That Untravelled World - Ian Reid

I have just finished reading Ian Reid's most recent novel, That Untravelled World. For those interested in getting a feel for new settler, predominantly Anglo-Saxon Western Australian society in the first half of the Twentieth Century, this novel is a great place to start. It is beautifully written and eminently readable, a book in which the protagonist Harry begins the new century full of hope and excitement about a future which he believes is going to see the world transformed with flying machines and wireless communication, bringing people together across the world. As a young, skilled wireless engineer, he is full of optimistic anticipation about his own prospects in this imagined new world. As the story unfolds in the context of two World Wars and the Great Depression, we are guided through a single lifetime in which our hero's plans are progressively frustrated.

From the perspective of a reader/writer currently going through the joys and struggles of writing a second novel, there were a number of things that impressed me about this book. From the beginning it was evident that as reader, I was in good hands. I enjoyed the finely balanced structure of the story, its accuracy, restrained telling, and the way in which the era, age and physicality of the character, at various stages of his life, was so clearly evoked. Not once was Harry dropped out of character, or did the author flinch from portraying the less desirable mainstream social values of the time. At the same time, seen through Harry's eyes, there was compassion for each of the characters, damaged and flawed as they were, providing a way into what could otherwise have been difficult material.

Besides enviable fiction and non-fiction writing credentials, Ian Reid has the advantage of being a poet, a historian and a highly skilled researcher, and the depth of understanding is evident in the telling of this story. It's a satisfying read, and at the end I felt I had learned something about the early Eurocentric history and psychology of this part of the world.

Ian Reid will be meeting with the Book Length Project Group this coming Sunday to discuss his writing process with us. All welcome.

10am, Fellowship of Australian Writers WA premises, Allen Park Precinct, Swanbourne. Mattie's House.