FREE LANCING IN SYDNEY

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28158, 22 December 1956, Page 3

FREE LANCING IN SYDNEY

The Drums Go Bang. By Ruth Park and Darcy Niland. Angus and Robertson. 195 pp.

In their first years of married life, few young couples have experiences that merit autobiographical record; fewer are able to recount their experiences in a way that would command the attention of others. This young couple had years that are well worth sharing with others—years that are indeed inspiring to others—and they possess story-telling and literary ability that make the sharing enjoyable for all concerned. Ruth Park and Darcy Niland were aspirants for literary careers when they married. The literary citadel they assailed was the tough Australian market. Their autobiography recounts endeavour to wrest a living as free lance writers, and the lives a young couple led in a Sydney that was unresponsive to their talents. The accommodation they found would beggar any description but theirs—they do full justice to it. They enjoyed the friendship of some grand characters —notably Young Gus. As it happens, an autobiography covering a brief five years turns out to be a complete story of .progress from penury to success. In the end, Ruth Park won money, fame—and some notoriety—when she was awarded first prize in the “Sydney Morning Herald’s” literary competition with her novel. “The Harp in the South.” Since then, both Ruth Park and Darcy Niland have had several novels published. These practised writers send their autobiography along with a swing from first page to last. If at times the “laugh, clown, laugh” method seems a little overdone, there is ample compensation in the restraint with which some very human episodes are conveyed to the reader. And there is no doubt about their facility for bringing to life for the reader a multitude of interesting people. A story that entertains and arouses admiration for its writers is admirably served by numerous illustrations. Indeed, it is difficult to recall a story that was better served by its illustrator. Phil Taylor is an artist who will be new to most New Zealand readers, but those who know their Sydney will agree that his backgrounds could hardly be bettered, and his trick of catching an episode and treating it with both sympathy and humour is a joy.