Description
The Children’s Bach is a novella written by Australian author Helen Garner. It takes place in suburban Melbourne as the book tells about the life of two contrasting families: Athena and Dexter Fox, who maintain a very proper, stable life with two sons-one of whom was developmentally challenged-and a group of bohemian, artistic friends who introduce chaos into their world.
She is a soft spoken, very devoted wife and mother, while he, Dexter, is one of those full of energy, energetic and optimistic men. Their apparently calm and pure domestic life is shattered by free-spirited Elizabeth, her restless sister Vicki, and the musician Philip. Athena becomes interested in these outsiders, and the horizon of her predictable world begins to shift as she gets drawn to their different, more hectic way of life.
The novella explores ideas of home, tension between independence and accountability, and subtle moves in human relations. Garner’s writing style is distinctive for its economy, grace, and psychological understanding of ordinary life at an emotional depth. In this novella, the Children’s Bach, music is metaphorically used to portray harmony and discord in relations- how slight changes can turn lives around and fashion new identities.
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