Blood - Tony Birch

[Jane B]

I saw Blood while browsing through the 50 Books you Can't Put Down Guide produced by the Get Reading Campaign 2012 and it sounded good but not something I would necessarily be drawn to, but as it was also shortlisted for the 2012 Miles Franklin Award, I thought I would give it a go.

I couldn't put it down, it was a very engrossing and also a somewhat harrowing read. Thirteen year old Jesse is the quintessential older brother, sworn to look out for his sister Rachel and protect her as best he can from the vagaries of their life lived on the edges of society with their mother Gwen who lurches from one drug and alcohol infused catastropy to another. This is not a pleasant read, there are no loving family moments for Jesse and Rachel. The only thing close is a brief stay with Gwen's father, Pop and after that, they can hope for nothing apart from survival.

This is a work of fiction, however, the characters and the situations seemed so plausible to me that I couldn't help being reminded of that horrible film, Snowtown and the lousy life that the kids, and in particular, sixteen year old Jamie, lead in that group of adults - and that was a true story! Tony Birch has delivered one powerful, bleak but tender novel. A must read!