Belong – Russell B Farr (ed)
Ticonderoga Publications, 2010
370 pages
RRP: AU$35 (pbk) AU$75 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-9803531-2-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-9803531-1-2 (hbk)

Review by Liz Grzyb

Belong, an anthology of stories exploring the idea of home, belonging and immigration, covers a lot of ground. There are twenty three stories here, and with subjects ranging from zombies, magic, space travel and alternative looks at Australia, there is something for everyone.

The anthology starts with a bang, offering up Penelope Love’s Border Crossing. This is a chilling, punchy and intriguing picture of detention centres of the future. I’m not a huge fan of zombie stories, but Love has certainly made me rethink my preference.

Other stand-out stories were Barbara Robson’s Mrs Esterhazi, Donna Maree Hanson’s Green, Green Grass of Homeworld, Sarah Totton’s song of the Blackbird, Angela Rega’s Slow Cookin’, Patty Jansen’s Trassi Udang and Carol Ryles’ Deeper Than Flesh and Closer.

Robson’s Mrs Esterhazi is another uncomfortable story, but subtly so, telling of suburban intolerance. Hanson’s Homeworld is a tale of immigration woes and the illusion that the grass is always greener on the other side. In Blackbird, Totton weaves a fantastic story of oracles, confidence tricksters and family secrets. Slow Cookin’ is a delightful tale of tradition, fast food and a mumacca, a Sicilian type of brownie who is nothing like the fairy tale variety!

The final two stories in the book sit squarely in the science fiction camp. Trassi Udang tells the story of a young boy finding his place in the world, or in this case, in a space colony. Deeper than Flesh and Closer is another take on the clash of ideology and culture in a futuristic other world, concentrating on the growing relationship between two very different people.

Although the cover looks like pure science fiction, this anthology is made up of a broad variety of speculative fiction subgenres and will appeal to a similarly wide audience.