Customer Reviews

The Spare Room

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You have got to read this book. The writing is exquisite and so economical - not a word is wasted.

"The Spare Room" is a short and deceptively simple novel about a woman (Helen) whose friend (Nicola) comes to stay with her for 3 weeks. Nicola is in the final stages of terminal cancer and is pursuing alternative treatments in the hope of finding a cure. Helen welcomes her friend and intends to be supportive and nurturing, but conflict rears as she feels increasingly uncomfortable with the treatments that Nicola is enduring and the toll that they are taking on her. Nicola is clinging to hope and desperate to avoid self pity, so rejects nurturing. While this is fiction, it reads with all the truth and realism of non-fiction - this is increased by the many similarities between the narrator, Helen, and the real life author, Helen Garner.

The synopsis sounds like this will be a depressing book (and it is sad, but in the best way). However, it is beautifully written, simply and precisely. It doesn't talk down to the reader with lengthy explanations or back stories, but instead lets the history between the characters emerge naturally. You are able to feel sympathy and understanding for both of the main characters. It is a fine piece of writing and one of the best books that I have read this year.

In the Spare Room, Helen Garner takes on death and wins. Nicola is a cancer patient who is staying in the spare room of her Melbourne based friend, Helen, for three weeks whilst she receives treatment. Helen narrates the novel, and using the same name as the author, one wonders whether there mightn't be some autobiography thrown in - or perhaps this is a double bluff.

It quickly appears that Nicola is not resigned to her fate, and intends to battle the cancer by any means at her disposal. She is willing to take on any treatment, no matter how painful, no matter how questionable, no matter what the cost to herself or those around her - so long as it gives her hope. Whilst she appears to make light of her own predicament, underneath the stoicism she is a deeply selfish woman who just assumes that her friends and family will drop everything to support her. The strain on Helen is immense, with constant taxiing, laundry, cooking, fussing. And Nicola gives little impression of even understanding the impact she has on those around her. At one point, she chastises Helen - with an ironical eyebrow - for not writing a theatrical review (Helen is a journalist) because people would say that Nicola was preventing Helen from working.

This raises real issues around death and palliative care. Nicola refuses palliative care because she refuses to accept a terminal diagnosis. That's her right - even if it might seem misguided. Nicola has a right to clutch at straws - even when everyone else can see the futility of it. But how far does Nicola have a right to impose on others in her pursuit of cure? At what point can her friends and family, who do love her, say enough's enough?

The portrayal of the two central characters is exquisite. Helen's mixed bag of emotions: grief, frustration, guilt, anger, kindness, patience all bounce off one another. It is a feat to have created such a maelstrom in so few words. It would have been so easy to drop into a sarcastic or unreliable narrator, but Garner takes on the bigger challenge of creating a complex but straight narrator. There is no hint that her actions are anything but well meant and sincere. Meanwhile, Nicola's attention seeking, selfish behaviour becomes ever more frustrating just through constantly adding to the pile. It's not that Nicola does anything worse, just that the impact of her behaviour mounts up for both Helen and the reader. Of course, Nicola does really suffer, and has every right to complain, but she does appear to milk the situation. The writing was on the wall, perhaps, early on when Nicola banished Bessie, the small child living next door, because Bessie had a cold and Nicola's immune system was weakened. As though it would matter if Nicola dies of a cold when she was already dying of cancer.

Helen Garner also makes the reader ask real questions about attitude to dying. Most of us will have a conversation with a doctor one day when the doctor will tell us that we'll die soon. Few people imagine what that must feel like and how we might react. Most of us looking with dispassion would hope we ask to be made as comfortable as possible in our last days, weeks, months or however long. Most of us will hope we don't make fighting death a full time obsession, but accept it with grace and dignity. Yet in The Spare Room, dying is the elephant in the room that nobody dares mention. All around Nicola, the characters act out roles to suit Nicola's wish of how the world might be - and seethe ad gnash teeth in private. That is probably a very real, true portrayal of many people's experiences of the end of life. Hopefully, a novel like this will help more people talk about the elephant.

