A quick rundown… The advertising world in 1960′s Sydney, told from the views of three women
Strengths: 60′s nostalgia
Weaknesses: No real main character, ending is very open-ended for two of the major characters.
Why I read it: Billed as ‘Mad Men meets Paper Giants‘ (Australian miniseries on 1970s women’s magazine, Cleo)
Pages: 400
Published: 2011
Publisher: Hachette Australia
Setting: Sydney and Melbourne, Australia
Rating: 7 out of 10
If you liked this, try: Fortune Cookie by Bryce Courtenay, Mad Men (the TV show)
I was really looking forward to this book. I adore the TV programme Mad Men and thoroughly enjoyed Bryce Courtenay’s look at advertising in Australia and Singapore in Fortune Cookie. You know I’m a historical fiction fan, so you wouldn’t be surprised to read that I stalked the bookstores of Melbourne for days prior to the release of this book. (Hachette will be pleased to know that nobody broke embargo). I really wanted this book to read on the way home as I thought it would be all-engrossing. Sadly, it was not to be. Not to be as in – 1. I couldn’t read it on my return journey and 2. That the book was not of the type where the world stands still while you read.
I was disappointed!
Let me get this straight. This is not an in-depth social commentary of 1960s Australia – people of a certain era will smile at the heavy use of old, familiar brand names while those of a younger generation will marvel at two things: 1. That some brands are so old! 2. What life was like prior to seven day shopping (although this can be experienced in Perth in 2012), no fast food outlets or mobile phones/internet. It’s a great piece of nostalgia but sometimes the brand references seem to be more crammed in than a Costco trolley on the inaugural visit.
Which brings me to a second point that I found interesting- Australia looking still to the Motherland, England but having a sneaking glance at glamorous America. The advertising agency has weekly showings of American commercials and Stella, turns to American magazines for inspiration (and plagiarism).
But I digress. Let me return to the storyline. The novel looks at three women, all working at a Sydney advertising agency. There’s Stella, former secretary and new copywriter, wanting to get herself out of the suburbs and intro the middle class; Desi, the posh society girl and TV director and Bea, divorcee with a nose for creative. The book focuses on each of them, but it’s unclear if one is meant to be the main character or if this is an ensemble cast. Should we like or dislike Stella, who is desperately crying to move up the corporate ladder (not always in an orthodox fashion)? Should we support Desi’s affair while engaged and encourage her to break from society’s bonds? Why is Desi known as Dizzy sometimes by various people at only various times? Isn’t that an odd nickname for someone breaking new moral ground? What exactly is the role of Bea? Are we to focus on the husband she left in the UK or her Don Draper-esque eye for advertising?
Sometimes it seems if this book is too much in too short a space. It also deals with homosexuality, drag queens (this is one of the funnier moments of the book!), class, aging, sex and racism. Nothing is in great detail.
Perhaps I was expecting a little too much of this book. If you think of it as a light frolic down 1960′s Sydney memory lane with nostalgia aplenty, you’ll enjoy this book. And I did enjoy it on this level. Those expecting more though, may be disappointed.
I heard an interview with the author on the Writers Radio Podcast (http://www.radio.adelaide.edu.au/writersradio/ ) and she sounded absolutely lovely. I’m fascinated that she was an advertising copywriter in the 1960s (in London), at a time when women did not hold those kinds of roles (aka Mad Men), so it’s disappointing to find out that you found the book was too light and frothy for you.
I love, love, love Mad Men. It’s one of my favorite shows. I’d have picked up this book too. The whole advertising agency and women breaking into the workplace would have attracted me. Too bad it wasn’t as good as you expected.
I feel very much on the same page – so to speak – as you. I’m reading this at the moment and I’m about halfway through, and it all feels a bit fluffy. When looking up reviews of this book I kept seeing the line ‘great summer read’, and maybe that’s a nicer way to say it’s a piece of fluff that doesn’t really get to the guts of anything.
I feel the characterisation is superficial and as you said, it’s hard to know how we *should* feel about Stella. She’s painted as a bit dumb and pathetic, but maybe that’s just her youth, yet I feel we’re supposed to be endeared by her. Desi, so far, is the most likeable for me, even though she’s doing something that’s morally wrong.
It’s a shame it didn’t live up to your expectations. Thanks for sharing your review though!