Old Boy

by Georgia Tree

A daughter’s telling of her father’s tale of addiction, resurrection, dumb luck and love.

Her whole life, Georgia’s father has told her she will be the one to write his story. It’s a story in which living is just a game of chance: why did Grant Tree survive when others didn’t? Why did he find love and happiness, and a grown daughter to spill his story to so that she can record the whole beautiful, unlikely mess of it? Told in parallel to Grant’s story is the life of his friend and dealer Brian Geoffrey Chambers, known in the book as Charlie, who was ultimately executed in Malaysia for drug smuggling.

Narrated in vivid, conversational detail as transcribed by Grant’s daughter from hours of recorded interviews and underlaid with research into life in Perth and the north-west from the 1930s to 1988, this memoir details the rites of passage of young manhood, ordinariness, dysfunction, and what is like to live on the edges of other more ordinary suburban working class Australians.

Genres: Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

Published July 4, 2023

Reviews

[Magenta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and I could not put it down once I started. Georgia’s writing is so poetic and visual, I felt like I was right there in all those scenes with Grant and I rode all those emotions with him. I also loved learning the history of where we live in Boorloo (Perth) and really appreciated the additional info at the end too! Georgia is such a beautiful storyteller. ❤️

[Stef O'connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book I found difficult to put down. I really like the way Georgia writes, her words paint a picture that is hard to forget. A very interesting story that pulled me in. I lived in the Pilbara for 14 years, 8 of those in Karratha around the same time Georgia’s dad, Grant, was there so I knew the area and those times.

[Nicolee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. When I wasn't reading it I was thinking about it, and since finishing I still find myself thinking about time and memory and chance. Georgia has the writing ability to paint an incredibly vivid picture with sometimes only a few lines. A few times a three or four word sentence had me stop and take a breath or smile or cry, because I connected so fully to the atmosphere and the character's experiences. An immense first book. When I finished it I wanted to read it again immediately. I felt excited for a next book by her that doesn't exist yet.

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really didn’t know what the point of this book was.
It just felt like a random collection of stories from her father, with a serious lack of research which would benefited the overall context to this book. There is a clear market to the ALP crowd with random references to the importance of unions but this never went anywhere. I was also struck but the sheer dumb luck of so many Australians from this time period, with little education, motivation and sometimes jail sentences and still managing to own a property later in life.
I would have loved to have learnt more about heroin use in Australia from this time period, but instead focused on the specific tactics employed to win in various lower grade AFL games, which I couldn’t have cared less about.
I did enjoy the context and descriptions of living in Australia in the 1970s and 80s, which is why this didn’t get one star. It was pointless.
Finished in Roma, Italy.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for anyone who grew up in Perth. I feel like I understand my own parents better for having read Grant's story, as expertly told by his daughter, Georgia. The book captures a time and a place with remarkable honesty.

[Maree Neill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow read for me but good snap shot of Perth in the 60's for some teenagers

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

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