This is a terrific novel - small but perfectly formed - and it fully deserves to be Booker shortlisted - perhaps to win. What a shame the judges didn't even place it on the longlist.

It must be a couple of years ago now that I first learned about this book. The Book Programme had a feature where it asked authors to talk about three books they had read recently. Peter Carey was a passionate advocate for The Spare Room, and expressed the hope that it would reach a wider audience outside Australia.

Now it has and I can understand why he felt so strongly. The subject matter is difficult, and I had to read just one chapter at a time, but I am so glad that I did read The Spare Room - it is quite extraordinary.

The story opens with Helen preparing her spare room for a friend's visit. She is thoughtful, practical and a little anxious - understandably so given that her friend is gravely ill. It felt completely natural to warm to Helen and to be drawn in by her narrative.

Nicola is coming to stay because she isn't fit enough to stay in her own inaccessible house and because she has put her faith in questionable alternative treatments for her cancer that are available at a nearby clinic.

She either cannot or will not acknowledge the seriousness of her illness and she completly fails to recognise the heavy burden that her declining health, the side effects of her treatments and her cavalier attitude are having on her friend.

The author portrays the full range of Helen's emotions - grief, anger, resentment, frustration and, eventually, despair as she begins to feel that she really cannot cope - quite wonderfully. Every emotion and every incident rings true and Helen Garner writes clearly and beautifully.

The Spare Room is a powerful and deeply emotional book. It was difficult and sometimes painful to read, but I am so glad that I did.

It's nice to read a book where each word means something and nothing has been wasted. This is my first novel by Garner and it was a pleasure. I can't compare it to any of her other material as she was an unknown author for me and I was only drawn to this novel by the cover but I'm pleased I opted for it. The quality of the writing is excellent; if this is her usual standard then I need to read more of her work. I wonder if any of it echoes the author's life? I don't know the answer to this but it felt like it was written from personal experience.

I expected it to be full of woe and misery, and whilst it is emotional in places; Helen's character does actually go over all the thoughts you know you shouldn't have if you were in that situation. I can't imagine how I would feel if I was Helen, having my friend Nicola come to stay for three weeks whilst she receives treatment for her progressing cancer. The novel lives up to the quotations and blurb and explores a friendship that is about to be tested to its limits - will it flourish or will it flounder?

I liked Helen's character, it was good to see her arguing with her friend (even though she knew she shouldn't) about the treatment she was going for and whether or not it was worthwhile. It was refreshing to read about the struggles and that she desperately wanted her friend to move out because she couldn't take any more; rather than reading about how wonderful everything was. I found myself laughing at Helen's nature and how (or so it seemed) Nicola was completely oblivious, until you realise she isn't actually like this and some of it is a coping mechanism.

The length was great, had Garner gone for a lengthier novel it would have spoiled the writing and in my opinion made it a dreary read. A great novel and one I'm happy to recommend.

Helen Garner, billed as Australia`s leading woman writer, tells a poignant tale of cancer care. A woman, having been told there is no hope, comes to a town away from her home and stays with someone who does not know her terribly well. The cancer patient comes to undergo a controversial alternative cancer treatment. The story is told from the point of view of the friend who is looking after her. It is quite vividly and well written, but I did not like the attitude of the friend who is the carer. She seemed very angry inside and I found her rather irritating. However, the novel vividly recounts the huge will to live of the cancer patient. It is a moving story, not a comforting one and raises a lot of interesting points about cancer treatments, cancer sufferers and the feelings of the carers.

I must read other books by Helen Garner as this is an absolutely amazing book. Garner, seemingly effortlessly, encapsulates in this tiny text, the fear, sadness, anger and frustration of watching someone you love in denial of their own death. I shared Helen's anger at the doctors Nicola trusted and who charged her for expensive treatment and her frustration and anger with Nicola 'The one thing I was sure of, as I lay pole-axed on my bed that afternoon ... was that if I did not get Nicola out of my house tomorrow I would slide into a lime-pit of rage that would scorch the flesh off me, leaving nothing but a strew of pale bones on a landscape of sand.' This is a brutally honest text that should be read.

