Leave the Girls Behind by Jacqueline Bublitz

Suzie Eisfelder

I bought this in Sydney last year. Unless you’re new you’ll know I was in Sydney last year for the Book Fair Australia. While there I bought a lot of books, I think this book was included in my swag from Book Fair Australia, and the book that came with it. We were staying near the shopping centre in Parramatta, wandering through the shopping centre I found myself drawn towards the QBD! I did my normal wander before sidling up to the counter and asking for a recommendation. I make sure to tell them about my romance problem and then ask for a book written by a local or an Indigenous writer. I was offered Leave the Girls Behind. As Bublitz has lived in Melbourne for 20 years I’ll just pretend she’s Australian even though she’s actually from New Zealand. You know, close. But I was also offered The Cane by Maryrose Cuskelly. And the startling thing about The Cane is that it was free and when I look at the back there’s a yellow bar on the bottom saying ‘Promotional copy exclusive to QBD Not for Resale’. I really hope Cuskelly was paid for this book. And I’m certain of my facts as I have the receipt tucked into the front of The Cane and it is quite clear with a price of $0 for The Cane.

Anyway, enough of the where I bought this book. I finished reading it the other day. It was another of those books I had trouble putting down. If you have issues reading about kidnapped children then I suggest you don’t read this book. Mostly because that’s what this book is about, that and survivor guilt. I’ve heard about survivor guilt. It’s when you’re still alive after a big accident but all those people aren’t. The survivor is saying ‘why me?’ And in many cases it’s totally accidental as to who lives and who doesn’t. She feels a big responsibility for being the one who didn’t die.

This is not one of those books which resolves nicely. There’s a lot in here to process and it’s all about seeing through the eyes of a survivor. Finding out how she manages to get through the day and finding out why she feels she needs to uncover the truth. Essentially, it’s about finding herself, finding the person she might have been if she hadn’t been kidnapped.

Things I liked

The writing is a big thing. It is beautifully done and I don’t recall a single typo. I know people think I make too much of typos, but good grammar and good spelling do much to make a book more easily readable. I’ve no idea how dyslexics manage to read so much, one day I might ask a dyslexic to write an article for me about it. Could be interesting.

Our central character is Ruth-Ann Baker. She’s eking out a living in New York where she lives by herself and has a job in a bar. The bar is called Sweeney Todd’s Sports Bar and there is an endless loop of Stephen Sondheim’s soundtracks. The owner rarely uses her name, instead calling her by different fictional detectives throughout the book. It’s really fun to track down the origin of each name, mostly from my memory as they all seem familiar.

Ruth-Ann failed her course as a criminal profiler. Owen suggests bartending could be a continuation of her studies. He puts a ‘Kill Jar’ behind the bar. She is told to put the credit card of anyone who gives her demon barber vibes into the jar so Owen can check them out.

But continuing the detective theme. Ruth-Ann goes to a forum to find out some information. Info that’s not that easy to find and needs a private detective or someone in the police force. One of the pseudonyms is @RoderickAlleyn. I smiled when I saw that, and knowing Bublitz is from New Zealand I find it quite apt. Roderick Alleyn is the detective in the detective novels written by Ngaio Marsh, a New Zealand author. I wrote this article about one of her books.

I love how we see places through Ruth-Ann’s eyes. She’s a vulnerable young woman, pursuing a truth and we see her uncertainty during her pursuit. But we see a number of places through her eyes. The first is New York, Hoben (where she was born), then Marama River, New Zealand, a little of Melbourne before heading off to Oslo.

The phrase ‘nothing is pleasant’ keeps roaming around my head while looking at this book. And it feels that way when reviewing my notes. While Ruth-Ann is in Melbourne she reads pages and pages about family violence in the newspapers. Living in Melbourne there does seem to be a lot of family violence, I have a friend who was counting the females and their children who died through male violence. The numbers are horrific and Bublitz has summarised it as an epidemic. The violence done to women and children is highlighted in this book. It is not an easy read for that reason alone.

Yes, I do recommend it. But only if you don’t mind your reading to have black scattered throughout. If you want a light read then this is totally not for you. I’ve enjoyed it, but like to balance black with some humour. I’ve just started another book club. We’re starting with Night Watch by Terry Pratchett. That’s one way to balance black and humour, it’s both in one book.


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