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When writing her first novel, Still Waters, Australian author and mother of two, Camilla Noli (pictured), feared she would be judged for daring to enter the head of a mother who is at best ambivalent and at worst, evil. Although the story of a mother who kills her two young children, scared off a pool of potential readers and more than a few book publishers, those of us who dared to take the journey with Noli in Still Waters were not disappointed.
Since Still Waters was published in 2008, many women have come forward to share their experiences of motherhood with the author. “I believe that mothers want to talk honestly about all the experiences of mothering, good and bad; they just are so rarely given the opportunity and the permission to do so,” says Camilla Noli.
Whereas Still Waters centred on a mother who didn’t bond with her children, Camilla Noli’s latest novel, Broken Fences delves into the mind of a woman who loves her children too much, perhaps to the point of obsession. Both novels challenge traditional notions of motherhood and the belief that maternal feelings are instinctual.
Commenting on Still Waters, Camilla Noli told Australian Women Online, “Not everyone finds it easy to bond with their babies even if they wanted children. Most mothers have their moments of frustration and find it difficult to be a mother.”
“I’ve done quite a lot of book clubs with it [Still Waters] and it’s amazing the stories people come out with after they’ve read the book. It’s almost like the book gives them the freedom to be able to say ‘I struggled at times and it was difficult’ and I actually think that’s really important because one of the things I also believe is that if we keep things hidden away then that’s when they have power over us.”
Camilla Noli told me that it wasn’t easy getting Still Waters published in Australia and in the end it took a reasonably brave publisher [Hatchette Australia] to do it. The book was under contract with another Australian publisher who decided not to proceed and the author is yet to find a publisher in the USA.
Still Waters is a book that frightens people and many women have refused to read it. But Camilla Noli says she has no regrets. “It wasn’t a mistake because that’s the book I had to write and I’m really glad I wrote it. But if you had to write something that’s going to scare people you wouldn’t put it in a domestic setting as it turns out because that’s what terrifies people I think. Not that she’s a psychopath because people write about psychopaths all the time, but that she’s a psychopath in charge of looking after kids in the home – and for some reason that’s not something that people cope with very well.”
Perhaps those who found her first novel too frightening to contemplate, will feel more comfortable delving into the mind of Clair, the protagonist in Noli’s latest book, Broken Fences.
Clair has a good life. She’s worked hard to create a safe world for her husband and her two school aged children. But when a new family moves into the neighbourhood everything starts to change. The first time she catches sight of Chelsea she can see this young girl has the potential to destroy the ordered calm she has woven. She knows from experience how damaging others can be. The more Clair tries to hold on to the way things were, the closer she will get to destroying the family she loves.
Although the mother in Broken Fences skates dangerously close to madness, the author decided to redeem the character of Clair, bringing her back from the brink before tragedy strikes.
Broken Fences examines the issue of ‘helicopter parenting’ and the many restrictions we place on children these days. “One of the things that comes from Broken Fences is that we do need to trust our kids and that comes from how my children interact with their neighbours and their friends, and how they sort things out themselves,” said Noli.
Broken Fences was actually the fourth book written by Noli but the second published. “The other book I have written Double Exposure is on the surface a detective thriller but it still is actually a question of choice and whether the choices we make in our lives and to what extent will we go to have a happy life – so I don’t know if I’ve moved away from that theme. And the other book I’ve written is a science fiction/fantasy book which will probably never see the light of day.”
“”I want to keep writing books that people want to talk about,” said Noli. “We all have the propensity for evil in us and that’s probably one of the things I’m interested in exploring through my books – what lurks behind the suburban fences. Another book I want to write is the relationship between children and how that sometimes affects adult lives.”
“I hope that Broken Fences will result in yet more women sharing their stories with me,” says Noli. “As long as we keep talking and, in the process, dispelling the myth that motherhood is the easiest and most natural thing in the world, we avoid setting women up to fail.”
For more information or to share your story with Camilla Noli visit her website at www.camillanoli.com