Felicity Castagna has been gifted by more than one of the nine muses. She writes with such exquisite competence and mature insight. I loved this book which had, for me, the added benefit of a setting I grew up in. ( )

(7.5) . What disappointed me is that the characters failed to develop or evolve by the books end. ( )

Felicity Castagna

As aspect of Australian policy that has long irritated me is that apparently it’s anti-refugee sentiment in the ethnically diverse western suburbs of Sydney that drives our unconscionable refugee policy. These electorates are crucial to electoral success and so both political parties kowtow to their hostility to refugees who come to Australia by boat. The irony is that these loud, unfeeling and disproportionately influential voices come from people who themselves came to Australia by boat. (Who, perversely, take no notice at all of refugees who arrive by air and then seek asylum, and apparently have no objection to the hordes of people who overstay their visas either).

Felicity Castagna, winner of the 2014 Prime Minister’s Award in the Young Adult Fiction category for The Incredible Here and Now, explores this phenomenon in her new novel No More Boats. It’s uncomfortable reading, but it’s an important book and it shows how fiction can shine a light on contemporary issues in society.

Antonio Martone is a product of the Populate or Perish immigration programs of the 1950s. With his good mate Nico, he has been a hardworking success story in the construction industry, building good solid houses with craftsmanship and care. He owns his own home and has others too, as investments. But things are unravelling: he has been badly injured in the workplace accident that killed Nico; he is alienated from his wife and children, and he feels that his security is compromised because of the hysterical media response to the Tampa crisis.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2017/06/14/no-more-boats-by-felicity-castagna/ ( )