The Piper's Son (review)

The Piper’s Son is a follow on from Marchetta’s 2003 novel Saving Francesca yet can be read as a stand alone. Set 5 years later, the story focusses on Thomas Mackee and his aunt Georgie. Thomas is searching for oblivion from a family falling apart and long gone friends. When he winds up in hospital one night he decides to move in with his aunt Georgie whose house was a safe-haven for him in his childhood. Reconnecting slowly with friends and family, Thomas rebuilds his life whilst confronting events in his past that he can’t let go of.

The Piper’s Son switches between Thomas and Georgie’s point of view and how they are each effected by events in their past. In particular, the death of Joe – Georgie’s brother and Thomas’ uncle – which both see as a pivotal point in shaping their lives. There are parallels to be drawn between the two characters, both feeling a disjunction between their friends and both having to learn to open up again. 

I am a really big fan of how Melina Marchetta writes relationships. And there are all kinds of relationships in this novel – family, friends, lovers, strangers, rocky pasts, hopeful futures. She understands the importance of silence and gestures and emotions withheld in a relationship as opposed to just conversation. 

Marchetta’s writing has a wonderful flow to it. It’s not just what she writes it’s the way she writes it to be read and in particular there is one moment which I feel really puts the reader in the mind of Thomas. I literally sat here for minutes working out how to describe it and I can’t. I can’t put a quote in because removing it from the context takes away its meaning. The best I can say is she shifts you from emotion to action, and it is quite a violent outbreak of action, but it just flows naturally as if you were inside Thomas’ head and moving along with him and it just all made complete sense.

Her writing is beautiful. Stripped back but filling every sentence with meaning. I love the way she weaves seeming throwaway memories and anecdotes so effortlessly into her stories only to have them come back 50 pages later with such a weight to them. It’s like a literary punch to the gut.

Characters are just dropped into the story without any background given and you have to work out their personalities by the way they are dressed and how they talk and their sense of humour. Thankfully Marchetta writes very descriptively in terms of people and it’s fun for the reader to piece bits of a character together as they go along.

One of the interesting themes throughout this book is that every individual has their own complex life and their own unique challenges and sometimes, in fact quite often, you can’t get a sense of what those are just looking at a person. Even people who are close can hide things from one another.

Reading The Piper’s Son makes me want to go back and re-read Saving Francesca. And then I’m sure I’ll want to re-read The Piper’s Son and so on and so forth in an endless loop. There is just so much to get from Melina Marchetta’s books.

The Piper’s Son is a good book. Strongly written with a strong story and richly written characters. If you have ever enjoyed even a sentence written by Melina Marchetta you should read this book. 

Rating: 3 ½ out of 5

Until next time.

p.s. I think the cover art is just perfect. I understand it's actually of the singer Pete Murray but regardless, it works.

p.p.s. Read the review of Saving Francesca.