Reviewed By The Booktopia Book Guru
What surprised me most about my reading of
Matilda is Missing was that I was reading it at all. If I were flicking through a newspaper or reading a magazine and I came across a story about the family court, or a grandparent's right to access their grandchildren, or equal rights for fathers in divorce cases, I wouldn't read beyond the headlines.
Well, this is the power of the novel in action. Yes, Caroline Overington was the social welfare reporter for The Australian newspaper. Yes, she brought to bear all of her first hand knowledge and experience of the workings of the family court. Yes, her story is probably based on actual cases. But her articles were informed by such things, too, and I never read them. If she were to write a brilliant article tomorrow on the subject covered in
Matilda is Missing, I wouldn't read that either.
I admit here that I had no intention of reading
Matilda is Missing. I picked it up on a whim, curious to see what all the fuss was about after the success of Overington's last novel, I Came to Say Goodbye. It was compelling stuff. I was won over.
Matilda is Missing contains a story within a story, narrated by the very likeable, Barry. The framing story describes the heartbreak of a grandmother, Pat, Barry's wife, who is barred from seeing her grandchildren and covers her very public fight for access. And within this frame, when an old friend, and former Family Court Judge, asks Barry to listen to recordings of interviews with a court appointed psychologist, we have the story of Softest Sound Monaghan, known as Softie (hippie parents) and Garry Hartshorn and their fight for custody of Matilda.
There is no right way to raise a child. It is and always will be a matter of dispute but who is to say who is right and who is wrong when two ordinary people with fairly similar notions of child raising claim to be the best person to look after their child?
Matilda is Missing is a gripping read which takes an unflinching look at the impact Family Court decisions have on children, parents, grandparents and on those making the decisions themselves. That is,
Matilda is Missing examines a subject we only ever consider when it is too late.
Click here to read Caroline's answers to our Six Sharp Questions
