You could even say it was the book written for her, and it was one she never stopped reading. Finishing Ulysses only led to the more daunting Finnegans Wake but, in a sense, this was the book she was always destined to read. Gabrielle revisited Ireland several times and when in her 40s commenced reading Joyce’s most famous work, Ulysses, her relationship with that country became richer and deeper. Discovering that her father’s family were originally Irish therefore made sense to her. She had first travelled to Ireland in the 1980s where she instinctively felt at home among Irish culture and society, among pub singing, storytelling and poetry, among the whole craic. Nevertheless, as an author, I could always understand her desire to be remembered for her subsequent books rather than that first youthful one.įor the last 20-plus years it was another literary connection, this time with James Joyce, that dominated Gabrielle’s life and, upon reflection, made complete sense. There would never be any escaping Puberty Blues, and nor should there be. It is now a classic of teenage fiction – it was the first Australian novel written by teenagers for teenagers – and has been rediscovered by subsequent generations, and adapted to film and television. It established both authors’ reputations forever but for Gabrielle it was only the start of her career as a writer, not the yardstick against which all else should be measured. The author’s writing demonstrated a commitment to truth, no matter how painful.
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