The Hanging Garden

by : Patrick  White

Set in Sydney nearing the end of World War II, THE HANGING GARDEN is the story of children in various states of guardianship - due to the death, injury or inability to cope of their parents - and the relationships the children form. As the War draws to an end, like many other cities and countries, Sydney is populated by children and women who have taken on additional roles in the workplace and home, and sometimes other people's children too. Many, not only those who havebeen exported to Australia, feel themselves 'reffos' as they are washed up in new households and suburbs. In this environment the bonds formed between children - though they generally start with deep suspicion - are intense and sustaining. THE HANGING GARDEN is a beautifully written, funny, warm and poignant story, as truthful as every word that Patrick White has ever written.