Blog - Leigh Cunningham

A Sense of Belonging

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -1000

We've just returned from a week sailing the Whitsundays—a truly beautiful place. This was our fourth visit to the region, and we'll never tire of it, I'm sure.

However, having spent the past six years living in Singapore, I had a sense that I was in a foreign world while mingling with our fellow Australians. This left me wondering about 'belonging' to wherever you live, and this obviously plays a part in whether one is happy with their life in their country or town of residence.

Living in Singapore has spoiled me—I now expect perfection wherever I go eg clean, tidy, green public places, and I have to say the state of the carpet at the Brisbane domestic airport, especially when compared to the terminals in Singapore, was rather shocking, as was the state of rubbish bins. I know how ridiculous this sounds, but in Singapore, even the bins are spotlessly clean!

After a week away, I stepped through the doors at Changi Airport and was hit by the familiar blast of warm, humid air that smells distinctively of Asia and the tropics, and it was like calming a baby with a pacifier.

I love greenery, and I'm a bit of a neat freak, so Singapore really is perfect for me. I also love that the shops are always open so there is a sense that I can have whatever I want whenever I want it. If I should return to Australia one day, anxiety will no doubt set in at 6pm when the shops close their doors. It's not that I'm an obsessive shopper, or even a regular shopper—it's just that I like knowing that everything is accessible at any time.

But it's also about life 'happening'—you can go down Orchard Road late at night and be greeted with masses of people out strolling, shopping and/or eating. A walk down the Pitt Street mall in Sydney or Queen Street mall in Brisbane after 6pm is an entirely different story, and perhaps not something one would contemplate for safety reasons.

Having said that, my brother and his family and all the in-laws are perfectly happy living in our hometown of Rockhampton, and my mother absolutely loves living in Brisbane. So, what's important therefore, is not where you were born, or even where you live, but where you feel you belong. Hopefully, the latter two are one and the same.

What about you? Have you found 'that' place and is this where you live?

Regards
Leigh

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Colloquialisms

Mon, 31 May 2010 00:00:00 -1000

As some of you may know, I am originally from a regional town in Central Queensland, Australia (population 60,000+). I moved to Melbourne in 1994 and it was only then that I realized there were some notable differences in dialogue between Australians from the north and those from the south, not to mention certain other quirks.

For example, Queenslanders tend to use "eh?" at the end of sentences. To my colleagues in Melbourne, this was amusing, and probably annoying as well, so a penalty jar was introduced to which, I had to contribute $1 per offence. I no longer say "eh" except, curiously, whenever I return to my hometown.

In Queensland, your swimsuit or bathers are called "togs" which is one term I still use. Your suitcase is a "port", and the evening meal is "tea" whereas in the south and most everywhere else, it is "dinner".

The evening meal is also taken at different times—in Queensland, it is usually around 6:00pm whereas in Melbourne it is 8:00pm. When we first arrived in Melbourne, and were living in an apartment in the city, we would venture out around 6:00pm to find a place to eat. We could not understand why many restaurants were not open, and if they were, it was very quiet and easy to get a table since it was just us and some elderly people. This reminds me of the Seinfeld episode, The Cadillac Part II, when Jerry visits his parents in Florida to present his father with a brand new Cadillac. His parents are getting ready to go for dinner at 4:30pm for the $4.95 early-bird special. I love the scene, so I'm inserting it below. And now, whenever we return to Queensland and have "tea" at 6:00pm, we feel much the same as Jerry does in this scene.

One difference I've noted between states in the USA is the word for a carbonated drink, which in Australia is called a "softdrink". In the Upper Midwest and in Canada, it is called "pop", while in other areas, notably the Northeast and west, it is referred to as "soda". In the Southern states, it is called "Coke" regardless of the brand.

There are a couple of words used freely in the USA, which have entirely different connotations in Australia. I'll say no more.

What other dialogue differences are there within your country or between countries?

