Monday, July 17, 2023

The Albatross

As I have recently read a novel with the back story being cricket I decided to try this one which involves golf. 

Primrose is a former journalist who decided to stop writing when her daughter was born and her husband was battling cancer. Much of the novel is concerned with how Primrose copes with the many challenges presented by life as she re-evaluates her relationships with family members and friends. Many issues appear throughout the book including cancer, sexual assault, politics, toxic friendships, first love, parenting, growing up as a migrant in Australia, race relations,and issues of class but generally, although the author makes the reader aware of the issues, the reader is left to fill in many of the gaps as to how Primrose is reacting.

As Primrose attempts to decide what she really wants from life she decides to play golf at the local public course which is about to close permanently in a few months. At the golf course she meets Harriet, an older woman, who teaches Primrose about golf and encourages her to keep trying although the likelihood of Primrose becoming a good golfer is not high. However just being on the golf course helps Primrose relax and evaluate her life choices.

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