Review by Freya Bennett
Reading Georgia Blain for the first time has been a bittersweet experience.
We All Lived in Bondi Then is her final collection of short stories, composed during the last few years of her life. Finding out that the book I was about to delve into was published posthumously made me feel a sense of homesickness I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
Although I hadn’t read Georgia Blain before, I immediately felt cocooned by her words – a comforting wave of familiarity enveloped me and I found myself living within her pages.
The nine short stories within We All Lived in Bondi Then, tackle themes of family, illness, love and humanity. Although the stories are complete on their own, I felt gently carried throughout the book, no jarring transition to be had.
I’ve never been one to seek out short stories, preferring full length novels, but Georgia writes with such grace and intrigue that I not only fell in love with Georgia’s writing, but also with the genre.
The perfect book to hold close to your heart, Georgia tackles complex, often heartbreaking topics with such sensitivity and warmth that it leaves you feeling uplifted and full of empathy for your fellow human.
