- Free Article: No
- Contents Category: Australian Fiction
- Review Article: Yes
- Online Only: No
- Custom Highlight Text:
The front cover of Black Dust Dancing depicts the silhouette of a child playing on swings against the backdrop of a blood-red sky. This image suggests the suspense and dread that is missing from the novel, which is, for the most part, slow and uneventful.
Dancing, set in a rural South Australian town, opens with young mother Heidi becoming puzzled by her son Zac’s sudden ill health. This malady is eventually attributed to the ‘traces of historic lead’ found in the black dust that blows through the town. Zac’s diagnosis is made by Caro, a local doctor who is having difficulties (albeit of an emotional kind) with her own daughter, and whose own health is threatened by her penchant for cigarettes and alcohol.
- Book 1 Title: Black Dust Dancing
- Book 1 Biblio: Wakefield Press, $24.95 pb, 250 pp
The key theme of Tracy Crisp’s novel is the way in which our surroundings can impact on our physical and mental well-being. This is an interesting theme, if not terribly sophisticated. Throughout Dancing, there is some richly evocative prose. Witness the descriptions of the town, with its ‘wide flat streets and houses made of stone’, as well as the ‘sickly smell of sulphur’ that emanates from nearby silos. Witness, also, Caro’s visit to the local hairdresser, which will bring a laugh to anyone who has had to respond tactfully to an awkward and/or annoying situation.
Genre-wise, Crisp’s novel is confusing. Dancing is not really a treatise on the social costs of environmental degradation; this issue weaves in and out of the narrative. There are some tense moments throughout the text, but it is not gripping enough to be classified as a thriller or as soap opera. However, the main problem with Black Dust Dancing is its languid pace. The novel moves slowly through long sections where nothing of any great importance happens. Some readers will be sufficiently engaged by Crisp’s prose to keep reading; others will tune out before the final pages.
Comments powered by CComment