THE SPARE ROOM

Helen Garner's perceptive novel confronts death, dying, and the boundaries of friendship. Nicola has stage four cancer. Refusing to accept defeat, she pursues an alternative cure in Melbourne. She accepts old friend Helen's invitation to use her spare room while she gets her treatments. This is a funny, upsetting, strangely reassuring look at how far we dare test our friendships. Garner forms her characters in spare, clean prose, describing situations with sharp honesty and tender understanding. From narrator Heather Bolton's first words, Helen appears, full-blown, down-to-earth, and likable. Bolton handles Nicola's polar swings neatly, and reveals her self-centered quirkiness without losing her humanity. She keeps Helen's mounting anger trembling just beneath the surface. A bittersweet, well-told story and a truthful, intelligent performance equal fine listening. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2009]