Texas: A Love Story
The Age
Saturday July 19, 2008
Texas: A Love Story
Sarah Hay Allen & Unwin, $22.95 WINNER OF THE Vogel Award in 2001 for Skins, Sarah Hay's latest novel takes us to a remote cattle station in Australia's Top End. Married to a farm manager, Susannah leads an arduous life - caring for her twin boys, preparing food for the men, maintaining the homestead. In a harsh and male-dominated environment, she becomes increasingly isolated and embittered. When her husband hires a young English jillaroo, Laura, Susannah watches as the girl falls in love with the Aboriginal head stockman, Texas. But Texas has a tormented history and his self-destructive tendencies are too ingrained to be dislodged. Laura's naivety eventually cracks and she begins to share Susannah's disillusionment. Hay writes well when she is describing the tangible rigours of life in the outback - but the stunted psychological landscape she seeks to map out isn't drawn with enough precision or complexity to make her characters leap from the page.
© 2008 The Age
