordcount.

Again, Berni's narrative from the autobiography sprinkled amongst Drinnan's story, is actually the more interesting storyline.

I wanted to like this book, and I persevered with it till the end in the hope that it would rise above interesting, but it never quite made it.

I can't say that I enjoyed it. Others may get different results.

[Stak · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't have a lot of praise for this book. It was interesting enough in parts but the "twists" were blindingly obvious and felt over dramatic at times, like Drinnan was proud of his cleverness and wanted the reader to be suitably impressed. I didn't really relate to any of the characters, they all seemed to be excessively obnoxious and contrived. The first section also just seemed too easy, plot wise. Stuck in a loveless relationship? Don't worry your partner is having an affair so you have an easy excuse to leave. The second half of the book was better and the only character I actually felt something for was Rose. Her confusion and vulnerability were well portrayed, though her naivety seemed at times over done. Not a book I would recommend.

*contains graphic sex scenes