'The Denniston Rose' discussed

There was much discussion about the bleakness of the physical environment of the Denniston coal mine and the determination needed to survive in these conditions. There was a lot of talk about how the three women Totty Hanratty, Mary Scobie and Bella Rasmussen were the strength and really the founding mothers of the Denniston community. Many mining stories focus on the men but this one seemed focussed on the strength of the women and how the men made the decisions but it was the women who had to somehow ensure that things actually happened.

Rose's mother while coming under fire for her rather hands off approach to mothering could be seen as a survivor of her time who considered her only means of existence was under the wing of a man whether he hurt her (and Rose) or not. She certainly understood men and where they were concerned she generally got her way in the big picture even though in the detail she was somewhat less particular and certainly did not consider collateral damage.

There was a lot of discussion about the community knowing how Billy Genesis was treating Rose but how not one adult spoke in her defence: "No one liked to admit that a child's voice is always harder to hear than an adult's." There was also the excuse that 'Billy's skills were necessary to the community.' Despite being a small child, Rose was very much on her own. There was much talk about whether this was still the case today.

There seemed to be much discussion about many facets of the novel but while Rose's situation merited opinions, the character Rose did not engender a great deal of discussion.

Most of our readers seemed to enjoy the read. One of our readers particularly enjoys books based in historical fact and followed up her read with quite a bit of internet research on Denniston, the coal mining industry there and the incline. One can even experience a virtual ride on the incline which was eventually closed in 1967.

Looking forward to our next discussion on Sofie Laguna's book The Eye of the Sheep on Thursday 3 September at 6.00pm.