Regards
Leigh

EXTRACT FROM THE CADILLAC PART II

Morty (Jerry's father) is fastening a jacket as he enters.
MORTY: Alright, are you ready to eat?
HELEN (Jerry's mother): (glancing at her watch) Oh, right, let's go. Jerry, let's go, it's time to eat. We're going to dinner.
Jerry wanders into the room. He's in a t-shirt and sweatpants, and holding a comic book he's been reading.
JERRY: (confused) Dinner? W..What time is it?
HELEN: (pulling on a coat) It's four-thirty.
JERRY: (bewildered) Four-thirty? Who eats dinner at four-thirty?
MORTY: By the time we sit down, it'll be quarter to five.
JERRY: I don't understand why we have to eat now.
HELEN: We gotta catch the early-bird. It's only between four-thirty and six.
MORTY: Yeah. They give you a tenderloin, a salad and a baked potato, for four-ninety-five. You know what that cost you after six?
JERRY: Can't we eat at a decent hour? I'll treat, okay?
HELEN: You're not buying us dinner.
JERRY: (emphatic) I'm not force-feeding myself a steak at four-thirty to save a coupla bucks, I'll tell you that!
HELEN: Alright, (sitting on the couch) we'll wait. (pointedly) But it's unheard of.
Jerry shakes his head, incredulous, and wanders away with his comic book.

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To age or not to age

Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 -1000

I'm 47. My husband turns 50 in September, but this is not a topic for discussion. For his 50th birthday, he would like to travel to a quiet island in the tropics and lament. It seems that while he transitioned like a gentle breeze at 30 and 40, 50 is another matter entirely. I, on the other hand, struggled more with 30 and nothing else subsequently has been a bother, not even the thought of having a big 5 in my age, or 6.

At 29, I probably saw turning 30 as a threat, whereas now, aging is a challenge and I refuse to surrender even though it appears to get more difficult with each passing decade. This brings me to the old adage about aging gracefully. In my twenties (1980s), it clearly meant to age without resorting to a face-lift. I recall a discussion on this one morning tea at our law firm. One of the secretaries proudly declared that she would "age gracefully", and mocked those who suggested they would consider plastic surgery at the appropriate time. However, she, "Alice", was also the one who could not wait to get married so that she no longer had to worry about keeping trim. I therefore concluded that "aging gracefully" was an excuse to let oneself go, rather than an unwillingness to resort to plastic surgery. I declared then that I would age disgracefully. This does not mean that I would consider plastic surgery—Jocelyne Wildenstein cured me of that.

Ironically, the adage "to age gracefully" seems to have adapted over the decades, and now seems to mean to age with acceptance, a positive spirit, and a will to live a full life. It's about anticipating the changes that are inevitable at some age (different for everyone depending on how you spent the earlier decades it seems), and using that well-earned wisdom, resilience and maturity to deal with it in a positive way. If this is what aging gracefully has come to mean, then I'm on the bandwagon. In contrast, aging disgracefully, given the changing social conditions over the decades, now seems to mean drastic plastic surgery and/or refusing to accept that one should no longer wear a leopard print body suit and hang out at clubs for the twenty somethings.

What about you? How do you feel about your older self? What's graceful and disgraceful aging according to you?

Regards
Leigh

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Book Launch, 26 March 2010

Sun, 28 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -1000

The book launch for The Glass Table and the sequel, Shards was held Friday night at The Arts House, Singapore. It was a great night that finished early Saturday morning. Most importantly for me, was the gathering of friends and the opportunity to say thanks to those who have helped and supported me in the journey to the publication of my first two books. I'd like to mention them again here.

First, thanks go to the wonderful people at Times bookstores: Lynnette Lee, Kenneth Wong, Kaizer Low, and Wicky Chan, and not just for their support being the exclusive seller of my books in Singapore but also for being such nice people to work with. It's also great to see local bookstores supporting local authors.

I would like to thank Shiuan Ling Phua, Dawn Lim, and Ming Yen Phan from the Arts House in Singapore. I had an opportunity to be involved with the Singapore Writers Festival last year. It was a world-class event, well organized, and it was great to be a part of it. I particularly want to thank Shiuan Ling for her assistance with planning for the book launch, for stocking my books, and handling sales on the night.

And to the most important person in my life who made all of this possible, my benefactor and husband, Steve.

