Author: TravellinPenguin

(Note:  I know photos aren’t loading. Problem with site. I will look at it when I get home.)

When my friend and I visit Sydney,  book shop visits are always on the agenda.  Theatre and book shops.  Monday night we saw the wonderfully brilliant play Muriel’s Wedding. The ticket price was worth the admission price just to see the costumes, stage set and choreography not to mention the story.

The next night saw us at the Belvoir Theatre in Surrey Hills at the play Atlantis. Atlantis is the journey through life of an American woman who needs to be loved and just can’t quite get it together. The play is surreal, funny, sad and very quirky. We enjoyed it.

Wednesday had us play free so we spent the day breakfasting at Darling Harbour, book shopping on Glebe Point Road home of Sapho second hand books and the wonderful indie bookshop of Glee.  We had brought the light rail from Darling Harbour to Glebe. Then onto Annandale by rail where my friend’s son’s family lives for a bit of afternoon tea and rest.

This morning dawned a bit later than usual. Walking around in Sydney’s heat (though Hobart is hotter this week) and up some steep Annandale hills had lights out last night to a couple of giggling by 9:00 pm. We just can’t do what we used to.

We went into the Queen Vic building this morning for breakfast then caught the bus to Bondi Beach. Bondi always has beautiful views of very rich homes and gorgeous blue water. I never tire of the view. Better still we found Gertrude and Alice’s bookshop and spent quite a bit of time there.

A bus ride back to the city for three hours of packing to go home this weekend and some air-conditioned relaxation after a big lunch.  We see the play Three Sister’s tonight at the Sydney Opera House by Chekhov. It begins at 8:00 pm and runs for three hours, including intermission so we need to rest up. I am looking forward to this Russian drama. We both have a good idea of the story and it should be interesting.  Just being in the Opera House on Sydney Harbour is enough for me. It is one of my favourite buildings in the world.

Tomorrow we head for our respective homes to collapse and rest up. Though my plane arrives in Hobart at 4:00 pm and I have to be at the Theatre Royal in Hobart by 8:00 pm to see Sleeping Booty, the pants send up of Tasmanian politicians and life in general.

A weekend collapse is then in the plan and lots of welcomes from over-worked Mr. Penguin and some very happy dogs.

The Penguin and I are going to hit the road, or better still air space, to get off this island for a week. A good friend and I have a tradition of a week in Sydney each year to give their theatre circuit a workout. We have three performances to attend. Not bad for a full five day visit.

I see the Spin Book has been selected by the Classics Club blog and it is number four which is:

I will pop my little Penguin classic into my bag and read it on the way up. More on that later. The book that has been picked is an essay from a writer I have no knowledge of so I will be doing a bit of research before doing the post once I read it and return home.

I might get some Sydney pics up for you as my camera is packed in my carry on and I will see what we dig up. We always visit bookshops, the beautiful fountain pen shop on the third floor of the Queen Vic building and want to explore the Tram Sheds area. Evidently home of the trams that were previously all over Sydney in the past, they are now shops and restaurants. As anything trendy, no doubt pricey but hopefully some of the history remains that might present some photo ops.

And of course there is always The Museum of Contempoary Art and roof top cafe overlooking the beautiful harbour.

So don’t go too far away as I’ll be back with more who knows what. Looking forward to it.

Once again I find a book that is hyped up sensationally by a publisher in order to get sales only to find, in this case, it is much, much  more. The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein is another example.

Peter is a young boy raised in a very poor, abusive family in Melbourne.  He was adopted and when other natural siblings came to the fore his life took a nosedive for the rest of his childhood. It wasn’t that good to begin with but the abuse he suffered from his parents, especially his alcoholic father was shocking.

As Peter grew older he really struggled with his gender identity. This young boy sought support from other family members, his school, his neighbours, and the nuns who lived nearby in a convent. None was forthcoming.

He eventually married Linda and had two sons. The story still has a very long way to go.

The book then discusses the ever growing feelings he struggled with as he eventually dealt with becoming a woman.  The story continues through the days related to his gender reassignment surgery, his downfall with drugs and alcohol. Society’s non acceptance of everything about him especially in 1960’s and 70’s Melbourne.

But Peter, now Sandra, is like a phoenix.  I think the revealing of how she came to overcome every situation thrown at her, and believe me it is not pretty, is very much a credit to this beautiful, compassionate person.

Sandra has a series of relationships and jobs and we delve into every one of them. Yes, the book does open when she is in the last half of her life and her job is as a trauma cleaner.  People who die, hoard, get murdered are all of her clients. This side of the book is also quite a psychological study of their  lives too.

The chapters swing back and forth from Peter’s life and then to Sandra’s life and as one life is told from now to then and the other comes up to meet it from childhood the reader really feels like they know this beautiful human.

The compassion Sandra has for the underdogs in her life is remarkable. Especially considering how terribly abused she was by every aspect of society.  I was amazed at the story of this one human being and how she kept getting up again and again and continually moved forward.

I didn’t think the story was at all sensational though her life probably would seem so to many readers. I also think many people could struggle with reading this book as it isn’t pretty. There is violence, filth, psychological disorder, rape- yes- everything that is ugly in the world. But there is more resilience, compassion, truth and honesty about Sandra and the life she endured.  The reader also becomes aware of the scars Sandra has and how she comes to terms with everything as she approaches an older age and continues to look for more comfort than what she has known.

The bureaucracy she dealt with over the years as a gay- transgender- married person, both as a man then as a woman highlights even more why all Australians need equal rights under the law no matter who they are.  As usual there is quite a lot of very inept bureaucracy in this country regarding the rights of children, marriage, lifestyle and relationships.

I would say to the Text Publishing company that I think you did a disservice to this author and Sandra in sensationalising the cover of this book. It is not about the gruesomeness of the  job she did. It is not about cleaning blood splattered walls of those who have met their end in violence.

It is much, much more.  Her story is so different to what we regularly read and struggle with in our own minds.  It teaches us to understand how a life such as this can not only survive, but succeed. Sandra not only contributes to society in such completeness but does so with a compassion many of us could only hope to achieve in our  own lifetimes.

I think it is an important book and I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Peter and later on,  Sandra.

(The author spent three years working with Sandra and learning about various aspects of the law and stories related to transgender people in our society. There is a bibliography of resources at the end as well as acknowledgements of thanks)