Stories wat diep sny

Dit is asof Ierse romans die afgelope tyd in my oog spring. Daar is ’n sekere wilde, liriese skoonheid aan die Ierse landskap, temperament en idioom. Het jy al gehoor van Roisín O’Donnell? Nesting is haar eerste roman. Sy het ’n bundel kortverhale uitgegee waarop ek my hande will lê, Wild Quiet. Sy het die eerste prys gewen vir Kortverhaal van die Jaar in die An Post Irish Book Awards in 2018. Sy het ’n gedugte stem wat ontstem.

Nesting val min of meer in die groepering huishoudelike noir, hoewel dit soveel meer is – dis glad nie resepmatig nie, dis eenvoudig ’n sielkundige drama en riller wat jou beetpak en nie skiet gee nie.

Dit begin op ’n strand in Ierland, waar vakansiegangers jasse dra en agter windskerms skuil. Ciara Fey se man, Ryan, is lank, aantreklik en suksesvol. Op die oog af ’n droomeggenoot. Maar vinnig wys die krake: hy is ’n totale selfgesentreerde beheervraat. Hy besluit hulle twee dogtertjies moet saam met hom gaan swem. Die water is ysig en die wind loei. Die kinders se duikpakke is te klein, want die geld wat Ryan vir haar gegee het om nuwes te koop, het sy weggesteek in ’n wegloopfonds. Die kinders gil, huil en bibber. Ciara lig hulle uit die water en gaan maak hulle op die strand droog. Later die aand, by die huis, was hy haar kop: “I was totally humiliated. All I wanted was to bring my children swimming, like any normal father.” Sy word ook uitgetrap oor die te knap duikpakke, en waar op aarde is die geld? In die nag neem hy hardhandig van haar besit, soos dit sy manier is.

Ciara slaapwandel deur die dae. Sy het hom eenkeer vantevore verlaat, twee jaar gelede. Haar ma en haar suster, Sinéad, woon in Engeland en het haar met oop arms verwelkom. Maar sy is terug na hom en sedertdien verhinder hy haar om enige kontak met hulle te hê. Hulle is die huis verbied. ’n Te bekende prentjie vou oop, van ’n vrou wat stelselmatig afgebreek en geïsoleer word. Sy word nie geslaan nie, so daar is nie sigbare bloukolle nie, maar haar menswees word afgebreek deur gedurige afkeer en kritiek.

Op ’n dag besluit sy op die ingewing van die oomblik om hom weer te verlaat. Sy gryp haar twee dogters en ’n paar stukke wasgoed van die draad af en en ry voordat hy van die werk af kom. Sy is boonop weer swanger. Sy koop uit die wegloopfonds vir hulle vliegkaartjies Engeland toe, na haar ma en suster. Sy laat weet hom ewe beleefd per WhatsApp dat hulle veilig is en na haar ma gaan. Natuurlik bel hy die lughawe en hulle word verhinder om te vlieg, want hy het nie toestemming gegee dat sy kinders landuit gaan nie.

Die roman is ’n emosionele, poëtiese verslag van haar pogings om weg te kom van hom. Hy kortwiek haar om elke draai. Dit lyk asof daar in Ierland meer staatsondersteuning is vir mishandelde vroue: sy en die kinders kan vir maande lank gratis in ’n hotel woon terwyl sy werk soek. Haar selfbeeld is egter geknak en dis sy stem wat sy gedurig in haar kop hoor, wat haar vertel sy sal dit nooit op haar eie maak nie. Hy veg vir toesig en betaal intussen geen onderhoud nie. Toe sy geboorte skenk aan ’n seun, is hy skielik uiters begeesterd oor ouerskap, en dring daarop aan om oornagbesoeke van die dogters en die baba te ontvang, terwyl sy in ’n hotelkamer lê en huil met kloppende borste vol melk. Ciara is ’n koesterende ma en dit is wat haar aan die gang hou: sy wil nie hê haar kinders moet grootword en dink dit is hoe ’n verhouding lyk nie.

In die hof skep Ryan ’n uitstekende indruk: aantreklik, professioneel, suksesvol en redelik. Dit terwyl sy ’n bibberende wrak is. Hy het ’n duur regspan. Dinge lyk donker. Hier is hulle situasie vanuit sy advokaat se oogpunt:

Haar ma en suster probeer help, maar hulle is ver. Ryan se gedrag word toenemend irrasioneel en die leser wonder wanneer hy te ver sal gaan, maar hy is uiters geslepe en gaan strategies te werk. Dis ’n spannende, hartverskeurende rit.