My first close encounter with Steve was when I was 18 years old. I was sitting on a log at McLeod Park in our hometown, Rockhampton Australia, when I looked up at the entrance to see him walking down the avenue-like path toward me. People were stopping him along the way to pat him on the back and congratulate him on his brilliant game the night before (he was the goalkeeper for our regional home team). I had been on my feet in a standing ovation along with everyone else after Steve made a spectacular save that gave our team an unexpected victory in what was at that time, the highest level of soccer played in Australia. As he passed me by without a second glance (or first glance), I remember looking up from my log and thinking, "Wow, that's Steve Cunningham", not contemplating for a second that it was also my future husband. And after 29 years together, I can honestly say that I still look up at him, still in awe of the man that he is. There is no doubt that being married to Steve has made me a better person. As a young girl, when I dreamed of my future husband, as vivid as my imagination was then, it could not have ventured into the realms of wishing for someone like Steve, so I can only conclude that I must have been a saint in a previous life and this is my reward. What I love most about being married to Steve is how much fun we have, and that we can always find something to laugh about even in the direst situations. Those times, remote as they are, remind me that so long as I have Steve in my life, nothing else matters.

Steve did suggest that I be sure to mention in my speech that the inspiration for The Glass Table and Shards came from a dream he had while we were sailing in the Whitsundays a few years ago, but I wasn't about to do that since his dream lasted two seconds and these books took me a lot longer than that to write.

And a big thank you to our friends who were with us on the night (Toni & Will, George & Jason, Rosie & Geoff) and to those who could not make it eg my good friend and fellow author, Kev C Webb.

See photos of the launch - not many I'm afraid. Note to self to engage professional photographer should there be a next time, although if Shiuan Ling has her way, this is already on the agenda. Noticeably absent are photos of me with Steve.

Regards
Leigh

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Pedestrian Etiquette

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -1000

I love living in Singapore, as everyone knows, and have practically nothing to complain about, except for one major gripe—pedestrian etiquette. Since I do not have a car (I don't need one plus they are horrendously expensive here), this affects me every day. There is no pedestrian etiquette in Singapore, as there is in Australia, and in case you are not familiar with the protocol, I'll explain.

Sidewalks, or footpaths as we call them in Australia, are generally wide enough for two people to pass comfortably. If you are walking two or three abreast, pedestrian etiquette requires one or two members of your party to assume a single file during a passing maneuver ie while you are overtaking or when a pedestrian is on approach from the opposite direction. This is common courtesy, and in Australia, this is observed along with the customary cheery greeting to the passer-by. In Australia, Queensland in particular, if you approach someone on the street while out walking, a hello is expected, stranger or not.

In Singapore, the natural citizens ie the non-expatriates, walk two, three or four abreast and never make way for someone coming in the opposite direction. They will drive you into the terrain either side of the sidewalk or if you do decide to maintain your rightful position, striding on your fair share of the concrete, someone will walk into you rather than surrender. Similarly, they will stand in the middle of the footpath, or aisle at the supermarket, and chat away on their phones, completely oblivious or uncaring that others are trying to pass.

Understanding this behavior is a conundrum. Generally, Singaporeans are non-aggressive, polite individuals, who know and understand the importance of rules and procedures, for example, proper queue etiquette. There are queues to join a queue and there are queue officials who ensure proper order and conduct is observed at all times. Queue jumpers do not survive. I would therefore expect Singaporeans to similarly appreciate the importance of sidewalk etiquette.

It might be explained by kiasu, which is a fear to lose out to others, and always wanting the upper hand. Kiasu, and it's partner, kiasi (fear of death) are widely used terms in the local vocabulary. As an example, "Look at him so kiasu pushing people away to get a seat on the bus first."

If the government painted the sidewalk with a dotted line up the middle, there is a very good chance that behaviors would change since Singaporeans are conditioned to obey such ordinances, like those related to spitting, chewing gum, jaywalking etc. Is this the only solution? Must I write to the government to report this blemish on an otherwise almost-perfect society?

What is the status of pedestrian etiquette in your hometown? How should one deal with poor pedestrian etiquette, in a lawful way?

Regards
Leigh

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A River Somewhere

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -1000

The Citarum river near Jakarta in Indonesia, has the dubious honor of being the world's most polluted river. It was once a gently flowing river, where fishermen cast their nets, sea birds came to feed and the natural beauty of the area left visitors spellbound. Villagers collected water for their homes, and rice paddies thrived on its irrigation channels. Today, the Citarum is choked by the domestic waste of nine million people and the cast-off from hundreds of factories.

The refuse now covers the river like a carpet, and fishermen no longer scour the river for fish, but forage for rubbish they can salvage and trade—plastic bottles, cans, timber, anything. If they are lucky, they'll earn five dollars a week from their scavenge, but risk disease and death.

Apart from chemicals from factories, all kinds of human waste ends up in the river. There are no rubbish collection services or sewerage systems or treatment plants here. Everything goes into the river, and the filthy water is sucked into the rice paddies, while families risk their health by collecting it for drinking, cooking and washing.

