Split True stories of leaving, loss and new beginnings
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley January 13, 2020
Author Ed: lee Kofman
Distributor: Ventura
ISBN: 978-1-925183-87-0
Publisher: Ventura Press
Release Date: June 2019
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Split: an interesting title for a book and one which will, as it is intended to do, either attract or repel, with the raw red slash splashed strategically across the front cover, but to reject, which would be all to easy to do, would be to miss some of the best writing from popular authors across a wide range of genres, as they open up their everyday life, just a sliver, to reflect on what the word Split means to them.
As Graham Greene once famously wrote, ‘A story has no beginning or end’; such is the case in this raw, wry, heartfelt and in some instances, heartbreaking anthology from much loved authors such as Damon Young, Fiona Wright, Peter Bishop and many more.
An invitation from Lee Kofman was issued to Australian writers she most admired, to take part in this anthology. Much to her immense surprise, many accepted the offer to write about an ending, a Split, in their life; an ending which in many cases left them raw, damaged, wondering what next, for others a conclusion or discovery was made that came at a price, as life so often demands, but allowed them to see their world and the world of others, very differently.
People everywhere are infinitely curious about the lives of others, so when a collection such as this evolves, it is certain to evoke curiosity; who loves nothing more than to discover a little something about someone else they could not possibly have known.
Alice Pung talks about being a migrant child growing up in Melbourne, a member of a huge family who were determined to make something good out of their new life. Sami Shah reflects on how a slip of the memory, forgetting the basics of being Pakistani and also Muslim, led him to becoming outlawed in his own family. Virginia Peters reflects about first loves, family and acceptance
Leaving a much loved place of work, a place where you have come of age, given heart, soul and endless nights of self-doubt too, is placed under the microscope of reflection by Ramona Koval, returning to the angst of her final day working for the iconic Australian broadcaster the ABC, looking back, looking forwards from lessons learned.
These are just a few amongst the many who have shared a heart wrenching time lived, eventually allowed to fade into time past, leaving behind the lessons learned, the healing to take place. Overarching everything offered, there is one gem in all of the stories, that of hope that when the hurt has healed, there is bright new future beckoning; maybe not one ever imagined or envisage, but one never the less to carve out or write large upon, as you so choose.