‘The Edge of Limits’ is a camp trekking into the mountains with the dreaded ‘long-drop’, no showers, sleeping on rocks, hard trekking, abseiling, climbing, wild rivers, wilderness. There are the boys on the camp, but there’s are the girls too at the parties, beach culture, school. There’s humour, challenges, stories of mateship, enemies, friendship, families, school and personal relationships. It goes deep into the ethos of male identity and comes out with a courage. It gives girls insight in the way boys see them. It gives boys the powerful opportunity of thinking about how they will act. It’s a book that changes you.
Men matter. Boys matter. Sam’s relationship with his
grandfather matters. His grandfather has life experience and he shares it with
his grandson. It gives Sam choices. His grandfather is beside him, even after
his death, although it takes time for Sam to understand this. As the boys go
deeper into the mountains, they confront their search for identity. ‘Heroic’
Luke reveals his father has expectations he struggles to meet. The teacher Mr Seaton,
who Sam calls the ‘orangutan’ just doesn’t get the complexity of identity
crisis. ‘Fat George’ with his Italian background is ‘beautiful’ although he
doesn’t know it. Sam’s relationship with George helps him define who he is. The
girls matter too. How the boys treat them from a stereotypical object to
discard or not, to that deep sharing of youth. The search for identity is complex
and confronting.
It was hard writing ‘The Edge of Limits’. I had to get into
the male mindset. Identification with the character drives ‘The Edge of
Limits’. Sexuality is the trigger, but the search for identity is the journey.
‘Nothing to see here’ is on the surface, but there is so much to see. It’s
about girls – getting them, discarding them, wanting them where consent is
subjective or coercive or real love or distorted through peer group pressure of
the Rave Party and the rape.
‘The Edge of Limits’ holds so many powerful moments. I find
it difficult to decide what moves me most. All of it really. This scene with
Sam and the grandfather stays with me:-
We were walking back from the river, pretty satisfied with
ourselves. We’d caught three trout and dinner looked like it was going to be
great. Grandpa had his fishing rod over his shoulder and I was holding the
fishing box and bucket with the trout. We’d seen dogs in the area, so when we
set up camp we’d been careful to move away from their territory. "Don't
trespass," Grandpa said.
But these were looking for trouble. They found us walking back and started to follow, tagging us with low growls.
"Grandpa," I whispered.
Grandpa looked back at them. "It's all right,
Sam."
I saw from the periphery of my eye their snarls, the black
undersides of their lips, their yellow fangs, their butcher tongues.
"Walk next to me," Grandpa said quietly. "Not
too fast."
I wanted to run. I knew they’d get me if I ran, but that was
what I wanted to do. I started to walk faster. They did too. Then they began to
gain on us, worrying the bush, snarling jarring growls. I walked faster, they
moved more quickly. I smelt their spit.
Suddenly Grandpa clenched my arm, forcing me to stop. I could hardly
breathe. He turned around. I turned
around after him.
Snarling saliva dripped like blood. They were going to rip
out our throats for sure. I was cold, frozen, breathing razor blades. I looked
at Grandpa. We had nothing to fight with. He stared into their eyes and they
stared back still edging forward. Then Grandpa started. I’d never heard him
swear like that before but he swore then, angry frightening swearing,
obscenities of words, spitting out “fucking bastards” “crap dogs” "bloody animals” “killing shits" "fuck off”.
I couldn’t move. The ferals stopped edging towards us unsure of whom this ferocious Grandpa was in his checked flannel shirt. He took out his flimsy fishing rod whipping it at the dogs, then he charged them, my Grandpa with his white hair and heavy rimmed glasses.
I learnt something that day.
All my writing is inspired by my experiences. When I wrote
the ‘I Am Jack’ books I was shell-shocked that my son was bullied at school and
I did not know. My kids mean everything to me, but I was so busy working and
managing life. When I asked Jack if I could write the book, he said – ‘It helps
kids and teachers and parents. So it is okay.’
As it is a younger book, I entered into the mind of Jack and
his community, and wrote from his perspective. Kids are remarkably resourceful.
When Jack is happy and safe, he is adventurous and hilarious. When confronted
by the bullying, he tries to keep brave, until he can’t anymore. There is so
much in ‘I Am Jack’ and the other books ‘Super Jack’, ‘Always Jack’, ‘Being
Jack’. They are such gorgeous books
about resilience and courage.
When I wrote ‘The Edge of Limits’ I went into tough
territory. It is YA so I wrote with truth. It was so liberating. I did not have
to make compromises. I wrote the narratives that capture male humour,
challenges, stories of mateship, enemies, friendship, families, school and
personal relationships. ‘The Edge of Limits’ take teens to the edge. They can
confront racism, homophobia, misogyny, sexual abuse. However more importantly they
confront their personal journey of identity. Who they want to be. ‘The Edge of
Limits’ is an edgy place to make those critical choices.
I am having a ‘rest’ from confronting YA literature and
delving into joy. ‘There’s a Gang on Our Street’ stars sulphur crested
cockatoos and kids. It is so funny and naughty, celebrating diversity, games,
adventures. It has a non-fiction element with lots to learn. Did you know that sulphur-crested
cockatoos play tricks? Did you know that kids are just like the cockatoos? Big
Sky publishers fell in love with this picture book. Looking forward to its
publication in 2023.
About the author
You’ll find Susanne Gervay planting 3000 mangroves in
Kiribati as part of a mission for action against climate change. In Istanbul
speaking to 1000s of young people about NO bullying. In remote Aboriginal
communities supporting education. In a juvenile detention centre sharing books
with teenage girls. At the World Burn Congress in New York presenting ‘how the
inner person can triumph over a preoccupation with surface scars and know that
basic values of commitment, caring and trust are more important than the
texture of the skin.’
Why? Gervay’s passion is empowering people to be critical
thinkers and develop the resilience to advocate for justice. As the child of refugees,
growing up with the emotional complexities of parents who had been through the
Holocaust, migration and loss, books were Gervay’s source of escape, comfort,
insight and courage.
Gervay tackles themes from feminism in Shadows of Olive
Trees, harmony and inclusion in Elephants Have Wings, extremism and the war in Heroes
of the Secret Underground, and consent and control in her new Young Adult novel
out November 1, The Edge of Limits. What she writes matters to her deeply and
is grounded in personal experience.
Gervay has been awarded the Lifetime Social Justice
Literature Award by the International Literacy Association, Order of Australia,
nominee for Australia for Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, amongst others. Her
acclaimed stories are published in prestigious literary journals and
anthologies including the Indian-Australian anthologies alongside the works of
Sir Salman Rushdie and Thomas Keneally. She represented Australian in “Peace
Story” an IBBY, UNICEF anthology with 22 authors and 22 illustrators from 22 countries.
She continues to write for pathways to peace.
Her books are endorsed by The Cancer Council, Room to Read,
Books in Homes reaching Indigenous and disadvantaged children, Life Education, as
well as many anti-bullying and literacy organisations. Susanne heads the
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (ANZ), is patron of Monkey
Baa Theatre, ambassador for Room to Read, Reading and literacy Ambassador for
many campaigns and is an acclaimed national and international speaker.
You can find more information at www.sgervay.com
or contact anna@allaboutpr.com.au.
