My Thoughts: The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta

Award-winning author Melina Marchetta reopens the story of the group of friends from her acclaimed novel Saving Francesca - but five years have passed, and now it’s Thomas Mackee who needs saving. After his favorite uncle was blown to bits on his way to work in a foreign city, Tom watched his family implode. He quit school and turned his back on his music and everyone that mattered, including the girl he can’t forget. Shooting for oblivion, he’s hit rock bottom, forced to live with his single, pregnant aunt, work at the Union pub with his former friends, and reckon with his grieving, alcoholic father. Tom’s in no shape to mend what’s broken. But what if no one else is either? An unflinching look at family, forgiveness, and the fierce inner workings of love and friendship, The Piper’s Son redefines what it means to go home again.




The Piper's Son is the third book I have read by Melina Marchetta this year. First was Jellicoe Road which holds a special place in my heart, the second was Saving Francesca and I enjoyed it, but not as much as Jellicoe Road, and most recently, The Piper's Son, and I really liked it. Maybe not as much as Jellicoe Road, but I liked how the story and the characters that were found in Saving Frencesca evolved and grew.

In Saving Francesca we are introduced to Francesca who attends a new school that is predominantly an all boys school. She knows few people and is forced to make new friends. It's a lovely story and the writing and characters are fabulous. One of the boys that Francesca meets is Tom Mackee. It is Tom's story that we get to read about in The Piper's Son. However, it wasn't only Tom's story that we got,  it was also that of his aunt, and it was that sub-plot that I loved the most.

I would sometimes get a feeling of euphoria while reading this book. I enjoy Marchetta's writing, and the way she tells a story so much that I just feel happy when I am reading her books. Marchetta writes what her characters are feeling in a way that allows you to experience those feelings, but not in a way that you are bogged down by them. Although Tom and his Aunt were both suffering extreme and intense emotions, it was never overwhelming to read about. I was able to empathize with the characters and still enjoy the story. It takes great skill to do that.

The thing I love the most about Marchetta's books are her characters. I love them. I wish they were real people so that they could be my friends. I don't think that I have read a single author who has made me love their characters as much as this woman. I love how she writes about their relationships with each other and  how they view themselves, I love seeing their inner struggle, and how they eventually come to terms with it.  Tom Mackee was a favourite of mine in Saving Francesca, and I loved reading more about him.  I really appreciated the relationship he had with his Aunt, he loves her and I loved reading about that, I really liked how loyal and loving Tom was towards his younger sister, and although they lived a ways away from each other, they still had a strong relationship.

Georgie's story was something amazing for me. She went through things that I hope never to have to face in my life. The death of a sibling, the betrayal of a partner, followed by an unplanned pregnancy by said ex-partner many years later. That's a lot for one woman to handle, adding on an abandoned nephew a missing brother (who later reappears with issues of his own). It was madness, and I think she did well, only breaking down a few times. I thought that Marchetta wrote Georgie beautifully, and I was moved to tears at the end of the book, and how things ended up for her.

A lot happened in The Piper's Son, and I am sure I could get majorly spoilery about it, but I don't want to ruin this amazing experience. I would encourage everyone to pick up something by Melina Marchetta and read it. It it totally worth it.

~Happy Reading Everyone!