Waiting on Wednesday is a book meme held over at Breaking the Spine where bloggers highlight what they’re looking forward to. This week, my choice is: Comfort Zone by Lindsay Tanner, former minister for finance and deregulation.
To understand why this fascinates me, you have to understand that Australian politics is kind of cracked. No, seriously: in 2007, Kevin Rudd was elected as Prime Minister and he was in office until 2010, when Julia Gillard ousted him and was our first female Prime Minister until 2013, when Kevin Rudd ousted her. That year he lost the election in 2013 — and God helps us — Tony Abbott was elected. Who’s a boob. There’s really no way around that. And then he was ousted by Malcolm Turnbull last year, and he’s now PM trying to make everyone happy, and to keep Tony Abbott from doing a Kevin Rudd and getting his job back.
I told you, it’s cracked.
Which is why when I found out this was written by a minister from the Rudd/Gillard years, I was absolutely fascinated. Turns out Tanner has written a couple of books, but this is his first foray into fiction and it is in essence, about a racist cabbie in Melbourne who falls in love with a Somalian woman, and gets pulled into a world of drugs, criminals and Somali payback.
It’s bloody awesome that’s what!
Here’s the actual blurb:
An astute novel about inner-city Australian racism — and about humanity prevailing over entrenched prejudice.
Jack van Duyn is in his comfort zone. A pot-bellied, round-shouldered cabbie in his mid-fifties, Jack lives alone, has few friends, and gets very little out of life. He has a negative opinion of most other people – especially refugees, bankers, politicians, and welfare bludgers.
Jack doesn’t know it, but his life is about to be turned upside down. A minor altercation in a kids’ playground at an inner-city high-rise estate catapults Jack into a whirlpool of drug-dealing, ASIO intrigue, international piracy, and criminal violence. And he can’t escape, because he doesn’t want to: he’s fallen in love with the beautiful Somali single mum who’s at the centre of it all.
The ensuing turmoil propels Jack out of his comfort zone, forcing him to confront some unpleasant truths about himself. After decades in the doldrums, can he rise to the challenge when the heat’s on?
Drawing on his many years of experience as a politician at the centre of bitter debates about refugees and multiculturalism, Lindsay Tanner explores the emotional landscape on which these issues are played out. As we follow Jack’s hair-raising journey from crisis to crisis, a powerful plea for tolerance and understanding unfolds – directed at both sides of Australia’s great cultural divide.
We Australians like to pretend racism isn’t a problem, but it is. It simmers under the surface until it explodes. It doesn’t help our media gives old white guys a consistent platform to voice their opinion that all Islam is bad, our acts against racism should be modified to allow racism, Indigenous footballers who call out racism are whiners, and more importantly, shouldn’t be the face of a major ad campaign of one of our biggest department stores (and damn, the ad is hot), not to mention most recently, one radio broadcaster decided we needed the Stolen Generations (when Aboriginal kids were taken from their parents by force) and the list goes on.
We’re in trouble. And the more people call it out and write books that highlight it, the better.
What are you waiting on this week?
Wow! What an intriguing story, and thanks for the history that helps us understand the issues.
Thanks for sharing, and here’s mine: “THE PERFECT NEIGHBORS”
No worries, Laurel — this is one of those ones that grabbed me and wouldn’t let go considering everything that’s going on here in Australia. Thanks for coming by!
Happy you’ve chosen this book and for the history behind it! I wouldn’t have put this book on my wishlist if it wasn’t for this post!
Here is my Wow if you’re interested 🙂
The history definitely made me want to know what Tanner is like as an author! Thanks Yasman!
I hope you’ll enjoy it once you have it. 🙂
TY Irena — I hope I do too!
What a totally intriguing choice. I hope you love it and share your thoughts.
Lynn 😀
Thanks Lynn! I hope it’s good too!
Well, it sounds cracked, your politics, and so does mine in a different way. I guess most is. The book sounds interesting. Not my cup of tea, but interesting.
Thanks for stopping by!
You’re right, politics is generally cracked, wherever you are! I can’t imagine being in it as a career … thanks for stopping by too!
Wow, this seems interesting 🙂
I hope it is!!
You know, I had no idea that there was racism in Australia. it’s been a problem in the U.S. for years, as everyone knows from the Civil Rights Movement. I don’t know much about Australia, to be honest…. How sad that there’s racism there, too.
How interesting that this man has to confront his own prejudice, and has his world shaken up the way the novel describes! And I agree — the fact that it’s written by a former politician makes it all the more intriguing. I know you’ll enjoy reading it!
Thanks for stopping by and commenting on my WOW!! 🙂
Maria, hey, yeah it’s here — I think it’s present everywhere, to different extents. That’s why this book intrigues me so much — and I really am HOPING so much that it’s good.
This sounds super interesting! I’m glad there’s more novels that showcase how important it is to move out of our comfort zones and recognise issues we may not like to.