Romulus, My Father Book

Raimond Gaita is a philosopher by profession (he teaches in Australia and at King's College, London) but a writer by vocation. This elegantly written memoir takes in the social history of 1950s rural Victoria as well as recording the emotional displacement of European immigrants in Australia. He recounts the story of his father's migration, first from Yugoslavia and then from a war-torn Germany to a remote and demeaning clearing camp in Victoria. A skilled iron worker, he was set to work with a pick and shovel while his wife and child were sent to live in a nearby camp. Gaita's hard-won moral vision is a legacy of his parents' suffering and a unique addition to the stories of Second World War survivors and their descendants. The love between father and devoted son takes centre stage as Gaita's mother falls victim to a harrowing mental breakdown expressive of her family's degradation and pain. Gaita recalls a harsh landscape that complements his mother's sense of isolation. Whereas some readers may feel his treatment of her is unsympathetic it is surely testimony of his strength of mind and his ability to overcome personal tragedy and convert it into a moving meditation on sorrow and its resolution. --Lilian PizzichiniRead More