The World Beneath

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The World Beneath (eBook) Pub. Date: 2/1/2011 Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
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The World Beneath (Original) Pub. Date: 2/1/2011 Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.

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Overview

The first novel from acclaimed author Cate Kennedy is a compassionate and unswerving portrait of a broken family whose members go to extraordinary lengths to reclaim their lives and relationships from the mistakes of the past.

Fifteen years after their break-up, Rich and Sandy have both settled into the unfulfilling compromises of middle age: he’s a late-night infomercial editor with photojournalism aspirations; she makes hippie jewelry for a local market and struggles to maintain a New Age lifestyle that fails to provide the answers she seeks. To distract themselves from their inadequacies, Rich and Sandy cling to the shining moment of their youth, when they met as environmental activists as part of a world-famous blockade to save Tasmania’s Franklin River.

Their daughter, Sophie, has always remained skeptical of this ecological fairytale, but when Rich invites her on a backpacking trip through Tasmania for her fifteenth birthday, Sophie sees it as a way to bond with a father she’s never known. As they progress further into the wilderness, the spell of Rich’s worldly charm soon gives way to suspicion and fear as his overconfidence sets off a chain of events that no one could have predicted.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

In Australian Kennedy's (Dark Roots) chick friendly debut novel, 15-year-old anorexic Sophie Reynolds comes of age in a fast-paced, well-observed study of family relationships. Sophie's mother, former hippie Sandy, trundles toward middle age with hennaed hair and a flagging jewelry business. Then Rich, Sophie's father, reappears to offer a week-long backpacking trip in Tasmania that Sophie sees as an opportunity to bond with her mysterious father, annoy her mother, and indulge her obsession with rigorous exercise. Rich, a deadbeat dad with a dead-end job, hopes to impress his wayward daughter with fancy hiking gear and borrowed music. But when he strays from the path without a map, stalking the perfect photo, he endangers them both. With Rich and Sophie missing, Sandy is forced to re-examine her life: her criticizing mother; her festering resentment of Rich; and her friends, who enjoy crises more than company. The pitfalls of nostalgia and the disappointment of everyday life contrast sharply with the ravishing Tasmanian landscapes Kennedy is excellent at painting, along with interpersonal terrain, but the novel wants to be more profound than it actually is. (Feb.)

Library Journal

In a small Australian town, Sandy muddles through life as an unemployed single mother pining for the heady days of her activist youth. Sandy frequently reminisces about her role in a famous 1980s environmental protest in Tasmania. Sophie, her troubled teenager, listens grudgingly because her mother's stories are a link to her estranged father, Rich, who met Sandy there. Unexpectedly, Rich invites Sophie to go bushwalking in Tasmania, and Sandy's worst fears are realized when the father-daughter trek goes dangerously wrong. Alternately narrated by an unflinching, angry Sophie and her hapless parents, this polished novel from Australian poet and short story writer Kennedy (Dark Roots) evokes a more lyrical version of Jodi Picoult. Kennedy particularly shines in her portrayal of the rocky relationship between Sandy and Sophie, hitting the reader with raw, heartbreaking, sometimes hilarious prose. Occasionally the narrative becomes bogged down by lengthy stream-of-consciousness paragraphs, but this is a minor flaw in what is otherwise a wise and graceful debut novel. VERDICT Sure to be a hit with fans of contemporary social fiction; Kennedy is an author to watch.—Kelsy Peterson, Prairie Village, KS

More Reviews (1) Fewer Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

In this debut novel from Australian Kennedy (Dark Roots, 2008, etc.), a father takes his estranged daughter on a trek through the Tasmanian wilderness that proves spiritually, mentally and physically grueling, and not just for them.

Rich and Sandy met protesting the Franklin River Blockade, one of the most successful environmental protests in Australian history. Their marriage didn't last. Now their daughter Sophie has become a skinny, goth teen exasperated with her pot-smoking, New-Agey mother's nostalgia for her past activism. Having pursued nature photography in all corners of the globe, chased women to no real effect and now working as a TV video editor, Rich decides to reconnect with his daughter. What better way than to hike the wilderness he and his ex worked to save? Rich assumes, as only the absent father of a difficult teen could, that Sophie will be impressed. Out of defiance of her mother, Sophie agrees to go and Sandy reluctantly lets her. For distraction, Sandy takes off on a retreat to find her inner goddess. The hike is difficult, especially when Rich's new, unbroken-in boots begin to chafe. While Rich hobbles through miles of wilderness trying to impress his cynical daughter, Sandyhilariously searches for answers in meditation sessions and sweat lodges, where she instead encounters the disembodied voice of her disapproving mother. Rich must come to terms with the reality that he's not the outdoorsman—or, for that matter, the people person—he thought he was, a lesson that leads to potential catastrophe. Kennedy illustrates her characters' vulnerabilities through a series of power plays and dramatic reversals—Rich attempts to cut the trip short, but Sophie, with a contrary, stubborn nature not unlike her parents', insists they continue. Locked in mutual antipathy broken by bursts of sympathy, father and daughter move into increasingly dangerous territory.

An intricately written novel with an ironic eye for modern vulnerability in the face of a primordial wilderness.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780802170712
Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Publication date: 2/1/2011
Edition description: Original
Pages: 352
Sales rank: 308,484
Product dimensions: 5.36 (w) x 8.22 (h) x 1.02 (d)

Meet the Author

Cate Kennedy’s short story collectionDark Roots, was shortlisted for the Australian Literature Society Gold Medal and first serialized inThe New Yorker. She lives in Victoria, Australia.

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TiredofGarbage

Posted April 25, 2011

I Also Recommend:

Disappointing, Not Recommended

I picked this up the same day as Bradford Morrow's great book, "The Diviner's Tale." Sadly, The World Beneath is not a good read. Only one of the characters is believable - Rich, the absentee dad. In his sections, the book comes to life. But the other characters are just too cliched, and the book never really takes off. Lots of strain evident in writing it, but no real lift to the reader in reading it. Try the Morrow book instead for a real reader's treat. "The Diviner's Tale" is a similar story to this one - an abandoned mother raising teen(s) - but the Morrow book is a well written classic, sadly The World Beneath is not in its league at all.
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Anonymous

Posted March 5, 2011

awsome

best eva
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Anonymous

Posted March 9, 2011

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