Say No to Death

by Dymphna Cusack

Say no to death

Genres: Australia, Fiction

259 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1951

About the author

Dymphna Cusack AM (21 September 1902 — 19 October 1981) was an Australian author. Born in West Wyalong, New South Wales, Dymphna Cusack was educated at St Ursula's College, and graduated from Sydney University with an honours degree in Arts and a diploma in Education. She worked as a teacher until she retired in 1944 for health reasons.

Cusack wrote twelve novels (two of which were collaborations), seven plays, three travel books, two children's books and one non-fiction book. Her collaborative novels were Pioneers on Parade (1939) with Miles Franklin, and Come In Spinner (1951) with Florence James.

Reviews

[Aušra Strazdaitė-Ziberkienė · Rating 4 out of 5]

Australijos rašytojo Dymphna Cusack romanas „Sakyk mirčiai „ne““. Sudėtinga tuberkulioze sergančios merginos istorija. Baisi, nes parodoma, kad greitai ši liga plito, koks buvo gydymas, kaip pakinta sergančiųjų charakteris, išvaizda, kaip smarkiai reikia priešintis ligai, koks svarbus sveikimui oras, sąlygos, pozityvumas ir užsispyrimas. Ir gerai sukurti šalutiniai herojai, kartais daug labiau simpatiškesni už pagrindinę heroję. Romanas parašytas 1951 m., („Say No th Death“), į lietuvių kalbą išversta 1963 m. (vertė V. Churginaitė), antras, pataisytas leidimas – 1994 m. Įkvepianti knyga – geriausiai atsimenu tas moteris, kurios norėjo gyventi, ėmėsi atrodytų neįmanomų darbų – ganyti avis laukinėje gamtoje, gyventi, ir pagrindinės herojės susitraukimą ir paskendimą savigailoje.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

OCTOBER

by Dymphna Cusack

Finish date: 13 October 2022
Genre: novel (258 pg)
Rating: B
Review: Say No to Death (ISBN: 9781743315378)

Good news: This is NOT a book that I would select but it has been on my Kindle for three years!
I keep avoiding it because I know it will be...very sad, a tragic romance, a terminal illness...in short a tear-jerker. But compliments to Ms Cusack who keep the narrative readable without sinking into melodrama.

Good news: Dymphma Cusack has managed to create the right tone so I could at least finish the book. The author kept the book observational, removed, and calm. It was NOT emotionally exhausting but rather touching, heart wrenching.

Good news: Sad as the book was...it did show the reader what a person with tuberculosis goes through. ...how quickly this disease can spread and what the treatment was like in 1950s Australia.

Personal: Glad I finished the book and kept my emotions intact. Would I read another Ms Cusack book? Probably yes...her descriptions of the Australian landscape, the Blue Mountains and Forty Baskets Beach near Sydney were beautiful. I’m not drawn to romance in fiction very often….but Dymphna’s writing style was addictive. She kept the chapters short…let the main characters (Jan and Bart) evolve from starstruck lovers to people who have learned that very best thing in the world is loving someone so much that you would give your life for them. Someone whose happiness means more to you than your own happiness. Someone who depends on you… someone on whom you can depend.

[elix.books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pred čítaním som vôbec nevedela do čoho idem. Jediné, čo som vedela je to, že je to povojnový román, ale rozhodla som sa, že tomu dám šancu aj napriek tomu, že neviem, čo ma čaká.

Po pár stránkach som už vedela, ktorým smerom sa príbeh bude uberať. A tiež som po čase vedela, ako sa to pravdepodobne skončí. Popri čítaní vás bude sprevádzať melancholická nálada, budete plakať, krútiť hlavou nad zdravotným systémom a správaním niektorých ľudí. Knižka je dosť stará a dá sa zohnať už len v antikvariátoch alebo v knižnici. Ale podľa mňa si knižka zaslúži nové a ľahšie dostupné vydanie.📚

[Sona Anatomyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Say No To Death

[Perry Middlemiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

I reviewed HEATWAVE IN BELIN by this author back in 2020, and raved about it then. This is an earlier novel, and, while still of a high quality, didn’t really capture me as much as HEATWAVE.

Bart Templeton is an Australian army officer who has returned to live in Sydney after his overseas service during World War II, firstly in the war in the Pacific, and then as a member of the Japanese Occupation force. On his arrival back in Sydney he reconnects with Jan Blakeley and the two start a relationship, much to the annoyance of Jan’s sister Doreen, who considers Bart a typical Australian male, always on the make and certain to leave Jan bereft and forgotten.

And, at first, Bart seems to be just like that, but over the course of the novel his character changes from one always putting himself first to one that sees Jan as more than a casual fling, and then as his wife. Of course, a modern reader very well knows that things aren’t going to flow smoothly forward, and Jan becomes sick and is diagnosed with tuberculosis.

