The Idea of Perfection

Author(s): Kate Grenville

Location(s): New South Wales

Genre(s): Fiction

Era(s): Modern

Location

Content

Set in Karakarook, (NSW, pop.1374) a fictional Australian country town with a population of 1,734, the book is about two Sydneysiders-Harley Savage and Douglas Cheeseman-finding themselves and each other.

Savage is a tall, bulky and reserved middle-aged woman. Married three times and with three adult children, she works in textiles and has been commissioned to help establish the Pioneer Heritage Museum in Karakarook. The old mining town has virtually no industry, except for a few barely surviving small local businesses. The aim is to establish the museum as a major tourist attraction in order to save the town from financial ruin.

Cheeseman is an engineer who suffers from vertigo and is therefore assigned to the most boring jobs. He is sent to Karakarook to help reconstruct the old Bent Bridge. Passionate about bridges and cement, he is middle aged, plain looking and jug-eared. Having bored his wife into leaving him, he is also divorced. The novel traces Harley and Douglas’ transformation from awkward and emotionally stunted individuals into a couple comfortable with their imperfections.
wsws.org

Review this Book