When Helen says that her old friend Nicola to come and stay in her spare room she has a limited idea of what she is taking on. It is not simply a friend coming to stay for a short holiday; Nicola has terminal cancer and could possibly have come to stay with Helen to die. Helen becomes more than just Nicola's friend she becomes her nurse, maid and the one who stand up to her no matter how unpopular that might prove.

This novel also tells of how it is to live with someone with cancer. Its delivered in such a real way it almost took my breath away. Having spent 3 months living with someone who was terminally ill with cancer I found it incredibly emotional to read and also incredibly truthful. There are highs as much as there are lows, you don't spend the whole time in tears, though there are lots, you laugh a lot aswell. There is a scene based on `coffee enema's' that actually made me laugh out loud. It also shows its not wrong to find these times hard.

The characters of Helen and Nicola are incredibly well written though I wanted to know more about when they had met and how their friendship had progressed which you got some clues at during the novel. Helen lives next door to her daughter and grand daughter however she is a widow and has had previous experience she is an independent strong woman like Nicola. However Nicola is in a state of denial and relying on `alternative therapy' instead of anything else and has no family to rely on. As Helen finds changing the sheets every night harder and harder she also finds Nicola's denial more taxing and their friendship is tested to the limits. How does it end? Well you will have to read this wonderful book to find out. I will say its and ending I didn't see coming, I wont give anything else away.

I looked up Helen Garner on Wikipedia as I hadn't heard of her and yet she has written a lot of books (which I will be ordering soon) prior to this. I also found she actually wrote this after having spent time with her friend with cancer, so you can see she has used her experiences of that time. Its also her writing, every single word counts. Its simple and sparse and crystal clear. I found this both one of the most impressive reads of the year undoubtedly, simply wonderful.

You will not be disappointed with this book. The other reviews go into depth about the book itself so I will not repeat them. I will just say that it is a lovely read and a one that makes you think about what you would do in the same situation. Thought provoking.

Helen's old friend Nicola is coming to stay with her for three weeks while she undergoes an alternative cancer treatment - everything is ready for her. When Nicola arrives, it's clear that she's in a really bad state and that even though she won't admit it, she hasn't that long to live. Helen has to cope on two fronts - having to be her friend's carer, and also her anger at the useless yet expensive treatment Nicola's receiving - it doesn't help at all in fact it makes her worse, and Helen is left to pick up the pieces.

This short novel is the brutally honest story of a friendship that is tested to the limit, and the straws people will cling to in the belief that it'll do them good. Told from Helen's point of view, you'll laugh, cry and get angry with her all the way through, and it gives a real glimpse of what it's like to be a carer - even if only for a short while.

First and foremost, the thing I LOVED about this book was how easy it was to read, I whipped through it in a couple of hours. As another reviewer said, not a single word was wasted. It flowed beautifully - no unnecessary jumping about from present to past, from one character to another .... it just good old story telling - brilliant.

So - terminal cancer; An incredibly tough subject matter. Aside from murder and child abuse, probably one of the toughest.

I wont dissect the story too much but suffice to say that Nicola has terminal cancer and seeks the care of friend, Helen. Nicola fails to accept that she is dying and seeks 'miracle cures' to drive out the cancer, leaving Helen to pick up the pieces.

I personally did not like Helen. She did not display anywhere near enough caring, emotional support or sympathy and seemed to constantly grumble about doing everything. Bearing in mind Nicola was only staying a couple of weeks with her, I thought Helen must really begrudge her friend the care she required.

Anyway, that said, I had to remind myself that just because I didn't like the way the book was going, didn't mean it wasn't a good book well-written. Helen Garner's tale evoked many emotions in me, pity, fear, admiration, frustration, anger.

It was certainly a page-turner.

My last point would be though that should I ever get cancer, the tale will haunt me. I seriously would NOT want anyone I knew with cancer to read this.