Matt Nable, as well as being an Australian author of three books, is a film and television actor, sports commentator and former professional rugby league footballer.
In Still, which is set in summer Darwin in the Northern Territory in the early 1960’s, Nable nails the time and place. It is so hot, humid and still it is hard to breathe but, along with the added whiff from the town garbage dump, we smell the scent of jasmine that is in the air.
This novel is built on the hard men of Darwin, men whom racism is entrenched in their view of the world and corruption is casual and expected. It is shocking but also real. We also meet the women, who are silent, wishing their lives were different and wondering is there anything more than making that apple pie for the brutish husband and watching him then leave for the pub. And we also meet the Indigenous people, violently oppressed, resilient and protective of their own.
Still begins with the brutal murder of a man in the bush and the violence in this story is brutal, ever present and often you feel that violence is threatened, just out of sight of the scene described. We meet Charlotte, the 23 year old wife who regrets her marriage, and Ned the policeman who wants to get to the truth of the murder and it is their experiences that drive the story forward. But do not hold out for a page turner with this story as the action is deliciously slow.
Each character has a back story which Nable insists on sharing with us. And when you challenge corruption that is endemic in the politics and the police in that place and that time, the answers come slowly and if you want justice, that comes slower still.
Ned loves a beer, as does everyone in the Territory and Nable gives us some wonderful scenes of how alcohol soothes the way, oils the violence, and quenches a hot thirst. Ned also has a family and young baby to consider when he goes up against the corrupt order and whether he will put them in harm’s way. He does participate in a great wrong and then has to come to terms with what he has to do to right it.
It would not be a story about the Northern Territory without a crocodile and I love that the one in this story is called Marilyn! This is an Australian story, with deeply Australian experiences around heat, beer, harmful masculinity and racism but it is also a story of Australians standing up, surviving, and coming together to treat each other humanely. Totally recommended read.
Still begins with the brutal murder of a man in the bush and the violence in this story is brutal, ever present and often you feel that violence is threatened, just out of sight of the scene described
- Jane Cowell