Kristy Murray, Payal Dhar, Anita Roy (editors), Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean, Allen & Unwin, January 2015, $16.99 (pbk), 240pp., ISBN 9781743319789
This collection of short stories and graphic artwork came out of a collaboration between Australian and Indian writers and artists seeking to explore issues of gender, culture and connection (between men and women, the past and the present, and the environment and future populations). The editors urged their contributors to ‘be bold’ and certainly, this is an interesting and innovative collection of speculative fiction.
The graphic collaborations stood out for me as the most interesting pieces, many adapting folklore of female Indian legends and one witty adaption by Nicki Greenberg of Ophelia’s story from Hamlet. Other strong pieces were by Margo Lanagan, exploring cat calls from older men at girls walking to a village school, and a futuristic adaptation of the Red Riding Hood story from Justine Larbalestier. I loved the idea of this collaborative project however, I think stretching the theme to speculative fiction detracted slightly from the aim of examining feminist cultures in India and Australia. Nonetheless, this should appeal widely to teachers and junior secondary readers through its originality alone. Notes for Teachers are available on the Allen & Unwin website.
reviewed by Angie Holst
