Delia Bennet has terminal cancer and is contemplating how to prepare herself and her young family for her inevitable demise. One might think that a novel about the impending premature death of a wife and mother sounds depressing, yet Adelaide presents Delia’s story with humour and hope-sprinkling in letters from Delia’s household advice column and presenting wry observations of domestic life. The narrative reveals resolution to a mystery in Delia’s past; a passion for how she spends her ‘present’ and a poignant reconciliation with her inevitable future. Written with warmth and wit, the book celebrates the sensuality and delight of life’s ordinary moments and affirms the preciousness of life even in the face of death. Having ‘read’ the book in both media, I can attest to the somewhat different journey of enjoying The Household Guide... as an auditory experience-with someone else’s voice bringing the protagonists to life, rather than drawing on the reader’s own inner-voices. Actress Heather Bolton ably demonstrates her thespian experience and command with her interpretation of each character and her easy-listening narrative voice. If one has an eyesight problem or a long drive ahead in the car, Bolton’s 11 hours of literary, auditory companionship is a most welcome option.

Scott Whitmont is owner of Lindfield Bookshop and Lindfield Children’s Bookshop

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

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