November 27, 2018 7:07 pm
2018, 209 p.
It would come as no surprise that this collection of short stories should coalesce around the theme of the sea. Several of Robert Drewe’s earlier works reference water: The Bodysurfers collection of short stories, The Drowner (which, admittedly was more about the arid outback than water) and his own memoir The Shark Net. But it’s not just the Australian sea that provides the background for many of these stories: instead we travel to a Pacific Island and to Cuba, as well as more recognizable beach-side settings.
I always find it hard to review a collection of short stories as a precis often gives the whole story away: by its very nature a ‘short’ story doesn’t have a lot of flesh to cut away. I tend to flip through, and if I can remember the scenario, then I feel that the story has worked for me.
On that basis, I enjoyed ‘ Another Word for Cannibals’ where an earnest, progressive, European couple returns to a Pacific island to complete the genealogical circle of their great-great-great grandfather’s missionary endeavour. ‘Varadero’, set in a down-at-heel Cuban hotel really appealed to me, as it captured Cuban tourism so well. ‘Lavender Bay Noir’ is slightly creepy in a domestic sunlit, sea-kissed setting. ‘Spotting Killer Whales’ involves an adult family gathering together in a restaurant overlooking the sea after their father has died. The eponymous ‘The True Colour of the Sea’ has a historical setting, where a colonial artist is left an a rock in the Arafura Sea.
These eleven stories were just the right length as far as I’m concerned. They were long enough to get your teeth into, but were easily read as a story-before-bedtime read. Drewe is such an accomplished writer, confident and clear-eyed.
Sourced from: Yarra Plenty Regional Library
Read because: I saw it there on the library shelf
My rating: 8.5/10
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Yup, that’s how I feel about reviewing short stories too. But somehow Sue manages to do it successfully every time, and Karenlee Thompson who used to do guest reviews on mine could do them too.
Still, I’ve got this collection too, and will get to it one day:)
By Lisa Hill on November 27, 2018 at 9:58 pm
[…] Janine from The Resident Judge of Port Phillip has read the whole collection. See her review here. […]
By The True Colour of the Sea, Stories by Robert Drewe | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on August 9, 2019 at 6:38 am
[…] Drewe, who is drawn to writing about water. The True Colour of the Sea is a collection of short stories, several of which make reference to the sea. We’re taken to […]
By Six degrees of separation: from “Postcards from the Edge” to… | The Resident Judge of Port Phillip on August 7, 2021 at 4:28 am
[…] Janine from The Resident Judge of Port Phillip has read the whole collection. See her review here. […]
By The True Colour of the Sea, Stories (2018) by Robert Drewe | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on March 23, 2023 at 10:06 am