Tuesday 26 November 2013

The October Child by Eleanor Spence

I read The October Child when it first came out, which meant I was only about 9 or 10. I found it pretty heavy going at the time, although I often found myself identifying with young Douglas, the responsible, sensitive and slightly anxious protagonist. 

I knew nothing about autism at the time and didn't realise that the baby in this book was autistic. Spence doesn't use the term anywhere in the book, but describes exactly the tendencies and habits of an autistic child and the impact this can have on an entire family.


This book moved me as a child but also scared me - so much so that I never reread it again - until this week.


And I can see why.


This is a powerful, emotionally charged book. The new baby wrecks havoc on this quiet family. It strains relationships, exhausts the mum, alienates one of the siblings and causes the whole family to move to the city to be near a special school exacerbating all their difficulties to breaking point. 


There is no happy, hopeful ending; but a realistic, thoughtful ending instead. 

A little bit of knowledge, a new way of seeing things and a baby step forward in understanding is all that we are left with. 
No wonder I found this so disconcerting as a child - a child also growing up in a family with a sibling with a disability.

The October Child was awarded the 1977 CBCA Book of the Year. It was shortlisted for the British Carnegie Medal. In 1999, Spence received the Australia Council for the Arts Emeritus award "for her outstanding and lifelong contribution to Australian literature." Spence was also made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2005 for her "contribution to Australian literature and her services to autism."

Eleanor Spence died in 2008. In her obituary in the SMHMaurice Saxby, the children's literature expert, wrote: "More than any other writers, Eleanor Spence and Joan Phipson have perhaps helped guide the direction of Australian children's literature in the past 30 years. They have both expressed in their novels of family life not only social changes but the concerns and preoccupations of a growingly complex Australian society."


The October Child is not an easy read, but it is a worthy and worthwhile read for mature 10+ readers who like their stories real & gritty.

3 comments:

  1. I've never read this one, but I know that a lot of Spence's work can be a bit heavy going. Sounds quite interesting ...

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  2. HI I wonder if you could tell me how many pages the book has? I got an old copy and it stops mid sentence on page 150. I think it is probably only missing a tiny bit. It's a very good book - reading it for the first time in my late 50s.

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    Replies
    1. Oh no!
      My book edition is the one pictured in the post and it has 151 pages. It sounds like your book has lost the last page!

      Delete

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