In the short story collection Wolf on the Fold,
Judith Clarke explores the emotional life of an Australian family over the
course of seventy years. The stories
are interconnected, a theme of optimism against dire circumstances present in
each one.

In the first story, which shares the book’s title, fourteen-year-old
Kenny Sinclair bikes Depression-era Australia in search of a job. He believes his task is hopeless, but rides
on until a madman attacks him. With
quick thinking Kenny survives the attack and takes from it a new sense of
purpose: "He needed that life; he had promises to keep". In "City of Love", set twenty
years later, we find that Kenny has become a successful man and loving
father. In the last story,
"Chocolate Icing", set in 2002, the memory of Kenny’s optimism pulls
his great-grandson back from despair. Other stories touch on bullying, both
personal and political.

Clarke’s stories are finely crafted and low-key;
their effect is cumulative and deeply moving. 
This collection is recommended.

© 2002 Catherine Atkins

Catherine
Atkins is a writer and teacher from Northern California.

Categories: Children