19 June 2004 THE SIMPLE GIFT by Steven Herrick, Simon Pulse, April 2004, mass market paperback, $6.99, ISBN: 0-689-86867-7

 

"Say, can I have some of your purple berries

Yes, I've been eating them for six or seven weeks now

Haven't got sick once

Prob'ly keep us both alive"

--Crosby/Kantner/Stills, "Wooden Ships"

 

"Lord of the lounge......Billy

 

It's a good library.

Lots of books, sure,

and lounges soft and comfortable

for real reading,

and I choose one

in the corner

and I settle down

with a book about these kids

stranded on a deserted island

and some try to live right

but the others go feral

and it's a good book

and I'm there, on the island,

gorging on tropical fruit,

trying to decide

whose side I'm on.

And then it hits me.

I'm on neither.

I'd go off alone,

because you can't trust

those who want to break the rules

and you certainly can't trust

those who make the rules,

so you do the only thing possible,

you avoid the rules.

That's me,

on the deserted island

of a soft lounge

in Bendarat Library."

 

In a counterpoint to THE LORD OF THE FLIES, and other grim tales where a lack of structure or authority leads to chaos and harshness and evil intent, Australian author Steven Herrick has created a world in which a young man striving for autonomy is able to attain an idyllic existence away from the rule makers and the rule breakers.

 

When sixteen-year-old Billy Luckett packs a few things (including the old man's booze and cigarettes) into his schoolbag, says good-bye to his dog, and walks out of the house, he doesn't know where he will end up. But Billy's certain that anything will beat living with his abusive father.

 

"Please don't tell what train I'm on

And they won't know what route I've gone"

--Elizabeth Cotton, "Freight Train"

 

Hopping a westbound freight train in a teeming rain, Billy immediately crosses paths with the first of a series of characters who will each enrich and transform his life with their kindness, and who will each in turn take something away themselves for having been able to see through Billy's exterior.

 

"Men...........Billy

 

There are men like Ernie,

the train driver, in this world.

Men who don't boss you around

and don't ask prying questions

and don't get bitter

at anyone different from them.

Men who share a drink and food

and a warm cabin

when they don't have to.

Men who know the value of things

like an old boat

built for long weekends on a lake.

Men who see something happening

and know if it's right

or wrong

and aren't afraid to make that call.

There are men like Ernie

and

there are other men,

men like my dad."

 

"When we came to the station all the trains were rusty

The doors were open and the windows broken in

There was grass in all the cracks and the air hung musty

The travel posters were flapping in the wind"

--Al Stewart, "Apple Cider Re Constitution

 

Billy reaches the end of the run at an old railroad town named Bendarat, and takes refuge in a lovely old abandoned train car. When he purchases a lemonade at the McDonald's in town, and proceeds to gather himself a fine meal from what fellow diners leave behind, he meets Caitlin, a well-off teenage schoolgirl who is working for The Clown as a way to gain her own measure of independence, in her case, from doting parents.

 

"Caitlin and mopping...Caitlin

 

When I first saw what he did

I wanted to go up

and say,

'Put that food back.'

But how stupid is that?

It was going in the rubbish

until he claimed it.

So I watched him.

He was very calm.

He didn't look worried

about being caught

or ashamed of stealing scraps.

He looked relaxed,

as though he knew he had to eat

and this was the easiest way.

I had work to do,

mopping the floor,

which I hate,

so I mopped slowly

and watched.

He read the paper

until the family left,

then helped himself to dessert,

and as he walked back to his table,

holding the apple pie,

he looked up and saw me

watching him.

He stood over his table

waiting for me to do something.

He stood there

almost daring me to get the Manager,

who I hate

almost as much as I hate mopping.

So I smiled at him.

I smiled and said,

'I hate mopping.'

He sat in his chair

and smiled back

and I felt good

that I hadn't called the Manager.

I kept mopping.

He finished his dessert,

came over to me,

looked at my badge,

looked straight at me,

and said, 'Goodnight, Caitlin,'

and he walked out,

slow and steady,

and so calm, so calm."

 

The story's third principal voice and pivotal character is Old Bill, an alcohol-dependent hobo with long grey hair and beard who inhabits a nearby train carriage along the string he facetiously refers to as 'The Bendarat Hilton.'

 

"Sorry..........Old Bill

 

I feel sorry

for swearing at the kid,

abusing him for bringing me breakfast,

Breakfast! Of all things.

A good kid,

living like a bum

and I knew he'd need money,

even bums need money to live.

So this morning, early,

far too bloody early for me,

I knock on his door

to return the bowl and spoon

and he opens it slowly,

invites me in,

and I tell him

about the Cannery and work.

How every Monday during the season

they offer work,

and if he needs money

that's the place to go,

and he says,

'Sure, great. Let's go.'

And because I'm still sorry

about swearing at him

I find myself

walking to the Cannery

with the kid

looking for work,

work I don't need,

or want.

Walking with the kid

early Monday morning."

 

"Every happy ending needs to have a start."

--The Moody Blues "You Can Never Go Home"

 

As we're uncovering the tales of how they got to those bad spaces in which we first meet them, Billy and Old Bill are moving inexorably forward and upward as a result of their relationship with each other. Caitlin is a genuinely likable girl whose difficulties--while not in the same league with those of Billy and Old Bill--will ring true to teen readers who desire, like she does, to be accepted for who they really are. I have great affection for THE SIMPLE GIFT's fairy tale-like sensibilities and for the story's message (that harkens back to the Sixties) about avoiding the rule breakers and rule makers and, instead, paying attention to treating people kindly. A quick and enjoyable easy-reading verse novel imported from Australia and published in paperback, THE SIMPLE GIFT is a Cheap Escape Package I can highly recommend.

 

Richie Partington

http://richiespicks.com

BudNotBuddy@aol.com