- Maggie's Going Nowhere, by Rose Hartley. Michael Joseph. $32.99.
Maggie's Going Nowhere is the ideal book for summer reading, or indeed for reading when you can't leave the house because of a global pandemic: entertaining and not too heavy.
It tells of the travails of a woman about to turn thirty, with her love, work, financial, familial and friendship issues enlivening the novel from start to finish.
Rose Hartley has a real ability to write acute comic descriptions.
Everything from the nature of luck, to different suburbs of Melbourne, to bad driving, is described vividly as we follow Maggie's crisis-filled life.
For example, a horrible singer performs in front of the heroine, and "You could take thirty rejects from Australia's Got Talent, put them a room together and force them to sing a Celine Dion song a cappella, and it would still be easier on the ears than this song".
Or, better still, when a hole opens up in the floor of Maggie's childhood home, it is described as "a sinkhole to suck you into an eternal Camberwell hell of tea and crumpets and botox".
Class distinctions and snobbery are frequently the subject of the author's descriptions.
Not every joke hits its mark, but the vast majority do.
The dialogue is eminently readable, without too much straining for effect, which is often the death of comic writing.
The exchanges between Maggie and her mother are particularly amusing, powered by 30 years of frustration on both sides.
The horrors of dealing with Centrelink are central to the novel, but as the main character has spent ten years on a three year bachelor's degree, it's hard to feel much anger at the administrative mistakes that have left her in substantial debt.
The main character is likeable in terms of her honesty and occasionally hilarious actions, yet she is also incredibly selfish and short-sighted. It is to the author's credit that the reader can experience both these attitudes towards Maggie at the same time.
Maggie's Going Nowhere has elements of a classic Bildungsroman - with added humour - however, the moral and spiritual growth of Maggie seems to have been put on hold for some years.
Her relationships with her mother, best friend and lovers are tested throughout the novel; will Maggie mature, and show a different side to her character?
As to the lovers, Hartley can write sex scenes without making the reader cringe, which has to be a good thing.
Maggie's Going Nowhere's sheer energy is remarkable. Hartley's first novel is a successful comedy, providing many enjoyable moments.
- Penelope Cottier writes poetry as PS Cottier.
