The Times Australia
The Times World News

.
The Times Real Estate

.

Susan Varga's Hard Joy explores the possibilities and limits of memoir

  • Written by Alice Grundy, PhD Candidate, Australian National University
Susan Varga's Hard Joy explores the possibilities and limits of memoir

Historically, memoir has been a genre for older authors, reflecting back on their lives, but in recent years there has been an increase in life writing that is tied to a set of ideas or a political agenda.

Some memoirs are reckonings, such as Kathryn Heyman’s Fury[1] and Bri Lee’s Eggshell Skull[2], both of which confront the spectre of sexual assault. Chloe Higgins’ The Girls[3] and Lech Blaine’s Car Crash[4] face the authors’ extraordinary grief. A number of writers have addressed the relationship between the medical system and women’s health, including Natalie Kon-Yu’s The Cost of Labour[5] and Sarah Sentilles’ Stranger Care[6].

These are just a handful of examples – memoir continues to be prominent in bookstores. The benefit for publishers with these books is that they afford a certain sort of publicity campaign. They work well for literary festival appearances, radio interviews and excerpts in news media.

Review: Hard Joy: Life and Writing – Susan Varga (Upswell)

Hard Joy[7] by Susan Varga is a different proposition. It is an idiosyncratic and often intimate work – likely her last, as Varga says towards the end of the book. This memoir does not situate itself as part of the current publishing trend, which is perhaps one of the reasons it has been released by the small independent publisher Upswell, whose stated aim is “making books to last: books with the potential to still be noticed, and noted, after decades”. Hard Joy is a highly personal account of some of Australia’s major cultural moments since the second world war, featuring a large cast of characters. It speaks of the importance of honest relationships and a rich life of the mind. The book opens with Varga’s journey to Sydney as a child – a move forced on her family after the war. She escaped the Nazis in Hungary with her mother and sister; her father shared the fate of millions of other Jews and did not survive the war. The journey out of Hungary and her mother’s story were the subjects of Varga’s first book, Heddy and Me[8] (1994). Her mother remarried – this is the man whom Varga calls “Dad” – and the family enjoyed a prosperous life on Sydney’s lower North Shore. Later in the book, we come to understand that their relationships were not as they may have appeared. When Varga studied at the University of Sydney in the 1960s, she joined the Sydney Push[9], an anarchic social movement that was experimenting with free love and other countercultural ideas, though in this section of Hard Joy she is less interested in the political earthquakes of the time than in her personal relationships. It was towards the end of this period that Varga married the man she calls “the Dutchman”, whom she met at a university party. He went on to become a doctor and they moved to the Netherlands while she finished her master’s thesis on Charles Dickens, then on to London and Bendigo. The marriage did not last. After a period working in Western Sydney as a community organiser and contributing to film projects, Varga went to law school and then became a barrister in her early 40s. This period roughly aligns with her de facto relationship with “Rick” when she became stepmother to his son. The painful ending of this relationship is evident in Varga’s avoidance of describing it in detail (and in her choice of pseudonym for “Rick”). Read more: How one woman's traumatic experience drove her investigation into pregnancy and mental health[10] Lifelong love The relationship that commands the most attention is between Varga and her wife, fellow writer Anne Coombs. This is where Hard Joy is most candid. The book describes the extraordinary happiness of their honeymoon in Paris and a later period of difficulty and separation. Varga writes that she had had relationships with women before meeting Anne, but she had not anticipated a lifelong partnership with a woman when she was younger. As Susan Sheridan noted in her review[11] of Hard Joy, Coombs died at the start of this year. Her passing is not mentioned in Hard Joy but the information adds to the poignancy of the tribute to their relationship. Susan Varga. Upswell Publishing The other long-term relationship that Varga started in her 40s was with writing. After Heddy and Me, she published two novels, Happy Families[12] (1999) and Headlong[13] (2009), and a book of poetry, Rupture[14] (2016). She also co-wrote a non-fiction book with Coombs titled Broometime[15] (2001). It was as an author that Varga felt herself actualised. Towards the end of Hard Joy, we learn that Varga suffered a stroke and had to relearn how to speak and write. At this point poetry became her primary mode as she was only able to compose in short fragments. Perhaps this is part of the reason for the book’s unusual typesetting: rather than indented paragraphs, as is standard in contemporary Australian books, Hard Joy has line breaks with left-justified text. This has the effect of making the paragraphs stand on their own as kinds of fragments. Another unusual element is that the book includes photos without captions – these are in a list at the end. This means we are met with faces and settings without having a clear idea of who we are seeing. Although this declutters the page, it can also feel distancing. The third element that sets this book apart from more conventional memoirs is the inclusion of Varga’s poetry throughout. On occasion, a poem will retell a scene from a different perspective or with a different emphasis. In other instances, switching modes introduces new information. The poetry offers readings that are, by turns, estranging and immediate, since it calls attention to its own form as it pares language back to its core components. Read more: How to write about broken trust in a memoir? Janine Mikosza’s Homesickness maps trauma in bold new ways[16] Inheritances Like many Australians, Varga identifies her family as “middle class; nothing special”. But the extent of her father’s property portfolio (at the end of his life, he was driven around in a car to inspect his buildings) suggests this is not quite accurate. Varga inherited enough money to establish a charity that employed two staff and to make significant donations to other organisations. An interrogation of her relationship with wealth and its attendant freedoms and complications would have been a worthwhile addition to Hard Joy. I would also have been interested to read more about Varga’s relationships with the men in her life. At the end of the book, she briefly mentions inappropriate behaviour from her (non-biological) father – behaviour that was eventually stopped by her mother. She also mentions that he assaulted one of her friends. The discussions of the gender politics of the Push and her time as a barrister are also relatively brief. Including these personages and situations without a detailed discussion meant my curiosity was piqued, but not satisfied. Throughout the book, Varga engages with the question of what it means to write a memoir, helping to set the reader’s expectations. In the first chapter, she asks: “How to pin the myriad pieces of a life together in one’s clumsy writing net?” Later, she says memoir is a “random collection of memory, a bit like a bird nest, scraps and twigs collected from obscure places of the psyche”. She addresses some of her past behaviour from a contemporary viewpoint with comments such as “no one gave it a thought” (regarding relationship swaps in the Push), or “This hadn’t occurred to me”, when she finds out, a few years into their friendship, that a friend of hers is Aboriginal. “If this was another kind of memoir,” she observes, “I would describe in more detail the political and social contexts in which I was embroiled.” Later, she remarks: “Looking back, I am opaque to myself.” These acknowledgements recognise both the shortcomings and the limits of memoir as a form. As much as the hard joys of writing have afforded Varga an opportunity to reflect on her life, she suggests there are terrains that the memoir cannot traverse and pasts that must remain distant. Our view is always, and only ever, from the perspective of the author alone, so our proximity to and distance from the past is set alongside hers. References^ Fury (kathrynheyman.com)^ Eggshell Skull (www.bri-lee.com)^ The Girls (www.panmacmillan.com.au)^ Car Crash (www.blackincbooks.com.au)^ The Cost of Labour (affirmpress.com.au)^ Stranger Care (www.sarahsentilles.com)^ Hard Joy (upswellpublishing.com)^ Heddy and Me (susanvargawriter.com)^ the Sydney Push (en.wikipedia.org)^ How one woman's traumatic experience drove her investigation into pregnancy and mental health (theconversation.com)^ review (www.australianbookreview.com.au)^ Happy Families (susanvargawriter.com)^ Headlong (susanvargawriter.com)^ Rupture (susanvargawriter.com)^ Broometime (susanvargawriter.com)^ How to write about broken trust in a memoir? Janine Mikosza’s Homesickness maps trauma in bold new ways (theconversation.com)

