Review Laurinda by Alice Pung

LaurindaLaurinda by Alice Pung
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Laurinda is familiar territory for Alice Pung. After writing and editing memoirs of what it is like growing up in Australia coming from an Asian refugee background, she returns in this fictionalisation of a teen’s experiences as a scholarship girl at a posh Melbourne girls’ school. At first, even though it is a well-written book, I found myself thinking maybe she should move on. However, the story develops into a study of the dynamics of the girls’ relationships quite insightfully and handles bullying without descending into wallowing in graphic bully incidents which feature increasingly in ya fiction. The device of supposedly writing the novel as letters or a diary addressed to her past self is awkward and the worst part of the book. There is also a confusing ideology informing the writer’s attitude towards education which sees the main character see a private school as the only way to succeed and become a professional but at the end of the book question how the hothoused students will succeed at university compared to students from state schools and Catholic schools.

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