I had the pleasure of attending a book launch by this young lady
in Hobart
recently, and what an accomplished person she is! A leading light in her
community, she is also an author in the young adult and new adult fiction areas,
as well as a practicing lawyer. She spoke to a us in an exceedingly articulate
manner about the background to her books – those she is best known for,
including ‘Does My Head Look Big in This’, as well as her latest – ‘No Sex in
the City’. The one under review here, ‘Noah’s Law’, rated nary a mention, and I
now somewhat regret my entry point into her oeuvre as it is not what she is
noted for – the condition of young Muslim women in contemporary Australian
society. On the strength of the quality of writing in this, the odd one out in
that the protagonist is male, I’ll be seeking out her other offerings.
Is it unreasonable of me to have reservations about bright
teensters out detecting the detectives, out lawyering the lawyers? My daughter,
a YA author herself, will probably shake her lovely head at this, and I realise
I probably make this statement because I am an anachronistic old man in his
dotage. That being said, ‘Noah’s Law’ is immensely enjoyable, even if it is
what I describe as a ‘grower’ – it starts slowly, but then sneaks up on the
reader so that, by the end, he/she is hooked by its intrigue. How will our
heroes of tender years win out over the devilish adult evil doers? It’s a given
they will, but seemingly up against the legal system, as well as the
conspirators, the odds are decidedly stacked against them!
For this peruser, the novel is at its best in the courtroom
scenes when the author uses her vocational expertise to take us through the
various stages of prosecution and defence. Our hero is born of the silver
spoon, possesses the necessary arrogance to get ahead, and even has romantic
intentions seemingly above his station. The two main female characters are well
drawn, and interesting foils to Noah’s tendency to self-indulge. They provide
the balance to his pranks and, once he is ‘won over’, his schemes. They come at
him, though, from diametrically opposite viewpoints. The over-riding theme
throughout is ‘does the means justify the end’ with, of course, by the end,
‘right’ prevailing.
For an adult reader, there isn’t a problem with the ‘slow
burn’ nature of the narrative as it builds. I just wonder, though, if the
desired audience has the patience to hang-in there – or is that too demeaning
of the age group? Also, would the denim dominated cover attract the
demographic? I’m no judge of this after initially failing to stock the first
Harry Potter in my school library because I felt the cover was too naff – so
what would I know??? I suspect the dialogue between Noah and his best mate, let
alone between the criminals, could have a bit more edge, but this is a
seriously competent effort and has me looking forward to more.
Harking back to her launch, it was so saddening to hear this
beautiful woman relate the trials and tribulations inflicted on her as a Muslim
child by our country’s redneck brigade. As a nation that generally does
multiculturalism well, if decidedly not our processing of asylum seekers, it
still jolts that there are those in our society who achieve glee from overt
prejudice. Although Hobs is getting there, I delight in visits to Melbourne where ‘I open
my eyes and see the world’. As an Australian who therefore greatly appreciates
the wonderful contribution that non-Anglos make to our culture, I wanted to
apologise to her then and there. It all needs addressing, but how?
The author's web-site http://www.randaabdelfattah.com/index.asp
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