1 May 2016

Review: COMFORT ZONE, Lindsay Tanner

  • format: Kindle (Amazon)
  • File Size: 701 KB
  • Print Length: 213 pages
  • Publisher: Scribe (January 27, 2016)
  • Publication Date: January 27, 2016
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B019MH8OKE
Synopsis  (Amazon)

An astute novel about Australian racism — and about humanity prevailing over entrenched prejudice.
 Jack Van Duyn is stuck in his comfort zone. A pot-bellied, round-shouldered cabbie in his mid-fifties, Jack lives alone, has few friends, and gets very little out of life. He has a negative opinion of most other people — especially refugees, bankers, politicians, and welfare bludgers.

Jack doesn’t know it, but his life is about to be turned upside down. A minor altercation in a kids’ playground at an inner-city high-rise estate catapults Jack into a whirlpool of drug-dealing, ASIO intrigue, international piracy, and criminal violence. And he can’t escape, because he doesn’t want to: he’s fallen in love with the beautiful Somali single mum who’s at the centre of it all.

The ensuing turmoil propels Jack out of his comfort zone, forcing him to confront some unpleasant truths about himself. After decades in the doldrums, can he rise to the challenge when the heat’s on?

Drawing on his many years of experience as a politician at the centre of bitter debates about refugees and multiculturalism, Lindsay Tanner explores the emotional landscape on which these issues are played out. As we follow Jack’s hair-raising journey from crisis to crisis, a powerful plea for tolerance and understanding unfolds — directed at both sides of Australia’s great cultural divide.

My take

What this novel points out very clearly is how very rarely most of us do things outside our comfort zone. Actually our hero Jack Van Duyn wouldn't have got outside his if it hadn't been for his passenger who really dragged him into it. They intervened when some older kids were attacking some young Somali children in a playground. Jack finds himself attracted to the boy's mother and going out of his way to help her. But that lands him in a heap of trouble.

There is a comic vein to this novel but at the same time a serious look at some contemporary Australian social issues. That is where the author's knowledge and awareness stand him in good stead.

Jack finds himself hunted by ASIO who say he is consorting with a possible terrorist, as well as being potentially involved in drug running. He is very attracted to the young Somali widow and finds himself going out of his way to help her. By the end of the novel he recognises that his life has been changed.

Jack also knows some interesting "fixers" who help solve his problems. To use a common idiom, Jack isn't the sharpest knife in the box, but he is a nice man, even if he is a bit of a slob. I found his character growing and my sympathy for him expanding as the novel developed.

I am not sure the novel is really crime fiction, but maybe it is on the outer edges of the genre - crimes are certainly committed. Part of the story is about how our refugee populations bring with them problems that can't simply be solved by the act of coming to a new country.

A pretty quick and interesting read.

My rating: 4.2

About the author
Lindsay Tanner was the minister for finance and deregulation in the Rudd-Gillard governments and held the seat of Melbourne for the ALP from 1993 to 2010. Having retired from politics at the 2010 federal election, he is now special adviser to Lazard Australia, and is a vice-chancellor's fellow and adjunct professor at Victoria University. Mr Tanner is the author of several previous books, including Politics with Purpose (2012) and Sideshow (2011), also published by Scribe.

1 comment:

Terra said...

This book sounds like one I would enjoy reading. The main character and the widow he is drawn to sound interesting.

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