Set in Australia in the years 1946-1948 this novel details the problems the average Australian had in obtaining adequate medical care. TB was a major killer at this time and treatments were mainly restricted to bed-rest, fresh air and some doses of streptomycin. Better treatments were being developed but weren’t introduced on a large scale until the early 1950s. Rest was usually meant to be in a sanatorium, which was generally beyond the financial reach of the working or lower middle classes.

Jan is luckily transferred to a private sanatorium in the Blue Mountains, and both Doreen and Bart have to expend a large proportion of their wages to pay for her care, what there is of it. (As an aside I found it a bit odd that patients in a TB sanatorium where allowed to smoke! Certainly a sign of the times when nearly all adults in Australia smoked. Though you might have thought that even in the 1940s certain people should have been prevented from partaking.)

Many authors might have allowed the story of Jan and Bart to descend into the realm of a “tear-jerker” but Cusack has much greater skill than that. Yes, there is pathos and emotion here, though it is set against a sense of purpose and resolution that lifts this novel into a powerful denunciation of the Australian medical system as it stood at that time. She writes of Australians with clear eyes and compassion, showing them with all their strengths and weaknesses. Maybe not to the level of HEATWAVE, although a fine read just the same.

R: 3.4/5.0

[Janine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tuberculosis has carved out its own literary space: think Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain, Novalis and his love for Sophie von Kuhn in Penelope Fitzgerald's The Blue Flower, John Keats, Anne and Emily Bronte, Mimi in La Boheme - and probably many, many more. But in urban, post WWII Australia there was little romance or lyricism in TB. ...Despite the gloomy subject matter, I 'enjoyed' this book. Cusack's descriptions of landscape, especially at the sanatorium in the Blue Mountains, are evocative and she captures well the powerlessness of illness. She deals with betrayal, loyalty and trust, and I found myself worrying for the characters, as well as about them. Of course, it was a contemporary book when it was published, but I found it interesting as a piece of social history, despite the dated language. Somehow reading it during a time of pandemic, when we are again at the mercy of a disease, gave it an added poignancy as well.

For my complete review, please visit:
https://residentjudge.com/2021/01/24/...

[Claudia Bejenariu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was impressed that people can live even in tragic circumstances uplifting senses and how great is their power...Well, I could say that I totally agree with the fact that all of us should find hope in any situation and dare to say a clear "No !".
To conclude, D.C. managed to create a touching, emotional and memorable story.

[Agnese Vanaga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Patika, kad lasīju pusaudžu gados, patika arī tagad. Neordināri tēlu raksturi, rīcība un dialogi. Svaigi un aizraujoši. Jā, par vienas skaistas sievietes cīņu ar tuberkolozi veselas grāmatas garumā. Izklausās traki, bet ir interesanti. Un tu nevarēsi saprast līdz pēdējai lapaspusei vai viņa nomirs vai vai nē. Un nespēt paredzēt grāmatas notikumus ir ļoti svarīgi.

[Adele · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the majority and for some reason left the last 30 pages for like 3 months. But I really loved this book -
It is really sad though. TB and makes u realise (1) how grateful you are to live in this age (2) the importance of love and care in palliative care

[Anna Tsirikidze · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read it three times ...So emotional,so deep and sad plot.. I had hope that everything would end happily till the last sentence.Ever girl dreams about such strong and true love from boys

[გვანცა ადამაშვილი · Rating 5 out of 5]

არაჩვეულებრივი ისტორია იმაზე , თუ როგორ არ ვაფასებთ იმას რაც გვაქვს სანამ არ წაგვერთმევა : )

[Erisa Alia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it when I was 15 and is so emotionally charged.

[Anano Aspanidze · Rating 4 out of 5]

მეორე მსოფლიო ომის შემდგომი პერიოდი ავსტრალიაში, სიდნეიში: ბიუროკრატიული და ბურჟუაზიული საკითხები, ომის უაზრობა, სოციალური საკითხები, ტუბერკულოზი.

ძალიან რბილად იკითხება. არ მოგინდება, რამე გამოტოვო და არც ის მოგინდება, რომ კითხვა შეწყვიტო.
ლამაზი, სევდიანი წიგნია.

[Tomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning of the book was a little bit slow for me, but i enjoyded the whole story when i was finished. I like Cusack's writting style, the words simply flow in your mind while reading it.

[Giorgi Baskhajauri · Rating 3 out of 5]

ჩვეულებრივი სასიყვარულო რომანია, ბრძოლა ტუბთან, ჯარისკაცი შეყვარებული, ღალატი და სიკვდილი. ერთადერთი ძლიერი მხარე ის აქვს რომ კიუსაკი საკმაოდ კარგი მწერალია და თხრობა დინამიურია, შესაბამისად კითხვაც.