cover image Listening for Small Sounds

Listening for Small Sounds

Penelope Trevor. Allen & Unwin Academic, $11.95 (157pp) ISBN 978-1-86448-145-7

In her debut novel, shortlisted for the 1995 Australian/Vogel Literary Award, Trevor's candid prose paints a vivid portrait of a struggling dysfunctional family in Australia. Nine-year-old Joss is a careful listener. Nighttime thuds, muffled sobs and breaking glass all mean that Joss's abusive, alcoholic father is again taking out his frustration on her mother. Later, his flamboyant apologies will set things right, if only for the moment. Such unpredictability leads to much walking on eggshells and spurs Joss to comfort and protect her mother and to try and offset her father's violent outbursts. But in the end, even Joss can't understand the painful, twisted circumstances that keep her parents together. Trevor's use of a young protagonist allows the passion in her literary voice to build simultaneously with Joss's blossoming and insight. Joss's father's brutality is at the heart of several chilling and memorable scenes, including one in which Joss spies him extracting her mother's teeth with pliers. The girl's childlike methods of coping under such psychological duress are also palpably real. (Nov.)