The best sad girl novel of them all?
And a eulogy for a special furry boy.
Hi there! Welcome to another fortnightly edition of what I like to think of as ‘frivolous distractions from the sad state of the world’.
In all seriousness, it is tough times. I know with this newsletter, I sometimes worry that this sort of writing is a bit pointless. There are certainly a lot of people on Substack writing about much smarter things than what you’d find here. Like politics, culture, feminism. Environmentalism. Y’know… current affairs. Real highbrow stuff.
Yet, I’ve never felt it pays us any good to focus solely on the bad things in life. Yes, it is important to know what’s going on around the world. We need to hold empathy for those who are suffering.
But it’s also necessary to switch off, to indulge in the things that mean something to you. Walks outside. Gardening. A good book. Putting together a delicious meal. Those little rituals in life that we hold truly dear.
And if you do feel sad and need some cheering up, here’s a picture of my dog doing what in our household is called his ‘silly’. I will often be working at my computer, turn around and be greeted by this sight on the floor behind me. He can hold this pose upwards of five minutes. It always makes me feel better.
We all need a little silliness (or simply, a silly dog) in our lives.
A vegan feast
Last week, I attended a charity dinner run by hospitality students and overseen by chef Ian Curley. This makes it sound like I was invited lol, I very much bought a ticket. Anyway. The British-born chef has a finger in many pies across Melbourne, including French Saloon and Kirk's Wine Bar. He has also collaborated on vegan restaurant Lona Misa, which I’ve previously written about dining at.
As such, every plate delivered to our table was vegan. To my great delight, the champiñones españoles (mushrooms on focaccia) made another appearance. I honestly want to marry that dish. We ate vegan lamb and beef that tasted suspiciously like, well, lamb and beef. Vegan magic. Most interestingly is this plate below, which looks to contain some sort of tuna deal. Can you guess what it might be made out of?
I polled this on Instagram and only two people got it right.
It’s watermelon. WTH, right?
As the charity dinner is over and will never happen in such a manner again, I think I have written this entire section really just to encourage anyone, vegan, veg or otherwise, to have a celebratory meal at Lona Misa someday. If not just to eat three plates of their champiñones españoles. Yum, yum.
Green Dot by Madeleine Gray
Sad girl novels. Peeps have a lot to say about them and often it’s ‘neigh’, rather than ‘heeeeey’. Me? I’m on the fence. There is almost a whole sub-genre of this very millennial-esque novel that I have named ‘sad white girl rides bike around Melbourne’, because that’s largely what these characters seem to do. And this was kinda already done by Helen Garner way back in 1977, when she published the OG Melbourne sad girl novel, Monkey Grip.
So, when I find a SG novel that knocks it out of the park, it’s something special, worth heralding. And Green Dot by Madeleine Gray fits the bill. Especially as it manages to merge in seamlessly one of my other favourite sub-genres of the millennial novel – a general malaise for this weird working world we’ve created for ourselves.
Hera is over-educated and under-employed, living in Sydney with her Dad and his dog. At 24, she’s spent most of her young adult life in tertiary education and doesn’t have any work experience to speak of. She secures a job as a ‘comment moderator’ at a news site, where she meet the much older and very much married Arthur. And so kicks off a love affair that will see them both spiralling, as Hera in particular treads down the familiar twenties-something path, on a perilous journey to discovering her own self-worth.
It’s an entirely sardonic read, hard to take in at times, due to its familiarity. I don’t know about you, but I have certainly been an idiotic 24 year old (a note for any younger readers – this is not always the case, but certainly was for this writer). At times I wanted to reach into the pages, grab Hera’s shoulders and shake them, while yelling “FOR GOODNESS SAKE GIRL, HAVE A BIT MORE SELF-RESPECT”. And perhaps this is the thing worth noting here – while slightly frustrating at times, she is an extremely likeable character who you find yourself rooting along for, which doesn’t always happen in the SG novel. Sometimes we just love to hate.
