” Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he declared aloud as if the rat-tat-tat of fuck-fuck-fuck covered all and every confusion.
Utterance poetic and profane, the poetic taking precedence as Gail Jones’ new novel, THE NAME OF THE SISTER proceeds in impressive prose and plot.
The profanity was an involuntary ejaculation from a seasoned country roads driver whose headlights had beamed in on a wavering, wraith like figure in a ragged dress, her feet bloody, “a set of human angles and skinny as a new lamb, as he stamped his brake in panic, coming to a skidding halt – too close, too close – how his heart had hammered.”
This person seemingly appears out of nowhere, but as the narrative of THE NAME OF THE SISTER asserts, her appearance is a result of a disappearance, a person who has been missing, now dramatically found. Emaciated. Emancipated. But from what?
The mystery of this person’s identity whets freelance journalist Angie’s appetite and so begins an investigation that brings forth a number of people laying claim and name to the person, named by police as Jane Doe.
Angie has always had an interest in Egyptology, and her digging and sifting in her endeavour to unearth the mystery of the woman takes on an archaeological aspect.
Her obsession is dismissed by her husband, Sam, – “Asperity, thy name is Sam”- a spouse unsupportive of her career choice and emotionally distanced in their marriage.
Angie brings archaeological allusion to the acknowledgement of her moribund marriage citing the lacrimarium; a glass vial in which, in ancient Rome, tears were preserved – catching the physical evidence of inadmissible feeling.
From Glebe to Broken Hill – both locations brilliantly evoked- Angie and her bestie from childhood, Bev, a detective, delve deep into the re-appearance with the unlikely yet serendipitous help of Tezza, jack of all tradies, whose headlights had dazzled Jane Doe and started the whole ball rolling.
Jane is finally identified and reunited with family but the narrative doesn’t end there, building on other disappearances and the tenacity of Angie and Bev, to a shocking climax.
Literary and popular culture allusions abound in THE NAME OF THE SISTER, from The Pilgrim’s Progress to Wake in Fright to Mad Max and a nod to Slaughterhouse Five.
There are also musical cues, especially featuring Miles Davis, including his score for Ascenseur Pour L‘échafaud and Sssh/peaceful from In A Silent Way.
A thinking persons crime thriller, THE NAME OF THE SISTER shows just how well Gail Jones exacts her craft. There’s an authority and empathy, an intuitive, gut level ability of presenting psychological conflict within an investigative narrative. And all told within an economic, elegant and eloquent style. An absolute pleasure to read.
THE NAME OF THE SISTER by Gail Jones is published by Text Publishing.