Waaroor dit uiteindelik gaan, is die krag van ’n vrou, selfs ’n vrou wat tot in die grond afgebreek is. Watter formidabele natuurkrag liefde en moedersinstink is, die drang om kinders te beskerm en vir hulle ’n tuiste te skep.

Dis uiteindelik een van daardie onsentimentele romans wat jou hart laat uitswel. Ciara gee Engelse klasse, maak vriende ná jare van isolasie en kry dit weer reg om te lag. Die elastisiteit van die menslike hart bly immer verstom en verruk. Ek beveel dit hoog aan.

Nesting deur Roisín O’Donnell is deur Simon & Schuster uitgegee en kos R351 by Graffiti.

Dis moeilik om ’n volgende boek op te neem ná ’n kragtoer soos Nesting. Maar Deep Cuts (ook ’n debuutroman) het my gou aan die nekvel beetgekry. Dit begin op ’n kampus in Amerika. Percy Marks (’n vroulike Percy) en ’n aantreklike seun, Joe, begin eendag gesels en stry oor musiek. Hy sing vir haar een van sy liedjies en sy besef drie dinge:
Hy het talent,
sy kan hom help om soveel beter te wees en:
sy sal altyd op die kantlyn wees, weg van die kollig.

So ontvou hulle storie. Joe is in ’n verhouding met sy skoolliefde, Zoe. Hulle twee en Percy word ’n driemanskap. Later blyk dit dat Zoe gay is. Percy en Joe skryf saam liedjies en hy begin opgang maak. Daar is ongelooflike elektrisiteit tussen hulle, maar toe hy uiteindelik beskikbaar is, besluit hy hulle vriendskap is vir hom te belangrik om op die spel te plaas – hy het haar te nodig as kritikus en medewerker.

Hy en sy band trek New York toe. Percy word ’n kunsjoernalis en haar blog raak nogal beroemd: sy skryf oor songs, maar ook oor haarself. Daar is vele voorbeelde van haar skryfwerk oor musiek en dis absoluut uitstekend, met daardie blinde oortuiging wat ’n mens het as jy 19, 20 is en wat jy iewers langs die pad verloor. Die domastrante vermoë om die haas onverwoordbare uit te druk. Sy ontleed byvoorbeeld Leonard Cohen se liedjie oor Janis Joplin, “Chelsea Hotel”, en vind dit bra seksisties:

Sy skryf oor “A Case of You”, die song wat Joni Mitchell oor Leonard Cohen geskryf het en besluit dit gaan eintlik oor Joni. En Graham Nash van Crossby, Stills, Nash & Young het ’n song oor Joni geskryf: “Our House” waar sy as huishoudelike godin uitgebeeld word wat immer woel en werskaf om alles maklik te maak vir almal. Weke nadat die song geskryf is, leer ons, het Joni Graham se huweliksaansoek van die hand gewys omdat hy glo net wou hê sy moes vir hom kook en skoonmaak.

Die ontleding van songs, wat presies hulle spesiaal maak wat melodie, brug en lirieke betref, is fassinerend. Die dans tussen Joe en Percy duur dekades en nooit is die tyd reg vir hulle nie. Hy word beroemd en erken haar aandeel net terloops. Dan begin sy ander musikante bestuur en uitgee en daar is kwaaivriendskap tussen hulle. Sal hulle liedjie ooit uitwerk?

Ek het die boek verslind en na die laaste bladsy hoendervleis gehad. Ek beveel dit ook hoog aan.

Deep Cuts deur Holly Brickley is deur HarperCollins uitgegee en kos R319 by Loot.

ENGLISH VERSION:

Rare and lyrical novels that cut deeply, to the bone

Irish novels have caught my eye lately. There is a certain wild, lyrical beauty to the Irish landscape, temperament and idiom. Have you heard of Roisín O'Donnell? Nesting is her first novel. She has published a collection of short stories that I would like to lay my hands on, Wild Quiet. She won first prize for Short Story of the Year in the An Post Irish Book Awards in 2018. She has a formidable and unnerving voice.

Nesting could be classified as domestic noir, but it is so much more – it follows no recipe, it's a psychological drama and thriller that grips you and doesn’t let go.

It starts on a beach in Ireland, where holidaymakers wear coats and cower behind windbreaks. Ciara Fey's husband, Ryan, is tall, handsome, and successful. On the face of it, a dream spouse. But soon the cracks show: he's a total self-centred control freak. He decides their two little girls should go swimming with him. The water is icy and the wind is howling. The children's wetsuits are too small, because Ciara stashed away the money Ryan gave her to buy new ones in a runaway fund. The children are screaming, shivering and runny-nosed. Ciara lifts them out of the water and dries them on the beach. Later that night, at home, he admonishes her: "I was totally humiliated. All I wanted was to bring my children swimming, like any normal father." She's also reprimanded for the overly tight wetsuits, and where on earth is the money he gave her? At night he takes possession of her body violently, as is his way.

