The Youngest Son by John Byrnes

 1929-1943:  while Sydney struggled through the Great Depression and the Second World War the Leach siblings, John, Maureen and the youngest, Bob, each chose their own way to survive. John, quiet, studious and compassionate, completed his high school education and aspired to join the priesthood; Maureen was searching for something more glamorous and exciting than her mother’s kind of life, and young Bob realised that his ability with his fists could take him places.

John Byrnes brings Sydney to life at a critical time in its history. The Depression brought unimaginable poverty, and people living in Ultimo and surrounding suburbs were doing it tough, just trying to survive.  John, Maureen and Bob’s lives are all very different, and alternating chapters bring to life their individual journeys through these difficult years. They each elicited sympathy and understanding from me as I watched them making their inevitable mistakes and trying to reach their goals which changed as their circumstances were constantly changing.

Poverty brought corruption, violence and hopelessness, and ordinary citizens suffering from the effects of the Great Depression bore the brunt of all those things. Racketeering, illegal gambling and prostitution were all part of the world  in which John, Maureen and Bob were living. Then came the Second World War, and the story turns to Tobruk and Papua New Guinea, where the fight for survival took on a whole new dimension.

The Youngest Son will be of special interest to natives of Sydney and to all lovers of historical fiction.

Published by Pan Macmillan