farmdoc's blog post number 67

I’ve just finished reading The Memory Room, the latest novel by Tasmanian-born Christopher Koch. It’s the interwoven narratives of three Hobartians over a 20-year period from 1964 when in their early teens their world was exciting and boundless, until 1984 when they reach their early 30s with copybooks blotted and horizons lowered. Beautifully crafted long trajectories also define Koch’s previous novels including Out of Ireland and Highways to a War, which is why his work captivates me. As does a poster of the singing group The Weavers that hangs in my Mole Creek study, showing the four members in 1980 gathered around a late 1940s photograph of themselves in identical poses. Though now into my seventh decade, I feel the same on the inside as I did as a young man. Only I’m a young man no more: Airline cabin staff now call me Sir. Shopkeepers refer to me as The Gentleman. And on a tram a few months ago someone offered me their seat. I’m quite content to look my years. But I think the issue here is that as we age, our options lessen and the scope of our lives contracts concurrently with gradually accumulating experience and wisdom. My challenge is how use this trade-off to maximum benefit. I’m working on it. And I’m looking forward to Koch’s next book.