Bittersweet

August 22, 2013
Pitched as a return to form for Colleen McCullough, Bittersweet is a family saga (although to describe it as ‘sweeping’ might be pushing it) set in depression-era rural New South Wales. The tale begins as four sisters (two sets of twins) begin their apprenticeships as professionally trained nurses, and follows their journeys to establish their individual identities at a time when women were still expected to stay at home and look after the children. Although they come from a background of relative privilege, each sister has her own particular struggle against the prejudice and restraints of the time. Edda is sexually liberated and desperate to become a doctor; Grace’s only desire is to be married; Tufts is determined to never marry; and then there’s beautiful and fragile Kitty. Each portrays a slightly different, yet compelling, archetype of female emancipation. McCullough draws on her own medical training to provide a layer of authenticity to the story and setting and as I read the book I was reminded of both the television show Call the Midwife and Kerry Greenwood’s fabulous ‘Phryne Fisher’ series. It is this combination of elements that I expect will have widespread appeal for McCullough’s many fans.

Rachel Wilson is a Melbourne-based media academic and former bookseller