In this tender
story of lives lived and others barely begun, we see how much the young can
learn from the elderly, and vice-versa. It addresses themes of growing up,
growing old, and all that’s in between presented in Bill Condon’s unique,
natural and pure style.
Stephen and his
parents go to visit their elderly Aunty Lola in the country. Apart from two
cards a year containing ten dollars, Stephen has little knowledge about this
relative he’s never met.
Aunty Lola and Stephen don’t hit it off at
first. She scowls, constantly corrects his English, and doesn’t know what
diplomacy means. But as he gets to know her, he finds that she’s not so bad,
she simply expresses herself in a different way.
Aunty Lola opens
up her box of life to Stephen whom she quickly grows to love. She reveals secrets about painful experiences,
and they both learn that life is full of simple things to share while creating
memories to treasure a lifetime.
The young,
innocent narrative voice of Stephen is as smooth as flowing chocolate and
equally as tasteful. Bill Condon’s extraordinary ability to create convincing
characters and capture their thoughts and speech perfectly is at work again
within this well-crafted storyline.
Reviewed by
Anastasia Gonis
Title: The
Simple Things
Author: Bill Condon
Illustrator: Beth Norling
Publisher: Allen & Unwin PB RRP
$12.99
Publication Date: Feb 2014
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781743317242
Type: Children’s Fiction
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