New
Book Release The Arab Club; Four Women and a Man
By
Tim Lowe
Sid Harta Publishers,
Melbourne
Bev, Leanne, Frances and
Rhoda discover that they are members of the exclusive Arab Club. How they
qualify for membership of this unusual club is a tale skillfully told and
titillating in the telling. Author Tim Lowe employs the prism of multiple
narrators whose convergent stories concerning life, lust, food, love, death and
sex intersect in the Geelong home of recently widowed Jeff. Gender roles
and societal expectations are challenged and tested in this tell-all rollicking
romp through the mores of urban and rural Victoria.
The conversational and often
confessional tone adopted by each of the five characters as they present and
progress their intriguing interlocking stories creates an easy rapport with the
reader. While their dynamics as a group may at times involve collaborative
subterfuge to stage manage a situation, which usually involves Jeff,
individually each narrator exposes their own human frailty through the raw
honesty of their monologues. We come to know intimately the ménage a cinq
through each character's version of events as well as from the vantage points
of the spectators on the sidelines.
As events unfold the Arab
Club members gain insight into their own needs as autonomous individuals as
well as increased understanding of the benefits of belonging to a secret
sisterhood. This powerful tale of secrets and lies, harmony and discord,
jealousy and collaboration, love and loss, lust and fidelity is told with
gentleness and humour. The Arab Club will appeal to the mature reader
especially, and a sequel eagerly awaited to discover more about the lives of
these fascinating four women and one man!
Reviewed by Chris McGuigan Kensington
Review
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