So, if you get a secret thrill from reading these kinds of stories, head down to your indie bookshop or sign yourself up to the library list for Green Dot. And if you do end up reading this book (or already have), I’d love to hear what you think of it in the comments.
A moment of remembrance
My brother’s dog passed away yesterday. It was and wasn’t unexpected. He was old yes, but seemed in good health overall. He still loved running after his ball and practically bowling you over for pats (everyone in my family has German shepherds (cult) and they’re all big and boisterous boys).
It was the end of a life, but also the end of an era. He was the last ‘family dog’, that is, the last we grew up with. Although I’d technically moved out of home by the time he joined us, I was in and out like a lot of young people are. He was the offspring of another family dog (who I adored) and to be honest, losing him is like losing that dog all over again (he passed in 2017).
Even though I’m firmly into my adulthood, it feels like the final clang of the gate closing on youth. It’s officially over now, the last link is lost with the death of this dog.
We had his companionship for 12 years. It’s a long time, yet not nearly long enough. Dogs just don't live long enough, one of their few faults.
I called him ‘Kitten’. He was like a big cat, who just wanted to sit on your lap, squishing you half to death in the process. He loved riding in cars (especially my brother’s truck, so can we say with boys here?) and chasing motorbikes. He was one of those dogs who’d go mad for water, devouring the liquid gushing out of the hose when you tried to wash him. Frothing with excitement whenever someone jumped into the backyard pool. He was talkative – we nicknamed him Chewbacca as he always had something to say to you. He loved his toys and would walk around the backyard, ball in mouth. And if you tried to kick around a soccer ball, he’d stand in the way and then protest loudly when it inevitably hit him. On the flip side, he was a ruthless killer of chickens, devouring more than one unsuspecting hen from our brood. His head was massive and he looked terrifying, but underneath it all, he was a big softy (to humans at least). All he wanted was pats, love and affection. And fresh chicken blood.
He looked after my brother and loved him completely, in that way only dogs can.
And I very much loved him and hope he is happy chasing after chooks and motorbikes on the big rainbow in the sky. Rest in peace, dear Kitten.
Some (other) recommendations
Listen: Like oh, everyone else on the planet, I’ve been intensely interested in Britney Spears’ book The Woman in Me. While slowly inching up the list for it at the library, a friend recommended instead listening to the very excellent audio book version, which is in turn read by the very excellent Michelle Williams. It’s a short listen, at around 5 hours and well-worth it. Spears has had a harrowing life, for a super rich and successful lady. Also, if you feel funny about handing over your hard-earned dollars to Amazon, perhaps consider buying the audio book (or any others that spike your interest) via Libro.fm? They allow you to nominate an indie bookstore, which then gets some of the proceeds from the sale.
Watch: I recently smashed through The Super Models, the four-part doco-series about 90s supermodels Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Noami Campbell and Cindy Crawford. It’s kinda hard to get both sides of the story when the subjects are also executive producers, but it’s still thoroughly enjoyable to learn more these titans of the 90s fashion scene. The archival footage alone makes it a worthwhile watch. Currently streaming on Apple +.
Eat: Pears need our support! Australians apparently just aren’t eating enough of them, forcing some farmers to pull out their trees. These highly nutritious fruits are good for gut health and they’re quite affordable. Make yourself a delicious salad (greens, thinly sliced pear, cheese of choice such as blue or pecorino, walnuts, cranberries, a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar) or perhaps a pear tart. While you still can…
Thanks as always for reading. Remember to take care of your head and your heart – and make time for silliness.
‘Til next time, stay well and well-fed.
-Celine
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When you get a good pear however, it's a certain kind of magic.
Pulling up pear trees? Nooo…! Pears are a super food! Memo to self….eat more pears!
A beautifully written memorial for a beautiful, devoted dog who leaves behind an abundance of wonderful memories. 💔