Read more https://theconversation.com/susan-vargas-hard-joy-explores-the-possibilities-and-limits-of-memoir-182852

The Times Features

The Benefits of Animal-Assisted Speech Therapy For Children

Speech therapy has long been a standard for supporting children’s communication and emotional development. But what happens when you introduce a furry friend into the process? Th...

The Hidden Dangers of Blocked Drains and the Ultimate Solution for a Hassle-Free Home

Drain blockages are a big hassle to every homeowner and business owner alike. Whether it is a sink in the kitchen or bathroom, a clogged toilet, or a foul smell circulating aroun...

Understanding the Dangers of Ignoring a Gas Leak

Gas leaks are silent threats lurking within both homes and workplaces. A gas leak occurs when natural gas or any other gaseous substance escapes from a pipeline or containment. T...

Can You Sell Your House Privately in Queensland? Here’s How

Selling a house privately in Queensland is entirely possible and can be a cost-effective alternative to using a real estate agent. While agents provide valuable expertise, their co...

Itinerary to Maximize Your Two-Week Adventure in Vietnam and Cambodia

Two weeks may not seem like much, but it’s just the right time for travelers to explore the best of Vietnam and Cambodia. From the bustling streets of Hanoi to the magnificent te...

How to Protect Your Garden Trees from Wind Damage in Australia

In Australia's expansive landscape, garden trees hold noteworthy significance. They not only enhance the aesthetic appeal of our homes but also play an integral role in the local...

Times Magazine

CWU Assistive Tech Hub is Changing Lives: Win a Free Rollator Walker This Easter!

🌟 Mobility. Independence. Community. All in One. This Easter, the CWU Assistive Tech Hub is pleased to support the Banyule community by giving away a rollator walker. The giveaway will take place during the Macleod Village Easter Egg Hunt & Ma...

"Eternal Nurture" by Cara Barilla: A Timeless Collection of Wisdom and Healing

Renowned Sydney-born author and educator Cara Barilla has released her latest book, Eternal Nurture, a profound collection of inspirational quotes designed to support mindfulness, emotional healing, and personal growth. With a deep commitment to ...

How AI-Driven SEO Enhancements Can Improve Headless CMS Content Visibility

Whereas SEO (search engine optimization) is critical in the digital landscape for making connections to content, much of it is still done manually keyword research, metatags, final tweaks at publication requiring a human element that takes extensiv...

Crypto Expert John Fenga Reveals How Blockchain is Revolutionising Charity

One of the most persistent challenges in the charity sector is trust. Donors often wonder whether their contributions are being used effectively or if overhead costs consume a significant portion. Traditional fundraising methods can be opaque, with...

Navigating Parenting Arrangements in Australia: A Legal Guide for Parents

Understanding Parenting Arrangements in Australia. Child custody disputes are often one of the most emotionally charged aspects of separation or divorce. Parents naturally want what is best for their children, but the legal process of determining ...

Blocky Adventures: A Minecraft Movie Celebration for Your Wrist

The Minecraft movie is almost here—and it’s time to get excited! With the film set to hit theaters on April 4, 2025, fans have a brand-new reason to celebrate. To honor the upcoming blockbuster, watchfaces.co has released a special Minecraft-inspir...

LayBy Shopping