In true Tony Birch style, DARK AS LAST NIGHT (UQP 2021) explores themes of (toxic) masculinity, class (particularly the working class), poverty, violence and race. This collection of short stories especially focuses on semi-autobiographical stories in honour of Birch’s brother Wayne, who died a few years ago, and the grief, loss and unending sorrow of his leaving. Through these stories, Tony Birch explores guilt, love, memory, loyalty, responsibility, family, sibling bonds and the wider cultural and community engagement as he depicts the enormous grief associated with his brother’s passing.
Many of the stories in this collection have been published previously in literary journals, newspapers or anthologies.
The titular story Dark As Last Night is written from the perspective of a young girl with an abusive father and a heavily pregnant mother. It’s an unsettling story that engenders increasing fear for the child but delivers a shocking and satisfying ending.
The tale After Life describes the cleaning out of a house after someone (the narrator’s younger brother) has died – the personal touches, the memories, the banal up against the sacred. This story teaches us what can be gained by loss (or despite loss).
Bobby Moses is an unforgettable character in search of his lost childhood. Bicycle Thieves is a delicious tale of revenge, boyhood bravado and brotherly loyalty. Probate tackles the unenviable and complex grief that accompanies the loss of someone you did not love or did not respect or care for. The sting in the tale is the highly humorous ending. Starman explores adolescent angst. The Blood Bank: A Love Story explores caution versus being carefree, social distancing and human interaction.
The Death of Michael McGuire: Dead Man Walking gives the reader heightened anticipation and terror. We know something bad is going to happen because bad men have wronged other bad men. But the ending is unexpected, prosaic, surprising and genuinely uplifting in a strange way, with a poignant twist. The Manger explores the dark secrets the Catholic church has visited on children – nothing too explicit but it certainly leaves you thinking. The story Together is about caring for someone intimately, especially an older person, and bearing witness to their death. It chronicles the strength of some who withholds their grieving so that others may express theirs. (I found this story of death and its aftermath particularly resonant.)
The Librarian is a love story to librarians everywhere and all they offer and give. The story Animal Welfare is disturbing, a thriller, almost horror writing. Other topics in other stories cover topics such as flight, dementia, the joy of kites and the relationships between young and old.
Without Sin features an unforgettable character in Jonah Webb, a 40-year-old man-child who learns a valuable lesson about how to be a man in the world. It touches on friendship, bullying and offers an ultimately delicious revenge. Lemonade directly references Birch’s guilt over his brother, the kindness of a stranger and really plumbs the depths of emotion and sadness. Riding Trains with Thelma Plum is a covid pandemic story about race, music, joy, fearlessness, hate, prejudice and community.
Overall, this is a stunning collection with memorable and endearing characterisation introduced in short, sharp stories that hold the world in only a few pages. Tony Birch’s writing is always easily recognisable as very Tony Birch, yet it is also surprising, challenging, thought-provoking, humorous, wicked, just and searching. I never tire of reading him.