The Citarum is just one example of the shocking abuse mankind has inflicted on our freshwater lakes and rivers, and there are examples anywhere you care to look, even in our westernized backyards.

We might have thought that after Erin Brockovich, factory pollution of water supplies would be a thing of the past, but not so. Dupont settled a law suit, without admitting responsibility, for polluting the Ohio river with chemicals that stay in the environment for up to two thousand years, and accumulate in the tissue of living things and beings, causing developmental and immunological problems.

But it is not just the chemical factories that are actively reducing our water supplies. We waste a lot of it with a mindset that water is free and freely available. Americans are the world's biggest consumers of water and water is now an emerging crisis in the USA.

Nature is also playing a role with more and more countries being declared arid. There are already 80 countries with serious water shortages and only 3% of the Earth's surface is freshwater. With six billion inhabitants, and asdemand for water hits the limits of a finite supply, potential conflicts are brewing between nations that share freshwater reserves. More than 50 countries on five continents will be caught up in water disputes unless they can formalize agreements on how to share reservoirs, rivers and underground water aquifers.

Water is the new oil. No one will care about gold, resources or commodoties because you can't stay alive drinking them. The nation that best protects its freshwater lakes and rivers will be the wealthiest, because well, they're alive for starters. And just as wars have started over oil, so we shall see a future where nations will fight for water.

Regards
Leigh

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Into the tunnel of darkness

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -1000

While in Viet Nam earlier this month, we visited the tunnels at C Chi just outside of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). I crawled through a 15 metre section of the tunnel, which has been enlarged to accommodate the bulky frames of westerners, yet despite this short distance, I could not wait to find the exit. On the way to the exit we passed the 'entrance' (ie a small hole) to another tunnel which would take you to the Saigon river. For several nights afterwards, I woke with imaginings of being lost within the vast 250 kilometre network and what it must have been like for the Viet Cong who fought a war in conditions significantly worse than the tourist-enhanced section of the tunnel I experienced.

Imagine fighting a war underground in the suffocating, sweltering blackness of tunnels, barely tall enough for a man to crawl, let alone walk, and where a wrong turn could send you plunging onto the lethal bamboo spikes of a punji stake trap. Elsewhere carefully placed trip wires were primed to detonate a grenade or release a box of scorpions onto their unsuspecting victim. In other places, the entire walls of the tunnel were covered with an impenetrable mass of spiders and stinging fire ants. Air, food and water were scarce and the tunnels were infested with ants, poisonous centipedes and snakes, and mosquitoes.

The Viet Cong would spend most of the day in the tunnels working or resting and come out at night to scavenge for supplies, tend their crops or engage the enemy in battle. During periods of heavy bombing or American troop movement, they would be forced to remain underground for many days at a time. Sickness was rampant. Malaria accounted for the second largest cause of death after battle wounds, and all who lived within the tunnel network had intestinal parasites of significance.

American officials recognized the advantages the Viet Cong held with the tunnels, and launched several major campaigns to search out and destroy the tunnel system, but these were, for the most part, unsuccessful. When troops did find a tunnel, they would often underestimate its size. The two main responses in dealing with a tunnel opening were to flush the entrance with gas or water to force the guerrillas into the open, or to toss a few grenades down the hole and "crimp" off the opening, however the clever design of the tunnels, along with the strategic use of trap doors and air filtration systems, rendered these strategies ineffective.

To penetrate this underground world, and overcome a determined but poorly equipped peasant army, the American military had to revert to the most basic form of combat - hand to hand. Tunnel rats - an elite band of volunteer soldiers selected for their bravery and small stature, were stripped to the waist and armed with just a torch and a pistol to spend hours inching through the humid, dark tunnels in a deadly game of hide and seek. The rats would search for anything suspicious that would trigger a carefully primed booby trap. Some died in the process, and many more were dragged screaming from the inky blackness.

The tunnel system played a huge role in protracting the war and resisting the allied forces, eventually culminating in their withdrawal. You cannot be anything but awe-struck by the grit and determination of those who built and fought in the tunnels in what was truly a David and Goliath battle. War is Hell at the best of times and indescribable at worst.

See photos from the C Chi tunnels.

