Sophie Cunningham's newest book This Devastating Fever (2022) — described at the SMH as a great novel of enduring significance and enormous beauty — is receiving rave reviews everywhere so I thought it was a good time to review her debut novel Geography which turned up a couple of years ago in an OpShop. Shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book, South East Asia (2004), Geography is nearly two decades old now, but it's aged well and remains compelling reading.

By coincidence I see this morning that Stu from Winston's Dad has reviewed Sandor Marai's Conversations in Bolzano which is about Casanova, the (in)famous libertine whose name is synonymous with womaniser. Geography is about a woman Who Should Know Better who goes weak at the knees over An Unworthy Man. Like all Catherine's friends in the novel, the reader wants to stop this train wreck of a 'relationship'... but does not lose patience with its vulnerable narrator...

It is a measure of Sophie Cunningham's skill as an author that she makes an absorbing tale out of this. Set in two time frames in transnational settings, Geography signals from the outset that the relationship has ended, but we do not know if Catherine is over it, or if she's going to fall under Michael's spell again. And the thing is, it's not about the things that make a relationship great. As her loyal friend Marion says in bafflement:

'Just don't wake up one morning to find five years have gone by and you're still hooked. He's not real, Catherine. You don't know him. Nothing is more alluring than a man you make up in your head.'

'Of course he's real.'

'No, he's not. He's drama and chaos. He's Los Angeles. He's good sex. ' Marion stared at me in exasperation. 'You don't get it, do you? With real boyfriends you do things. You hang out after you have sex. You talk about stuff. All you've done with this guy is f___, get a postcard or sit by the phone in a range of exotic locations. It is not a relationship.' (p.98)

It's just lust. (BTW, the language is 'earthy' and there's a lot of episodes that take place in bed. And other places, notably a bathroom sink which *chuckle* sounds rather uncomfortable to me.)

Marion's partner Raff says (p.87)

'You're not still interested, are you?' He looked at me. 'Jesus, you are. Women, I'll never understand them. It's the nice men like me that always get passed over.' (p.87)

This self-deprecating joke has serious intent because Raff is genuinely concerned about Catherine. In the household they share with Catherine in inner-city Melbourne, these two are expecting a baby to add to their family, of which Catherine is a much-loved member.

With rare exceptions, there's a bit of a dearth of nice men in contemporary fiction, but there's a nice available man called Tony who is waiting patiently for Catherine, and Catherine's brother Finn in New York is also a nice man like Raff. The playful dialogue between these siblings sparkles with humour and shared understandings. Dialogue is a real strength in this novel.

The other strength of Geography is its settings.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2023/04/16/geography-2004-by-sophie-cunningham/ ( )