roseghetto

Roseghetto

Reviewed by J. F. Nodar - June 21, 2023

‘Roseghetto’ by Ms Kristy Jagger is a story of a child and her mother living in a government housing unit and the many adversities they have to content with in their lives.

Written in a clear and well present manner, Ms Jagger sheds light on the harrowing reality of Australia’s economic challenges back in the 1980s-90s in Western Sydney.

The main protagonist is Shayla who is on a newspaper assignment. She returns to where it all started, Westminster Way, after 16 years. On arrival, she finds everything she knew in ruins, everything on the way to a final demolition via the hands of modern development.

Seeing this Shayla’s memory is flooded with the remnants of the locals, their homes, her friends and most importantly their eradicated stories.

Ms Jagger’s presents the reader with the life of the protagonist from her youth as she witnesses extreme poverty and endures domestic violence. How the environment affected and shaped her and how she was taught to keep secrets. The main force in Shayla’s life is her mother, Lauren, a woman stuck in a lethal love affair.

To escape this life Shayla reaches to her book collection where literature is her solace.

Reading this novel exposed many truths of Australian society with its poverty and brutal domestic violence but at the same time it shows how the simple task of reading succeeds as a means to escape and empowerment.

This novel is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the complexities of Australian society beyond the glossy tourist brochures.

A great read and I highly recommend it.

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