Regards
Leigh

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Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -1000

I have been pleasantly surprised by the number of adults who have now read The Glass Table. One adult reader wrote to ask if I thought child readers might be disturbed by the fact that one of the characters, Faith, turns into a mass of bubbles and floats away on the river Kai, and I can say with certainty that I do not think so. It is a topical subject though—content and themes in children's fiction—and even more so since the movie releases of Where the Wild Things Are and A Christmas Carol.

In Where the Wild Things Are, 9-year-old Max is in constant danger: older boys collapse his igloo while he is inside; a monster nearly knocks him off a cliff; he barely escapes falling trees, flailing claws, and dirt clods; and the manic wild things want to hug him one minute then eat him the next. It's a lot for a young boy to manage and resolve, and the question arises—is it too much? Andrew Romano at NEWSWEEK says not.

According to Romano, "The greatest children's stories are about what happens when we become untethered from authority, whether by disobedience, disaster, or disregard, and the twinned feelings of freedom and fear we experience as we grapple with an autonomy we're not quite ready for. They are, in that sense, rehearsals for adulthood."

Maurice Sendak, the author of Where the Wild Things Are, says, "[Max] doesn't know what's to come next ... that's gotta be scary for a kid, but it's also gotta be what a kid likes most. It's that enticement of what might or might not happen."

The views of Romano and Sendak are supported by science. According to a recent article in the journal of Psychological Science, experiences that perplex or amaze "prime the brain to sense patterns it would otherwise miss—in mathematical equations, in language, in the world at large." So movies and literature that replicate the confusion of being a child can actually help children to navigate their way through childhood and beyond.

For younger readers, fairy tales we enjoyed as children, which incidentally did not cause us fear or irreparable harm, are now being abandoned for being too scary or politically incorrect. Here are a few examples:

Snow White - the wicked witch is too frightening, and references to the dwarves is politically incorrect;
Rapunzel is considered too dark;
Cinderella does not portray women appropriately because she is forced to do housework and sit on cinders;
Little Red Riding Hood walks alone through the woods and discovers her grandmother has been eaten by a wolf;
Hansel & Gretel are abandoned in a forest by their parents and forced to fend for themselves;
The Gingerbread Man because he is eaten by a fox.

There are plenty more stories about child abandonment in Harry Potter, The Cat in the Hat, The Secret Garden, James and the Giant Peach. For adults, the thought of a child left alone in the world is mortifying, but it seems less so for children, strangely. Stories of orphans and abandoned children are popular with younger readers possibly because as Romano suggests, "Fiction and fantasy let children indulge their primal desire to grow up—to be rid of rules and face a dangerous and exhilarating world alone—from the safety of their own bedrooms."

Before The Glass Table was published, I arranged a small focus group of four children ranging in age from seven to fourteen. The feedback was surprising. None of the four was disturbed or concerned by Faith turning into a mass of bubbles and floating away on the river. Three said that the scenes in Madam Aurora's parlor were favorites and especially the scene where Zeb was pulled into another dimension by evil spirits, although this is possibly because Zeb was the resident bully. I had thought that this storyline might be too frightening for children, but I was wrong.

I was also wrong about the witch's rules—I thought the rules might be too complicated and difficult for children to understand, but I certainly underestimated my readers. The children also liked how the child spirits found ways to leave messages for their family in the real world ie they liked 'watching' as other children found solutions to their problems. This is consistent with Romano's view that children enjoy stories where other children are untethered from authority, free and autonomous.

All four children in the focus group were saddened and affected by the storyline in The Glass Table where Jack returns home as a child spirit to discover that life has returned to normal despite his disappearance, contrary to what happened when his younger brother Colby died. I was hoping this might touch a chord with children, and it did. Later in the scene, it is put into perspective for Jack and he realizes how much he is loved and missed.

Dave Eggers, author of the screenplay for Where the Wild Things Are, told NEWSWEEK "we underestimate children's interest and taste in things that have a more subtle palette and face the truth head-on."

What do you think? Are children capable of handling and understanding a lot more than we realize?

Regards
Leigh

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Therapeutic chewing gum OK in Singapore

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -1000

I came to live in Singapore in 2004, which was the year the Singapore government relaxed its ban on chewing gum to permit the import of chewing gum that has a therapeutic value. And since chewing gum is allowed solely for this purpose (therapy), citizens like myself must buy our stash from the pharmacy, actually consult with the pharmacist, and sign the Chewing Gum Register. The Register includes your name, ID card number, signature and how many bottles of therapeutic gum were dispensed. If there is no pharmacist on duty at the time you happen by, you are connected by video to an on-duty pharmacist elsewhere who asks a few questions and checks you out through a camera lens before authorizing the puchase. Pharmacists who do not observe these rules could be jailed for up to two years and fined $2,940.

