Southern Aurora, Mark Brandi

Evoking a particularly poignant sense of the time period in which it is set, SOUTHERN AURORA is yet another pitch perfect book from Mark Brandi exploring intergenerational damage, domestic violence, small town and rural life and young boy's experiences - good and bad.

Raw, visceral and unrepentantly confrontational, SOUTHERN AURORA explores the life of young Jimmy, a charismatic, complicated little boy, committed to holding the threads of his little family together. A borderline alcoholic mother (Jimmy instantly knew what his mother was feeling based on the weight of the wine cask), his older brother in jail, again, he's the one that looks out for his younger, intellectually disabled, brother.

Life is tough for Jimmy needless to say, with the only bit of sensible adult relief in his life the old man who lives nearby, dispensing assistance with restoring a go-cart and a bit of life advice along the way. But the question is, throughout the novel, exactly how does a Jimmy go about breaking the cycle of despair, the one that he's tarred with, as he's reminded - as long as you stay in this town, you'll always be from the Avenue.

Brandi is brilliant at writing these sorts of stories. The subject matter is confrontational, and his characters often extremely likeable and very real. He's also very good at getting the voice of young boys just right. Everything that Jimmy says, does, thinks feels right. The situations he describes are all too believable, and Brandi's evocation of place and timeframe spot on. He's not afraid to give voice to the "other", the outcasts, the damaged, and he does that with considerable sympathy and empathy, without ever flinching from exposing the reality of a life that displays neither sentiment. 

This is a novel that tackles domestic violence as well, and the way that vast swathes, but not absolutely all, basically ignored what was obviously going on. It tackles the attitudes towards disability and poverty, the challenges of childhood and young adulthood, and shifting loyalties. It also cleverly, subtly, almost subversively gives the reader a glimpse into the so called "perfect" world of families with everything - big houses / money and how nothing is really how it seems. 

There's never anything overt or preachy in the work that Brandi produces. They are all, universally, entertaining novels with characters that appeal, and connections for readers to make. But they are doing that with great fearlessness - he isn't afraid to assault the reader with emotion and reaction. He always makes you think though, always makes you consider the story behind the facades that we see every day, and all too often, choose to ignore.