I think Garner's message went over my head. The stories are quite easy to read, but have an air of unreality that I didn't understand. ( )

Extremely and unusually weird. Pretty enjoyable nonetheless. ( )

For my money, no Australian writer - and precious few across the globe - can match Helen Garner's wit or versatility. In the three linked stories of Cosmo Cosmolino, Garner casts a typically unsentimental eye upon Melbourne suburbia circa 1992. Spiritual matters preoccupy her, represented chiefly by born-again Christian Ray, daffy New-Ager Maxine and erstwhile hippie Janet, flung together into chaotic share-house hell. Death and angels also appear, and the devil is spotted running out of a shop on Sydney Road, Brunswick.

Cosmo Cosmolino is not Garner's masterpiece, but it is a must-read for fans of her acuity and wry sense of humour. ( )

I knew of Helen Garner from her non-fiction work but had never read any of her fiction. This book, in three parts, tells the story of Janet and of the house she comes to share with Maxine and Ray. The language is richly descriptive while the story is, at best, a bit dull. By the end of the book I was glad I had read it for the beauty of the words but also glad to be finished with it because I disliked the characters intensely! ( )

Janet has lived in the same Carlton terrace for twenty years. In the seventies it was a share house, happy, full of people, but now the house is crumbling and Janet is alone. She lets two strays move in, Ray the born-again Christian and Maxine, the innocent artist.

Garner's characters are alive; her images are striking. She's a skilled writer. Even so, I did not like the book . The characters were defeated and gloomy except for Maxine, who suffered from attacks of magical realism. ( )