Reviewed by Christine Pyman, March 2020.
Think of a port, an area of constant change, and movement. Focus your choice until it becomes specific; Port Adelaide, South Australia. The change, here, encompasses movement from international ports, sailors and their recreations, local workers to service these, businesses taking advantage of industrial rates, developers jumping to tout new lifestyles, and the constant influx of strangers. From this swirling melting pot, Port Adelaide and its surrounds were built and, like the ebb and flow of the tide which is such an essential part of any port, becomes still, then grows again, but never stagnates.
The title of these series of short stories,
A Short Walk To The Sea, written by Dr. Eddy Knight, reflects the necessary beginnings of a port, to the current development from real estate agents as being the newest desirable area of residence. Within the area, longtime families have made it their own, through boom times and poverty, holding their own community tightly together, even as the strangers come, go, and sometimes stay.
All of these stories have the power to linger in the mind of the reader, causing a rethinking of others realities, and intensifying the experience of the personal, and particularly at this time of increasing numbers of refugees, and dichotomy of societal classes, it is important for us all to be able to inhabit the reality of others. For this reason alone it would be important to read this book, but I would urge anyone who loves the flow of words, thoughts and to put it simply, humanity, to buy it and immerse themselves.
This work shows the rich tapestry of human experience of the denizens of this area. Anyone who has experienced being an outsider will find deep wells of resonance within these stories.
Audio Book - LIVE is an Adelaide Fringe production featuring readings of four of the stories. The review of that performance can be found
here.
You can buy your own copy of the book, available in paperback or eBook, from Truth Serum Press,
here.
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