The Simple Gift

Rating:
Summary: Richie's Picks: THE SIMPLE GIFT
Review: In a counterpoint to THE LORD OF THE FLIES, and other grim tales where a lack of structure or authority leads to chaos and harshness and evil intent, Australian author Steven Herrick has created a world in which a young man striving for autonomy is able to attain an idyllic existence away from the rule makers and the rule breakers.

When sixteen-year-old Billy Luckett packs a few things (including the old man's booze and cigarettes) into his schoolbag, says good-bye to his dog, and walks out of the house, he doesn't know where he will end up. But Billy's certain that anything will beat living with his abusive father.

"Please don't tell what train I'm on
And they won't know what route I've gone"
--Elizabeth Cotton, "Freight Train"

Hopping a westbound freight train in a teeming rain, Billy immediately crosses paths with the first of a series of characters who will each enrich and transform his life with their kindness, and who will each in turn take something away themselves for having been able to see through Billy's exterior.

"Men...........Billy

There are men like Ernie,
the train driver, in this world.
Men who don't boss you around
and don't ask prying questions
and don't get bitter
at anyone different from them.
Men who share a drink and food
and a warm cabin
when they don't have to.
Men who know the value of things
like an old boat
built for long weekends on a lake.
Men who see something happening
and know if it's right
or wrong
and aren't afraid to make that call.
There are men like Ernie
and
there are other men,
men like my dad."

"When we came to the station all the trains were rusty
The doors were open and the windows broken in
There was grass in all the cracks and the air hung musty
The travel posters were flapping in the wind"
--Al Stewart, "Apple Cider Re Constitution

Billy reaches the end of the run at an old railroad town named Bendarat, and takes refuge in a lovely old abandoned train car. When he purchases a lemonade at the McDonald's in town, and proceeds to gather himself a fine meal from what fellow diners leave behind, he meets Caitlin, a well-off teenage schoolgirl who is working for The Clown as a way to gain her own measure of independence, in her case, from doting parents.

"Caitlin and mopping...Caitlin

When I first saw what he did
I wanted to go up
and say,
'Put that food back.'
But how stupid is that?
It was going in the rubbish
until he claimed it.
So I watched him.
He was very calm.
He didn't look worried
about being caught
or ashamed of stealing scraps.
He looked relaxed,
as though he knew he had to eat
and this was the easiest way.
I had work to do,
mopping the floor,
which I hate,
so I mopped slowly
and watched.
He read the paper
until the family left,
then helped himself to dessert,
and as he walked back to his table,
holding the apple pie,
he looked up and saw me
watching him.
He stood over his table
waiting for me to do something.
He stood there
almost daring me to get the Manager,
who I hate
almost as much as I hate mopping.
So I smiled at him.
I smiled and said,
'I hate mopping.'
He sat in his chair
and smiled back
and I felt good
that I hadn't called the Manager.
I kept mopping.
He finished his dessert,
came over to me,
looked at my badge,
looked straight at me,
and said, 'Goodnight, Caitlin,'
and he walked out,
slow and steady,
and so calm, so calm."

The story's third principal voice and pivotal character is Old Bill, an alcohol-dependent hobo with long grey hair and beard who inhabits a nearby train carriage along the string he facetiously refers to as 'The Bendarat Hilton.'

"Sorry..........Old Bill

I feel sorry
for swearing at the kid,
abusing him for bringing me breakfast,
Breakfast! Of all things.
A good kid,
living like a bum
and I knew he'd need money,
even bums need money to live.
So this morning, early,
far too bloody early for me,
I knock on his door
to return the bowl and spoon
and he opens it slowly,
invites me in,
and I tell him
about the Cannery and work.
How every Monday during the season
they offer work,
and if he needs money
that's the place to go,
and he says,
'Sure, great. Let's go.'
And because I'm still sorry
about swearing at him
I find myself
walking to the Cannery
with the kid
looking for work,
work I don't need,
or want.
Walking with the kid
early Monday morning."

"Every happy ending needs to have a start."
--The Moody Blues "You Can Never Go Home"

As we're uncovering the tales of how they got to those bad spaces in which we first meet them, Billy and Old Bill are moving inexorably forward and upward as a result of their relationship with each other. Caitlin is a genuinely likable girl whose difficulties--while not in the same league with those of Billy and Old Bill--will ring true to teen readers who desire, like she does, to be accepted for who they really are. I have great affection for THE SIMPLE GIFT's fairy tale-like sensibilities and for the story's message (that harkens back to the Sixties) about avoiding the rule breakers and rule makers and, instead, paying attention to treating people kindly. A quick and enjoyable easy-reading verse novel imported from Australia and published in paperback, THE SIMPLE GIFT is a Great Escape Package I can highly recommend.