You’ve got to hand it to Sofie Laguna: she knows how to write a child’s perspective in such a stripped-back guileless style that you, as the adult, have your heart in your mouth, fearing for this child and what is to happen to them.
Set in 1971, ten-year old Justine lives with her Pop on the banks of the Murray river, close to the Barmah Choke, for which the book is named. Her mother shot through years earlier, and her father Ray, who appears and disappears throughout her life, seems to be dabbling in criminal activities. She has two older half-brothers, Kirk and Steve, but their mother is still resentful at Ray’s desertion and you never feel that Justine is safe with them. Likewise the family down the track, the Worlleys, just as dysfunctional as Justine’s family, are a quiet menace, and when both Justine and her father become involved with them, it brings only trouble and heartbreak.
Her Pop loves her, but he is still battling his own demons from WW2 and he has no idea of bringing up a pre-adolescent girl. She rarely washes; her clothes smell and her shoes are so tight that she can barely walk. Living in squalor, they eat mainly eggs from their hens. There is too much alcohol and cigarette smoke here, and she is not safe. Her Aunty Rita visits occasionally, but usually ends up arguing with Pop and her brother Ray over her lesbianism, which neither can accept. It seems that Aunty Rita might provide some comfort in this stripped-back masculine world, but her promises to Justine seem unfulfilled and she moves out of Justine’s life just as randomly as she entered it.
The story is narrated in Justine’s voice and through this we know that Justine cannot read. She is largely shunned by the other girls, and she is sent to sit beside Michael, who has cerebral palsy and is the butt of cruelty amongst his classmates. They are thrown together by proximity and isolation, and she comes to realize that despite his often-unintelligible speech and physical awkwardness, he is very bright. He helps her with her school work and they become friends- the first friend she has had, and Michael’s parents are aware of her parlous home situation. However, they decide to move to Sydney, leaving both children bereft. Justine closes down, and as adolescence dawns, becomes infatuated with Jamie Worlley, who embedded amongst his own male peer group, treats her poorly. You just know where this is heading.
And when the inevitable happens, it seems that there is to be no happy ending here. However, after being led to fearing the worst, the ending is unexpectedly uplifting- perhaps implausibly neat?- even though the reader is left with questions about Justine is to fare in the future. Justine’s voice has been so clear and convincing that you want a happier ending for her. The descriptions of landscape- the river, the narrow banks, the scrubby bushland- all ring true, and the book has an authenticity that runs right through it.
My rating: 9/10
Read because: Sofie Laguna spoke at the Open Meeting of the Ivanhoe Reading Circle. Given the darkness of both The Choke and The Eye of the Sheep, I was surprised at her bubbly, rather theatrical public persona.
The Resident Judge of Port Phillip 