Shankari Chandran, Safe Haven

 

This new novel from the 2023 Miles Franklin award-winning author of Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens has received many positive reviews: 

‘A powerful, well-crafted story’ –Sydney Morning Herald

‘a heart-wrenching yet hopeful tale.’ –The Sunday Age

‘a warm and generous read.’ –The Guardian

‘a fearless novel that reaches into your heart with evocative prose and beautifully drawn characters. It’s also a page turner.’ -–Australian Women's Weekly

‘a powerful tale’ –The Advertiser

‘Chandran's writing is evocative and studded with beautiful imagery’ –Books + Publishing

‘Anyone who read Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens will already know that Miles Franklin winner Shankari Chandran is an expert at sketching communities of people whose dependency on one another is matched by their care for each other. Chandran's new novel, Safe Haven, has it all: a group of refugees only too aware of the fragility of their position; bonds of love and trust; a mysterious death; and similarly beautiful storytelling to her prize-winning book.’ –Qantas Magazine

The problem with these reviews is they're all bullshit!

I read the first 100 or so pages of Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens last year then bailed. I was determined to give Chandran another try and read this new one to the end. I couldn't wait for the end. The experience was insufferable.

It's a cloying, sentimental story, full of characters (mostly women) who are warm and friendly and love and respect each other. And there are also guards (men) at the asylum centre who are ugly, merciless, brutal and cruel. One of them commits suicide - or was he murdered? An officer from the mainland (a woman) is sent to investigate.

That's the plot. It gets convoluted as it resolves because some people are hiding secrets about themselves and their backgrounds. But it all ends well. Love, happiness and justice prevail. 

At times I thought I was reading a Young Adult novel.