Therapeutic gum available at the pharmacy includes Wrigleys Orbit (for healthy teeth) and Pfizer Inc's Nicorette.

Since chewing gum is now imported into Singapore arising from the 2004 United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (USS-FTA), there is a misconception amongst citizens that this means it is OK to bring your own stash in whenever you return home from overseas. Not so—even small quantities for whatever purpose are technically prohibited under the "Regulation of Imports and Exports (Chewing Gum) Regulations."

Singapore has a global reputation for being the cleanest, tidiest city/country in the world, and it is a well-deserved title. Chewing gum was banned because it was causing serious maintenance problems in high-rise public housing flats, with vandals disposing of spent gum in mailboxes, inside keyholes and even on elevator buttons. Chewing gum left on floors, stairways and pavements in public areas increased the cost of cleaning and damaged cleaning equipment. Gum stuck on the seats of public buses was also considered a problem.

In 1987, the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) began operations. Shortly thereafter, it was reported that vandals were sticking chewing gum on the door sensors of MRT trains, preventing the door from functioning properly and causing disruption of train services. Although the incidents were rare, it was costly, and so the ban was implemented in 1992.

Since 2004, street cleaners have complained about the return of spent wads on our pristine pavements, albeit therapeutic wads. Should this continue, those of us in the Chewing Gum Register might well be rounded up and asked to explain.

Regards
Leigh

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From vampires to witches

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -1000

Vampires in today's fiction are charismatic and sophisticated creatures appearing pale and gaunt with ruby lips and of course, red eyes. In contrast, the earliest vampires of folklore were bloated with ruddy or dark complexions. They wore shrouds and often visited loved ones to cause mischief or death. While belief in vampires has been around since prehistoric times, it is Bram Stoker's 1897 Dracula that is recognized as the quintessential vampire novel, and the foundation of modern vampire fiction. Then there is Twilight saturating every possible medium on the planet. This level of frenzied mania can often result in a rebuff, just as Abba's immense global popularity in the seventies led to an anti-Abba period which took three decades to abate. There is already a strongly-held view that the vampire phase in fiction has but a couple of years before twilight turns to night.

At the 2009 Singapore Writers' Festival, John Ajvide Lindqvist, author of the brilliant vampire novel, Let the Right One In, was asked repeatedly what he thought would supersede vampires. Naturally, he proposed zombies since they feature in his latest novel, Handling the Undead. With a similar stake in my own work, I would like to suggest that witches, witchcraft, and spells are making a comeback, particularly in middle-grade fiction, and there is some evidence to support this.

Keith McGowan's debut, The Witch's Guide to Cooking with Children is a modern version of the Grimm Brothers' tale of Hansel and Gretel, which pits mismatched siblings against an ageless witch who has written a book titled, How to Cook and Eat Children.

In Scream Street 2: Blood of the Witch, Luke, Resus and Cleo must save Scream Street from the swarm of vampire rodents while searching for the second of the founding fathers' relics—a vial of witch's blood. One might even suggest Scream Street 2: Blood of the Witch is a transitional novel leading the movement from vampires to witches, since it includes both.

The Witches by Roald Dahl was first published in 1983, but it's back in a big way. In a household in Norway, an orphaned boy is told by his grandmother how to recognise witches, so that he might avoid them. She tells him stories about five children who fell victim to the evil powers of the witches, described as "demons in human form". The witches hate children and spend all their time plotting how to get rid of them.

Fed up with the annual onslaught of polluting holidaymakers, and noisy children in particular, the witch in The Glass Table casts a spell that condemns the twelve children swimming in Lake Como at that time, to live as spirits in the river Kai. Like the witches in Roald Dahl's The Witches, the witch in The Glass Table is an ordinary woman living an ordinary existence in an old shack at Lake Como. She is devoid of the stereo-typical traits of past, famed witches like the witch in Hansel and Gretel who is ogre-like in appearance. It's a modernization of the concept of a witch in the same way John Ajvide Lindqvist modernized vampires in Let the Right One In—he/she/it being a child living an impoverished existence, with no fangs, red eyes or glorification.

Regards
Leigh

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