E S Higgins’ debut novel YOUTH is an extraordinary book about making life choices, at any stage of life, and the consequences of getting those wrong and, even knowing they’re wrong, sticking to them anyway.
It should be on the High School reading list to illustrate what being a dickhead, at any age looks like, what unconditional love involves and what beautiful writing is. With Father’s Day around the corner it’s a great gift to provide a useful catalyst for shared conversations about what it means to be a man.
E S Higgins is an old soul hiding in a young man’s body. You may know him for his poetry and years spent at Manly Markets creating poems on demand on his tiny typewriter. He’s also published small books of poetry, short stories and a novella, Praise Be, all of which I adored.
I read YOUTH very slowly because the writing covers many terrains and moves swiftly from thoughtful reflections on life and evocative descriptions of land and seascape, to confronting and often aggressive interactions mostly between teenagers, older men and parents. It packs so many punches – some of them sneak up on you and don’t hurt much, others knock the breath out of you and make you pause and think about what you just read.
It’s a story about three teenagers, Ratty, Jenno and Jimmy growing up near the surf. It’s a coming-of-age story of sorts; multi-layered with lots of characters. There’s conflict, confusion, grief, loyalty, bravado, addiction, love, friendship and a deep respect for the ocean.
Ratty’s bravado sees him die by page 10 and the repercussions of his death are felt throughout the story. Jimmy’s family situation is wealthy and fraught. Jenno’s father is a barely functioning alcoholic and he’s an unreliable and frustratingly hopeless father who remains deeply loved by his mother and by Jenno who loves him in that devoted way Shuggie Bain loved his equally alcoholic and hopeless mother as portrayed in Douglas Stewart’s Booker Prize winning novel. It’s Jenno’s determined love and extraordinary understanding of his father’s behaviour and its causes that, to me, elevate this book to a realm of its own.
Intertwined with the tough story are vivid descriptions of what it feels like to experience the ocean as a surfer. I particularly loved this extract from the book’s prologue, “There’s freedom in the ocean. There’s light, and dark. There’s a great stillness too, but one that contradicts itself in its perpetual motion. It’s where the sun rises and where it falls, depending on where you’re looking from. It’s where life started and, ultimately, where it ends. It’s in this push and pull that the universe finds balance, and we are all somehow, by some miracle, standing at the edge of it all.”
Congratulation to E S Higgins for writing this important book. Keep writing.
Where to buy
Shop local. Harry Hartog at the Mall, Berkelouw Books Balgowlah, Desire Books Manly and Bookoccino Avalon are big supporters of YOUTH so reward them by buying your copy there. Or head straight to the Poemboii website to buy here.
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