The Idea of Perfection is the fifth novel by Australian author, Kate Grenville. Set in the dying country town of Karakarook, NSW, pop.1374, the story revolves around the Bent Bridge: the Heritage mob (Karakarook Heritage Museum Committee) believes it can attract tourists; the Shire councillors want to tear this now-dangerous construction down. Enter divorcee Douglas Cheeseman, engineer from the Lands Office, in town to tear down the old bridge and start construction of the replacement. A self-confessed bridge bore who suffers from fear of heights, he can see a way to save the old bridge but lacks the guts to do anything about it. The other newcomer in town is Harley Savage, Consultant (Part-time) to the Curator (Textiles) at the Sydney Museum of Applied Arts, here to help establish the Karakarook Heritage Museum on a grant from the Cultural Affairs Board. Descended from famous artists, Harley, who has gone through three husbands, considers herself a danger to anyone who gets too close; she is big and clumsy, and lacks creativity, except when it comes to quilts. Felicity, neurotic wife of Hugh Porcelline, manager of the Karakarook branch of the Land & Pastoral Bank, believes that the local butcher, Alfred Chang, is in love with her. How their lives intersect is made into a mesmerising story by this talented novelist. Grenville’s descriptions bring her characters vividly to life and she conveys the feel of the country town and “the bush” so well, the reader almost feels the heat and the flies. City dwellers Harley and Douglas find this town different: “But out here, she could see people went by different rules. You did not just pick out the best bits of life. You took the whole lot, the good and the bad. You forgave people for being who they were, and you hoped they would be able to forgive you. Now and again you were rewarded with the small pleasure of being able to laugh, not uproariously but genuinely, at a small witticism offered by someone who was usually a bore.More that the heat and the flies, that was what made the bush feel like another country, where anything was possible.” Grenville has the power to made the reader laugh and squirm and think about life and being perfect, or not. Winner of the 2001 Orange Prize, this was a wonderful read, my favourite Grenville book so far, and I think it would make an excellent movie.
The Idea of Perfection is the fifth novel by Australian author, Kate Grenville. Set in the dying country town of Karakarook, NSW, pop.1374, the story revolves around the Bent Bridge: the Heritage mob (Karakarook Heritage Museum Committee) believes it can attract tourists; the Shire councillors want to tear this now-dangerous construction down. Enter divorcee Douglas Cheeseman, engineer from the Lands Office, in town to tear down the old bridge and start construction of the replacement. A self-confessed bridge bore who suffers from fear of heights, he can see a way to save the old bridge but lacks the guts to do anything about it. The other newcomer in town is Harley Savage, Consultant (Part-time) to the Curator (Textiles) at the Sydney Museum of Applied Arts, here to help establish the Karakarook Heritage Museum on a grant from the Cultural Affairs Board. Descended from famous artists, Harley, who has gone through three husbands, considers herself a danger to anyone who gets too close; she is big and clumsy, and lacks creativity, except when it comes to quilts. Felicity, neurotic wife of Hugh Porcelline, manager of the Karakarook branch of the Land & Pastoral Bank, believes that the local butcher, Alfred Chang, is in love with her. How their lives intersect is made into a mesmerising story by this talented novelist. Grenville’s descriptions bring her characters vividly to life and she conveys the feel of the country town and “the bush” so well, the reader almost feels the heat and the flies. City dwellers Harley and Douglas find this town different: “But out here, she could see people went by different rules. You did not just pick out the best bits of life. You took the whole lot, the good and the bad. You forgave people for being who they were, and you hoped they would be able to forgive you. Now and again you were rewarded with the small pleasure of being able to laugh, not uproariously but genuinely, at a small witticism offered by someone who was usually a bore.More than the heat and the flies, that was what made the bush feel like another country, where anything was possible.” Grenville has the power to made the reader laugh and squirm and think about life and being perfect, or not. Winner of the 2001 Orange Prize, this was a wonderful read, my favourite Grenville book so far, and I think it would make an excellent movie.
Do You like book The Idea Of Perfection (2001)?
Perhaps it was the sound of this book that I liked so well, for undoubtedly it was the language that resonated in these descriptions of people and the bush. I liked, too, the story of a fabric artist finding inspiration in a bridge, an engineer seeing beauty in the spaces between things. I liked the idea that men and women can still find the possibility of love in unlikely places even as they age, though it seems perhaps too much fiction to think that we would expose ourselves. The performance of the work by Odette Joannidis added immeasureably to my pleasure because her Australian voices and bird calls added up to fabulous storytelling. Australians know Kate Grenville as national treasure, and I wish she were more heralded in the United States.
—Trish
On a recent visit to B.C. a very knowledgeable clerk in Tanner's recommended a couple of books to me. We'd had a short yet interesting conversation and I bought two books on her recommendation. This is one of them.I'd read Kate Grenville before, but liked this one even better than the other I'd read.Set in the little town of Karakarook, New South Wales, this follows three characters: two visitors and one who lives there.Douglas Cheeseman is an unprepossessing middle-aged man who is in town as the on-site engineer to replace an aging and damaged bridge, known as the Bent Bridge. Douglas is recently divorced and is aware that his wife found him boring. He also suffers from vertigo, an interesting ailment for a bridge engineer. He is also fascinated by concrete.Also visiting Karakarook is Harley Savage. Harley was born into an artistic family whom her lack of art skills disappointed. She has had three husbands, and isn't looking for any relationships. Harley is in town to help setup a Heritage Museum, on loan from the National Museum of Applied Arts. She is also a textile artist, who specializes in vernacular interpretations. She is a large woman, uncomfortable in social situations.The third character is Felicity Porcelline who is obsessed by perfection, in her person, her home, and her life. She worries about wrinkles and cleanliness. She moves in the community, yet set apart from the others. Even when directly interacting with other people, Felicity is obsessed by her own actions and appearance.The theme indicated by the title is an interesting one. Felicity is in constant pursuit of perfection, yet within she is a very flawed woman. Harley and Douglas are very aware of their flaws, physical and social, and yet find that those very flaws give them strength.I loved the characters and seeing what was going on within them here. Definitely a great read.
—Shonna Froebel
This was actually my mom's copy but she complained about the font every time she tried reading it so I did what any reasonable daughter ought to do: I stole it. Or maybe borrowed (with no intention of returning it-- as of now).Anyway, since this book was originally "meant" for women her age, I don't know what to expect after I picked it up from her shelf. The title itself was interesting enough. But the story. Well, that's a different topic.The book was basically about these two socially-awkward middle-aged people who went to this small Australian town called Karakarook because of they have some work to do there. The first half of the book was uneventful, just basically the author showing us how bad they can be in situations involving other people-- so uneventful that it is almost boring but the author's writing style pushed me to keep reading. There is something with how she writes that is so vivid yet it doesn't drown you with too much descriptive words-- it's just effortlessly good writing. The two characters met at around the second half of the book and well, let's just say I almost shook my head almost to the point of it disconnecting from my neck all through out that scene. Epic fail, Cheeseman (what a name). But although the characters gave me a really terrible stiff neck , I liked them. They reminded me of myself in a way (I don't know what is so likeable then, really) and it sort of gave me the image of what I would be like in the future. I mean, I didn't think it would be possible for people their age to feel that kind of social pressure because I thought as you grow older, you tend to not give a damn anymore because of this thing called "maturity". But I guess maturity is knowing how to act-- not exactly knowing how to feel. Yep.And there is this other character called Felicity. I have one thing to tell you, woman. Your confidence is as high as you are. I liked this book. I might not even give it back to my mom and just keep it. (Sorry, ma.)
—Cy Garcia
