Internal Affairs

by Jill Tweedie

Charlotte Macanally, overweight divorcée, childless abortion counsellor and kind-hearted depressive. has been dispatched by the World Campaign for Small, Healthy and Wealthy Families to report on the birth-control programme of the tropical dictatorship of Sulanasia. It is her chance to help the suffering peoples of the world, and she is determined to be worthy of it. And so, armed with pills, insecticides and good intentions, Charlotte gamely picks up the White Woman's Burden and leaves Kentish Town. But Sulanasia is not quite what she expected - and there, amid the heat, propaganda and totalitarian tactics of the womb police, Charlotte begins to understand that in the Third World, as elsewhere, God and government are always on the side of the men.

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Jill Tweedie was born in Egypt in 1936. One of the foremost women involved in the British feminist movement, she worked for many years as a columnist on The Guardian where her writing with its warmth, wit and emotional honesty spoke to thousands of women. She wrote regularly for newspapers and magazines and was twice made Woman Journalist of the Year.

Reviews

[The Cats’ Mother · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was one of the weird books that Kim sometimes brings to Book Club. I don’t know where she gets them, or remember what she said about it, but should learn from the other two who are usually wise enough to decline… Published in 1984, this was a peculiarly English farce, about a counsellor from a London abortion clinic being sent to the fictional South East Asian country of Sulanasia to report on their family planning programme. I was willing to give it a go, if only to get it off the shelf, and did make it to page 101 (out of 216) before deciding that life’s too short and I could be reading something enjoyable.

Charlotte is divorced, regretfully childless, depressed and overweight when her employer decides she’s ready for an NGO-funded trip to the tropics. Inexperienced and gullible, she slowly wises up to the politics and corruption that run the country, helped along by a jovial Australian journalist. I gave up at the point when she was finally about to set off on her actual mission but through skimming the remaining pages gather that she is shocked and angered by what she finds and returns home enlightened, slimmer and bearing a happy souvenir of her trip.

I have worked (and am about to again) in travel medicine so was interested in this story about an ill-prepared if well-meaning white woman’s journey into a very foreign country, but this wasn’t as interesting or as amusing as I had hoped and the casual racism which was probably considered acceptable four decades ago now makes for uncomfortable reading. Abandoned with relief.

[Graceann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Women make the sacrifices; men reap the rewards. Men have all the choice; women bear the consequences. For all of the story that goes on in the 301 pages of Internal Affairs, this is the overriding mantra.

Charlotte Macanally is a self-loathing, insecure family planning counselor who is sent to Sulanasia to observe their highly successful family planning program and return with a report. Her adventures are described as "bitingly funny," but I must admit I didn't even crack a smile through the entire experience of reading about them. Reading about her putting herself down and the countless instances of being insulted and ignored by various other characters in the book was not remotely amusing.

Not my cuppa.

[Kate Walton · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is so full of racist stereotypes that I kept wondering if maybe this is satire. It's not.

[Магдалена · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure why, but didn't expect THAT ending coming.

[Nicole B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is this book full of outdated language, stereotypes and ideas? Yes. Does this distract from the fact that it's well written, funny and has some fairly harsh conversations while primarily being about a woman learning about herself and what she wants out of the world? Not really. I read this as it is on my mum's top books for me to read and I can see why. The imagery is painfully vivid with the descriptions immensely unpleasant at times, especially when referring to Charlotte's own overweight condition and her many ailments. I think some more people could do with reading this and having some conversations about how ideas (if any) have changed.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this book when it first came out and it was hilarious - recommended it. I suspect it may have dated.