I AM DUBBED A “LATE BLOOMER” BY MY FRIEND, LISA HILL OF ANZ LITLOVERS. Most of my working life has been spent preserving, promoting and protecting the books that others have written. Now I have found a voice of my own.
MEMOIR
Solly’s Girl: A Memoir (Makor at Lamm Jewish Library of Australia, 2015).
In her introduction, Ros writes that she wants to entertain the reader; she has done a great deal more than that in this highly original, intricately woven memoir. Eschewing the easier chronological approach, Ros has created a colourful tapestry of stories from her own life in England from her family and professional life in Melbourne, intertwined with research on ancestors both noteworthy and not-so worthy and completed with insightful writing on the career of her husband of more than fifty years, the well-known Australian Jewish author, Alan Collins.
Australia has been the making of me. I’m reminded of the younger sons of the aristocracy who were ‘sent to the colonies’ when they went off the rails. Here I found a freedom that never would have been mine in the family and community I left behind. Solly’s Girl.
It is an extraordinary saga. It is full on. Very sad at times. Happy. Filled with wonderful achievements. Victories really. Poignant. I have been so moved by yur narrative which is beautifully written and so alive. You have told a great story. It echoes Alan’s stories in yor own distinctive way. I loved it and was very sorry to put it down. Quite simply, I thought your book was wonderful … A real piece of Australian Jewish life and experience.’ Rabbi John Levi AM DD.
Reviews: Solly’s Girl
Rosa: Memories with Licence. (Hybrid Publishers, 2019).
Edit
It’s too soon to write more about Rosa which is due for publication in September, 2019. And the editor has instructed that no excerpts may be published until my text is ‘tailored’. This is the picture I have selected for the cover, a flattering shot taken at the midpoint of my life – the period in which most of the stories of Rosa are set.
‘Edit’ is such a loaded word. It inspired my piece on the accompanying blog page Ros’ Short Prose – you might be amused.
“Collins is not a Jewish name” (provisional title for work in progress.)
Alan and Ros Collins 