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Idea of Perfection Pb Kate Grenville 9780330490658 Books

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Idea of Perfection Pb Kate Grenville 9780330490658 Books

Were it not for the setting in rural New South Wales and all the Australian slang, I would have taken Kate Grenville for an English writer. For she perfectly captures that peculiarly English comedy of social awkwardness, and people trying (and generally failing) to be something that they are not. Most of the book is written in interior monologues, as the characters question, harangue, or despair of themselves. The comedy comes over best in her portrayal of Felicity Porcelline, the upwardly-mobile wife of the bank manager in the little town of Karakarook, driven by a self-imposed need to Set Standards (capitals and italics for clichés are very much a part of Grenville's style). Here she is thinking about the local butcher, Albert Chang, whom she thinks of as not quite Australian:

"Partly it was that the butcher was Chinese. She was no racist, and wanted him to know that she did not count it against him, him being Chinese. The trouble was, not wanting to be though racist always seemed to make her too friendly. She could hear that her voice was a little too loud and a little too sprightly in the quiet shop. She smiled too much, and did not know how to stop. She was no racist, but noticed, every time he spoke, how he spoke exactly the way everyone else did...."

Felicity, a relatively minor character, exemplifies the Idea of Perfection in the title, even rationing her smiles so as not to cause wrinkles on her skin. The inner-monologue approach is very funny in her scenes, but it becomes tiresome when constantly applied to the major characters also. The two protagonists, professionals down from Sydney, are at first disconcerted by the free and easy ways of most of the town, and for a long time the book plays out as city/country culture shock. But it turns out that the two are on opposite sides of a cultural divide within the town itself. Harley Savage, a museum expert and quilter, and fiercely independent veteran of three marriages, comes to advise the town on a Heritage Museum. Douglas Cheeseman, a divorced engineer, is in charge of tearing down a wooden bridge that is the town's main source of charm. Eventually, as the book jacket will tell you, they will come to accept their own imperfections and fall in love, though it takes a while. So this is an amusing book, but sadly a slight one.


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Idea of Perfection Pb Kate Grenville 9780330490658 Books Reviews

This book moved SOOOOO slowly with mostly descriptions of every detail! Actually, I gave up and didn't finish it!
Lovely story of a feminist ahead of the times, a convincing characterisation all the more enticing because it was inspired by Kate's own mother's legacy.
Beautiful descriptions of the Australian bush and small town characters - a very enjoyable read and good story about balance and complementary personalities.
This was my second reading of this book and I enjoyed it probably more the second time around. The story and the characters are exceptionally well crafted, the sub-plots being as fascinating as the main story line. The characters are real, ordinary people, so easy to identify with, and yet their stories are deeply concerning. I was enthralled throughout, as I have been with all of Kate Grenville's books I've read. Definitely worth reading.
While I'm not in the habit of rereading novels, I have read this one about three times. The Idea of Perfection is my idea of perfection. Kate Grenville handles the burgeoning relationship between the two central characters with great sensitivity. All characters are fully-formed and provide a rich environment of human frailty in a small country town. Kate Grenville does the ordinary so well, making the simplest of moments and the 'simplest' of lives extraordinary. A beautiful book.
Compared to much of Kate Grenville's other works (of which I'm also a fan), The Idea of Perfection has a lightness about that is surprising. The characters are so vividly described with all their flaws - we quickly realise that perfection is so unattainable as to be a ridiculous and often comic idea. I have this book in print and on and often refer to it for inspiration and as a how-to of wonderfully imaginative prose. This is absolutely my favourite Australian novel and I'm envious of Kate's gift of words. This book frequently made me laugh out loud and is a joy to read and re-read.
This is a very perceptive novel dealing with three people with sad self images. What is particularly fascinating is that the writer does not resolve the situation; the reader is left wondering, along with the three caharacters, what the future will bring and whether the point that they have reached will stay.
There are sections that are extremely funny and at times parts that are quite sad, but the general tone of the novel is optimistic and the reader will enjoy this bush story.
Given the Australian outback setting and idioms, I do wonder whether non-Aussies will readily get the drift. It is something that would repay their trouble to stay with the novel as it is most enjoyable, well written and satisfying on a number of levels.
Were it not for the setting in rural New South Wales and all the Australian slang, I would have taken Kate Grenville for an English writer. For she perfectly captures that peculiarly English comedy of social awkwardness, and people trying (and generally failing) to be something that they are not. Most of the book is written in interior monologues, as the characters question, harangue, or despair of themselves. The comedy comes over best in her portrayal of Felicity Porcelline, the upwardly-mobile wife of the bank manager in the little town of Karakarook, driven by a self-imposed need to Set Standards (capitals and italics for clichés are very much a part of Grenville's style). Here she is thinking about the local butcher, Albert Chang, whom she thinks of as not quite Australian

"Partly it was that the butcher was Chinese. She was no racist, and wanted him to know that she did not count it against him, him being Chinese. The trouble was, not wanting to be though racist always seemed to make her too friendly. She could hear that her voice was a little too loud and a little too sprightly in the quiet shop. She smiled too much, and did not know how to stop. She was no racist, but noticed, every time he spoke, how he spoke exactly the way everyone else did...."

Felicity, a relatively minor character, exemplifies the Idea of Perfection in the title, even rationing her smiles so as not to cause wrinkles on her skin. The inner-monologue approach is very funny in her scenes, but it becomes tiresome when constantly applied to the major characters also. The two protagonists, professionals down from Sydney, are at first disconcerted by the free and easy ways of most of the town, and for a long time the book plays out as city/country culture shock. But it turns out that the two are on opposite sides of a cultural divide within the town itself. Harley Savage, a museum expert and quilter, and fiercely independent veteran of three marriages, comes to advise the town on a Heritage Museum. Douglas Cheeseman, a divorced engineer, is in charge of tearing down a wooden bridge that is the town's main source of charm. Eventually, as the book jacket will tell you, they will come to accept their own imperfections and fall in love, though it takes a while. So this is an amusing book, but sadly a slight one.