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SACRED COUNTRY
Rose Tremain
Vintage 2017, 391 pp.
First published in 1992, the novel was reissued twenty-five years later with a foreword by Peter Tatchell. Gender has been a major focus of attention in recent years, and here, Mary Ward (though born a girl) knows from the age of six that she is a boy. Her passage through childhood passes with that knowledge. The story brings out her challenges and confusion when growing-up, but also the determination and courage a person needs in later years to bring about the logical consequences. It is the more interesting that Rose Tremain gave the tale an historical setting in which prejudice abounds; we follow Mary’s life from the 1950s through to 1980, by which time she is Martin Ward. How much we have progressed since?
The location at first is a village in Suffolk, moving to London and onward to Nashville, Tennessee. Mary/Martin is not exactly surrounded by natural sympathisers. Her mother, Estelle – a well-crafted study in dreamy insouciance – seems to drift through life, not wishing to face realities, absorbed by endless TV shows. Her daughter meanwhile seeks comfort elsewhere. In this way we are introduced to a large cast (possibly too large?) of characters who influence the plot in one way or another. The author’s approach is to present the perspectives of several of these individuals, showing us scenes and dialogue within their own lives. Mary/Martin seems drawn to others who don’t quite ‘fit’ for one reason or another: the maker of cricket bats; her grandfather, Cord; and Walter, the Country singer. The village is somewhere to escape from, and as the story continues, we get the feeling that at some point Martin’s growing inner anger must show itself.
I am not really convinced by good ol’ Nashville, but Sacred Country moves at a good pace toward a satisfying conclusion. It is a story which involves much physical and emotional pain: all the pain of a new life struggling to emerge.
Ray
Feb 2020
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