Siren
Reviewed By Grasshopper2 August 1, 2017
Author Rachel Matthews
Distributor: Transit Lounge
ISBN: 978-0-9953595-6-7
Publisher: Transit Lounge
Release Date: August 2017
Website: http://transitlounge.com.au/shop/siren/
This is such an important story, so uncomfortable, “Gritty”, and totally believable. The title suggests several things; a siren in mythology was one whose singing lured sailors to their death, and of course, the siren to signify a game of football. Both of these meanings apply to this story, although the luring by the siren in this case was innocent.
Jordi was a young sixteen year old, from a loving, but poor family. Her father, Kane, was working somewhere trying to get some money for the family he loved so much. Her mother was trying to cope at home with four children, little money, no support, and not much of an idea of parenting. Jordi was the oldest of the four children, and determined to complete her year twelve exams and aim for a better life.
The story is structured in such a way that we could assume this family was uneducated. However, we are shown the back stories of Jordi’s mother and father. We see that they were both determined to complete their education and join a profession. The love they felt for each other was deep and lasting, but it resulted in Petra (Jordi’s mother) becoming pregnant. All Kane and Petra could think of was being together with the beautiful daughter they had made. They lived in a caravan with no assistance from others. More children came along, and the lack of choices for an intelligent man like Kane, saw him washing dishes, and working in a laundromat; anything to get some money.
Jordi was lonely at home and went out with a friend to get drunk on a Saturday night. She finished up going home with a football star, a good man, but devastated by the news that his hand was never going to be repaired to play footy again. They drank and sang and partied the night away. With Max, Jordi was safe. However, a mate of his was in the apartment and raped Jordi.
The story follows the path of the young woman, who can’t get the feeling of force out of her mind, Max who couldn’t stop what had happened, and Petra and Kane. Bit by bit, the back story of all these people is revealed to add complexity and an understanding to the reading. It all makes sense and seems to follow a predetermined path to which every character contributes.
Many issues are resolved after being interwoven through the story. Max reports the rape to the police, Jordi takes action, and the other characters behave in accordance to their behaviour along the way.
The most important message to come from this story is the timeless one of, Who would believe me if I reported this behaviour, I must have been stupid to get in this mess, and How embarrassing it would be if everyone heard what happened to me. Sadly this is still a major reason that rape and forced sexual behaviour are not reported. So much more education needs to lead to a greater understanding of this issue.