8
June
I enjoyed this book even though I found it rather sad at times. I am an Australian; born shortly after the 2nd World War and this book was a trip down memory lane for me. However, I think the frequent references to iconic Australiana detracts rather than enhances the read and narrows the audience somewhat. [...]
8
June
When was the last time someone said to you “Sometimes I think….you are off with the fairies?” In this beautifully written whimsical book, 6 ½ year old Barry is sent off during school holidays in 1957 to live with his Nan and Pop in West Preston, Victoria, while his parents await the arrival of his [...]
6
June
After receiving Barry and The Fairies of Miller Street by Barry Dickins and Jenny Lee I wasn’t all together sure about what I could expect to find. While a departure from my traditional genre choice, I was pleasantly surprised by the tale of love and good old Aussie spirit I found within. It didn’t take [...]
6
June
One part The Castle, one part The Magic Faraway Tree, and three parts fantastical fun – Barry and the Fairies of Miller Street receives a full five out of five and can be sent straight to the Kerrigan family pool room. I couldn’t help but draw parallels to the 1997 Australian comedy film The Castle when [...]
25
May
West Preston, 1957, the days of payphones and pounds, and six-year-old Barry Dickins is spending his remaining school holidays with his Nan and Pop. But Barry’s button-down world is about to change. Embroiled in a battle to save a suburb and a way of life from wicked developers, Barry is joined by an entourage of [...]
23
May
A strange mix of memoir come fantasy come boys own adventure, this story really shouldn’t work but somehow it does. Starting out as a simple enough tale, it’s 1957 and a boy is sent off to stay with his grandparents in West Preston, things soon take a twist with the introduction of fairies in the backyard, bodgies [...]
23
May
Barry Miller’s pseudo-autobiographical tale Barry and the Fairies of Miller Street is a tangy narrative mix of vim, innocent wit, and matter-of-fact reportage into the goings-on of 1950s working class Melbourne suburbia, and all garnished with a sprig of whimsy and a jus of the fantastic. Barry’s visit to his grandparents’ Preston home puts the [...]
21
May
‘Our depot which art in heaven,’ the trams said. Praying they’d be on time tomorrow. Praying they wouldn’t be scrapped. Barry Dickins and Jenny Lee have written an endearing tale about one boy’s adventures through the ‘Hump of West Preston’. As a child brought up in the north and west of Melbourne, I jumped at [...]
18
May
My nan used to say the Hump was Preston’s only nightlife. ‘You can look at the stars for nothing,’ she’d say. She knew everyone here, including the fairies. I was six and three-quarters when she introduced me to them, in a roundabout sort of way. And so begins the tale of Barry and the Fairies [...]
11
May
Barry and the Fairies of Miller Street is a complete treasure of a book with a unique recipe. Take a heap of spirit and combine with genuinely written, full-bodied, wonderfully flawed characters. Add intrigue, family drama and a tipple of dastardly villains to keep you flicking through the pages. Stir in keen observational humour and [...]
