The setting is the rather small Australian country town of Ballarat from 1939-1952, with a population just big enough that you recognise most of the people in town even if you don’t actually know them all.
The story follows the complexities of the lives of several families in the district who are more closely connected, mostly through their local Baptist church, and centres around the Minister, Joseph Starr and his family.
Joseph’s first wife died giving birth to their third child, leaving him feeling hopelessly alone and struggling to raise their three children.
It wasn’t very long before he found himself smitten with a much younger woman, Flora…who he was sure would make the perfect wife and mother to his children…and as luck would have it, his feelings were reciprocated.
When Flora went into labour at home with their first child, Joseph was there to help with the delivery…having already fathered three healthy children he was confident that they could manage without a doctor.
A healthy little girl was delivered and Joseph tended to mother and child with gentle loving care.
Being her first child, Flora was still in a bit of shock at the whole business and struggled to bond with the child…who seemed to her to be feeling the same way…as the child would not take to her breast for feeding, instead just lying there staring at her mother.
They named the girl Connie and tried to all settle into a normal family life together, though there seemed to be an undercurrent of resentment from the older children towards their new mother and baby Connie.
The story follows this family and their day to day interactions closely with other families and neighbours and members of Joseph’s loyal congregation, so that we watch them all as they grow and share their life experiences, big and little, as they all grow between 1939-1952.
The timeframe has the reader taking a deeper look into the dynamics of ordinary Australian family lives during the time when the war broke out and the people struggled with the myriad consequences.
As men were called to service…with many younger men volunteering prematurely…
food and resources were rationed and mothers and daughters did whatever they had to do to make ends meet without a breadwinner or, in many cases no income.
Life went on all the same and did not spare the rod for those at home or at war, as hardship continued to play its role in this town.
Like other readers I was reminded of stories like The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham, Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet, and Craig Silvey’s Jasper Jones to name just a few.
To me the story had a feel of Australian Noir about it…shades of light and dark.
There is some fine writing here and some nice turns of phrase, and once involved, I found it to be a very compelling read.
4⭐️s
The Secret World of Connie Starr
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