My Brilliant Sister
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My Brilliant Sister
Narrated by:
Arianwen Parkes-Lockwood
Buy Now for $6.99
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Narrated by:
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Arianwen Parkes-Lockwood
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By:
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Amy Brown
About this listen
Stella Miles Franklin’s autobiographical novel My Brilliant Career launched one of the most famous names in Australian letters. Funny, bold, often biting about its characters, the novel and its young author had a lot in common. Miles went on to live a large, fiercely independent and bohemian life of travel, art and freedom.
Not so her beloved sister Linda. Quiet, contained, conventional, Linda was an inversion of Stella. A family peacemaker who married the man Stella would not, bore a son and died of pneumonia at 25.
In this reflective, witty and revealing novel, Amy Brown rescues Linda, setting her in counterpoint with Stella, and with the lives of two contemporary women: Ida, a writer whose writing life is on hold as she teaches and raises her young daughter; and Stella, a singer-songwriter who has sacrificed everything for a career, now forcibly put on hold. Binding the two is the novella that Linda might have written to her sister Stella – a brilliant alternative vision of My Brilliant Career.
Innovative and involving, My Brilliant Sister is an utterly convincing (and hilarious) portrait of Miles Franklin and a moving, nuanced exploration of the balance women still have to strike between careers and family lives. It gives a fresh take on one of Australia’s most celebrated writers and an insight into life now.
Critic Reviews
'Gorgeously alive to both the smallest and biggest elements that make up a life, and a nuanced, moving and compelling exploration of the necessary compromises that accompany any woman's attempt to find meaning in work, whether domestic or creative, or – sometimes, somehow, magically – both.' (Ceridwen Dovey, author of Mothertongues and Only the Animals)
'My Brilliant Sister is a work of such beauty and truthfulness. It’s also a sustained poetic and political enquiry, which moves effortlessly from the smallest to the largest, and poses irresolvable questions of being and language, with a melancholic lightness of touch.' (Miles Allinson, author of In Moonland)
‘My Brilliant Sister is truly that – brilliant. Amy Brown's writing is superb, and the story is wonderfully told. This novel speaks to both our literary past and our sense of who we are now. While some “careers” remain quiet, they are of vital importance to us.’ (Tony Birch, author of Shadowboxing and The White Girl)
‘If, like me, you love nothing more than diving into the hearts and minds of the characters in a novel, then My Brilliant Sister is the book for you. This exquisite novel asks big questions – about sisterhood, creativity, who should be considered extraordinary, and what makes a good life – while staying firmly grounded in the compelling voices of three strong women. I was spellbound by each of these subtly interlinked narratives. Amy Brown is a shining star!’ (Emily Bitto, Stella Prize winning author of The Strays and Wild Abandon)
‘A rich, playful meditation on art, domesticity, wildness and the struggle to be understood – I loved it.’ (Emily Perkins, author of Lioness)
‘Amy Brown’s impressive debut enters the minds of three women in two different centuries, all shaped by the author Stella “Miles” Franklin, a luminous figure who casts both shadow and light. This is a searing, multi-layered book that not only reflects on female authority and a queasy balance between family and ambition, but also perceptively pries open the ways in which we live our lives through others.’ (Alice Miller, author of More Miracle Than Bird)
‘both a novel of ideas and a joy to read’ (Saturday Paper)
‘a creative triumph’ (The Guardian)
‘A layered and involving story about womanhood, motherhood and art.’ (Books+Publishing)
‘Reading My Brilliant Sister felt like a private conversation I was having with myself and the one I’ve had with every woman I know many times over … And while many of the questions Brown asks are indeed irresolvable, I couldn’t help but feel like I had arrived somewhere different to where I started. Somewhere more honest and beautiful.’
These questions resonate through the viewpoints of three strong female voices and their subtly interlinked story lines.
The first voice of the book, Ida, puts her own career on hold for that of her partner. Her partner, who is referred to as "he" or "him" throughout this viewpoint, highlighting the resentment she is feeling towards him, is an academic leading the life she dreams of. Their juxtaposition against each other raises questions of the value society places on a woman's career, the expectations woman place on themselves, and highlights the all too common breakdowns in communication in long term relationships - I did not want to burden you more - being a theme that is evident throughout this viewpoint.
The second viewpoint narrated by Linda, Stella Miles Franklin's younger and "traditional" sister. She describes herself as both a hare and a hound. At once stifled by traditional expectations and a desire for change, Linda encourages all the women in her life to go and vote on her wedding day. I loved how this voice described the domestic, and at once questioned whether a good life had to be a grand life, as well as called out her sister for minimising her life on paper to being that of 'Gertie'.
The third viewpoint is that of Stella, a superstar musician who is living out COVID lockdown in her hometown, and having a mid life crisis. This modern Stella is supposed to be the modern day reincarnation of Stella Miles Franklin, however I feel that this is the voice that missed the mark and was disingenuous. It had the opportunity to really delve into a woman's viewpoint and choice to pursue a career over a family (not just children but significant other's) but this was an undertone of her story. This third viewpoint, whilst it had moments of clarity and there were scattered lines of beautiful prose that resonated with me, overall felt clumsy and stiff.
As a whole, this story resonated with me in its ability to link both the past and present expectations of society on women. It shows how far we have come, but also renders clearly the sacrafices that come with this progression.
What makes a good life...
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