Mimi and the Blue Slave

Catherine Bateson (author)

Woolshed Press, Random House, Australia: 2010; 217pp 

ISBN: 9781864719949

Genre: realistic fiction

Issues: change, grief, identity, resilience

When Mimi's father dies unexpectedly, she needs an ally to help her get through the grief and chaos that follow. As Griselda the Pirate Queen, Mimi can rely on her Blue Slave – but can he help her in the real world as well?

You'd think that losing a member of the family would be enough change for one year, but Louisa, Mimi's mother, seems determined that they should both change, too. Mimi doesn't want change – even small ones. But it soon becomes apparent that life keeps changing whether you want it to or not – and, like the ocean, if you don't learn to read the currents, you'll sink and drown. Can Mimi cope when her mother becomes shipwrecked by despair? Can she learn to adapt, to be strong and grow into the opportunities that life is throwing at her? Ableth, her blue slave, offers words of wisdom and guidance: 'Look at water... Underneath the surface are whole worlds of wonder. Fierce battles are fought, lives lost, new lives born. There are treasures and wrecks and bones. You'd see none of that just looking at the blue. People are just as mysterious.'

Catherine Bateson is an experienced and award-winning writer. Her gift for creating powerful, lyrically written stories that explore both the painful and joyful moments of life has given readers such gems as Rain May and Captain Daniel and Millie and the Night Heron. In Mimi's story she gives readers one of her best works yet. Mimi and the Blue Slave is full of warm, eccentric characters: Makita, Louisa's hippy, crystal-wearing, aura-sensitive sister; Ann, Mimi's very conventional, strict and bossy aunt; the different antique dealers, each with their own idiosyncracies; and Fergus, another 'shop kid' from down the road.

Through Mimi's eyes, readers learn that while change is painful, it can also help you discover who you truly are. And they learn that there are two kinds of family – the one you are born with and the one you choose for yourself when you learn who you truly are. A remarkable, richly-layered and subtle novel, full of mouth-quirking humour and pathos, Mimi and the Blue Slave is made to share.

Highly recommended.