Review of "The Spare Room," by Helen Garner

My tastes in literature are not sophisticated.  When I was a teen, I read an awful lot of science fiction.  I never really did get into westerns, although I like Zane Grey.  But these days, most of what I read tends to be mysteries, or thrillers.  Of course I love Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, but they may be the exception that proves the rule, since whatever they are, they are rather mysterious.

So, "The Spare Room" is pretty much everything that I don't have the patience for.  It is modern literature, it is a standalone novel (not part of a series), it is about women, and relationships, and friendship, and all those things that I find pretty boring unless they're part of a romantic comedy.

And I am enjoying it.  I'm not sure that I would say *thoroughly* enjoying it, but I am continuing to read it, and I propose to read it through to the end.  Maybe I like it because I have experience with both nursing in institutions, and with caring at home, and with caring for the dying.  This isn't a huge commitment, since it's a relatively small book.  But I am enjoying it, and I suspect that I will pick up one of Helen Garner's other books, if I can find them, at some point.