Pleasures of childhood

Press, 7 August 1976, Page 15

Pleasures of childhood

"he Winter Sparrows. By Mary Rose Liverani. Michael Joseph. 192 pp. N.Z. price $7.95. (Reviewed by Nancy Cauley) In spite of the overcrowded tements, the dirt and deprivation, lary Rose Liverani's Glascow ■ildhood was a stimulating one. Her nvamished account of it will leave ■aders chuckling. Happiness alternated with heartache \ hated trip to Archie the pawnbrokei with her father's suit, might be followed by a family outing to the country village of Milngavie —wading in the burn and picnic sandwiches by the old mill. (Then down on the emotional see-saw again when a small brother very evidently soiled his pants on the homeward tram). Full-scale family flare-uns were balanced by moments of real affection although “love” was the only four-letter word that was never heard in the house bv happy messy sweet-making sessions in the kitchen. and bv games of Monopoly with card' and monev painstakingly copied from a real set belonging to a rime affluent friend. Mary Rose Ln 'rani’s father was a ship's rigger, who put money in the pockets ot the Ulvde ship-builders at a rate that would never be known again, after the las 'ears of the Second World War. Little of the money came his way, and books he bought Mary Rose were paid for with “pocket-money” made bv betting on the dogs and horses and stealing a little scrap from the yards. “Och, there’s a whole lot o’ smashing stories here. You get stuck intae them." So Mary Rose became acquainted with

Dickens. Balzac. Daudet. Gogol and Turgenev As an ardent Communi-t, her father especiallv i< mm<-nd< d Sholokov's "Quiet Flow-. the Don. ' Mary Rose- mother was the m st colourful figure tn the house, screaming abu-e a: her luckless husband for his smal' and uncerta n wage, and threat'rung to throw hers. If in the Clyde when th. burden of h<u-e and familv seemed too much for her. But when friends came in or she went to the pictures wi.h her husband -he dressed up. did her hair with tongs and looked “a real smasher”. Mars’ Rose saw her mother as shrewd, resourceful aid affectionate, possessed by a strong lonv.iag to be away from the grimy tenements, it was her drive that finally got the family to Australia. With seven 'htldren in the family "contraception became the order of the night," and as the eldest Mars Rose had heavy responsibilities When h< r mother was at her stormiest, the child sometimes lav tn the bed she shared with two others, wondering if some day her parents would lure their children out to til* bluebell woods and then forsake them, as in a familiar fairy story. “Altnough 1 was the eldest and had been to the woods once or twice. I simply could not remember how to find our way back. I couldn't even remember the name of the tram." “The Winter Sparrows ' gives us a privileged glimpse into the uncertain world of childhood. There is the same ruthless honesty here that can be found in Laurie Lee's “Cider With Rosie,” the same delight in simple pleasures, the same compassion for tl human condition.