Ciara sleepwalks through the days. She left him once before, two years ago. Her mother and her sister, Sinéad, live in England and welcomed her with open arms. But she went back to him and he has since prevented her from having any contact with them. They are banned from the house.

An all-too-familiar picture unfolds, of a woman being systematically broken down and isolated. She is not beaten, so there are no visible bruises, but her humanity is broken down by constant disapproval and criticism. One day, on the spur of the moment, she decides to leave him again. She grabs her two daughters and a few pieces of laundry off the washing line and drives off before he gets home from work. To make matters worse, she is pregnant again. Dipping into the run-away fund, she buys plain tickets to England, to her mother and sister. She politely lets him know via WhatsApp that they are safe and going to her mother. Of course, he calls the airport and they are prevented from flying because he has not given permission for his children to leave the country.

The novel is an emotional, poetic account of her attempts to get away from him. He curtails her at every turn. There seems to be more state support for abused women in Ireland: she and the children live for free in a hotel for months while she looks for work. However, her self-esteem is shattered and it's his berating voice she constantly hears in her head, telling her she'll never make it on her own. He fights for custody and in the meantime pays no alimony.

When she gives birth to a son, he is suddenly extremely enthusiastic about parenting, insisting on receiving overnight visits from the daughters and the baby, while she lies in a hotel room, crying with breast throbbing with milk. Ciara is an excellent mother and this keeps her going: she doesn't want her children to grow up and thinks this is what a relationship looks like.

In court, Ryan creates an excellent impression: handsome, professional, successful, and reasonable. This while she is a shivering wreck. He has an expensive legal team. Things look dark. Here's their situation from his lawyer's point of view:

Her mother and sister try to help, but they are far away. Ryan's behaviour becomes increasingly irrational and the reader wonders when he will go too far, but he is extremely cunning and proceeds strategically. It's a thrilling, heart-breaking ride.

It is ultimately about the strength of a woman, even a woman who has been broken down to the ground. What a formidable force of nature is love and maternal instinct, the urge to protect children and create a home for them.

It's one of those unsentimental novels that makes your heart swell. Ciara teaches English, makes friends after years of isolation and manages to laugh again. The elasticity of the human heart continues to amaze and delight. I highly recommend it.

Nesting by Roisín O’Donnell is published by Simon & Schuster and costs R351 at Graffiti.

It's hard to pick up another book after a tour de force like Nesting. But Deep Cuts (also a debut novel) soon grabbed me by the scruff of the neck. It starts on a campus in America. Percy Marks (a female Percy) and a handsome boy, Joe, start talking and arguing about music. He sings her one of his songs and she realizes three things:
He has talent,
she can help him be so much better and:
she will always be on the sidelines, away from the spotlight.

That's how their story unfolds. Joe is in a relationship with his school sweetheart, Zoe. They and Percy become the three musketeers. Later, it turns out that Zoe is gay. Percy and Joe write songs together and his career starts to take off. There's incredible electricity between them, but when he's finally available, he decides their friendship is too important for him to put on the line – he needs her too much as a critic and collaborator.

He and his band move to New York. Percy becomes an art journalist and her blog becomes quite famous: In it, she writes about songs, but also about herself. There are many examples of her writing about music and it's absolutely brilliant, with that blind conviction you have when you're 19, 20 and lose somewhere along the way. The ambitious ability to express that which is just about inexpressible. For example, she analyses Leonard Cohen's song about Janis Joplin, "Chelsea Hotel," and finds it quite sexist:

She writes about "A Case of You," the song Joni Mitchell wrote about Leonard Cohen and decides it's actually about Joni. And Graham Nash of Crossby, Stills, Nash & Young wrote a song about Joni: "Our House" where she is portrayed as a household goddess who is always tossing and turning to make everything easy for everyone. Weeks after the song was written, we learn, Joni turned down Graham's marriage proposal because he apparently just wanted her to cook and clean for him.

The analysis of songs, what makes them special, in terms of melody, bridge, and lyrics, is fascinating. The dance between Joe and Percy lasts for decades and never is the time right for them. He becomes famous, acknowledging her part only in passing. Then she starts managing and releasing other musicians and there is bad blood between them. Will their song ever work out?

I devoured the book and had goosebumps after the last page. I also highly recommend it.

Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley is published by HarperCollins and costs R319 at Loot.