Australian classic: ‘Careful, He Might Hear You’ by Sumner Locke Elliott

I heard a reference to this Aussie classic novel on a book podcast recently and realised I’d never read it.

I had seen the excellent, multi-award-winning movie adaptation, on its release in 1983. Directed by Carl Schultz, it starred the sublime Wendy Hughes and Robin Nevin. It’s now available to watch on ABC iView. So I vaguely remembered that the story centred around a six-year-old known as ‘PS’ (for ‘postscript’ – a reference to a family joke of sorts) and an awful and damaging custody battle between two of PS’s aunts, Lila and Vanessa.

PS has lived his whole life with Lila and her husband George, because his mother died after giving birth and his father had scarpered. They are a loving, well meaning couple living in what was in 1934 (the time of the book’s setting) a working class Sydney suburb. The family is poor but mostly happy, though Lila and her sisters had all been raised with an awareness of ‘better things’ that are just out of their reach.

Lila’s sisters are very odd (Vere with her audacious, bohemian approach to the world; Agnes with her tenacious adherence to the strange teachings of a domesday cult). What they all have in common is a genuine love for little PS.

The other sister, Vanessa, has lived most of her adult life in England, as companion to Ettie, an elderly and extremely wealthy cousin of their mother’s. As a result, Vanessa has had a privileged life and never struggled for money.

Her reason for returning to Australia is to play a role in her nephew’s life. The sisters quickly realise that the role Vanessa wants is not simply one of a benevolent auntie. She is seeking full custody of the little boy.

Weekend and school holiday visits to Vanessa’s quickly morph into full week stays, so that PS can attend an expensive private school (plus piano and swimming lessons). He now has only brief weekend visits to his original home. The confusion and anxiety ramps up for everyone, but especially PS.

The author has captured the mind and heart of a small Australian child in this era with incredible accuracy. The sections written from PS’s point of view are a direct line to his thoughts, feelings, worries and perceptions.

At times, this results in some funny moments due to his mishearings or misunderstandings of the adult world and conversations. For example, PS believes that his Aunt Vanessa is returning to Australia on a ‘piano boat’ after hearing the P&O ship discussed. And, when Vanessa first accompanies PS on a visit to his mother’s gravesite, he informs her that his dead mother is ‘on a plane’. He is parroting his Aunt Agnes’ statement that PS’s mother entered the ‘Seventh Plane of Understanding’ when she died. (Vanessa is understandably bewildered.)

Actually, this novel is funny in many places. Elliott manages to skewer the preoccupations and absurdities of the obvious class divisions of this period with hilarious effect. The oddities of PS’s family members and their associates are equally amusing.

There is deep sadness and tension as the stakes rise for all concerned, especially for PS. He behaves as a little boy under unbearable adult pressure might well behave. His future happiness is at the centre of the narrative, while many of the adults around him prioritise their own agendas. It’s an ugly scenario and one that can be seen in modern times as well.

The other huge strength of this novel is in portrayal of the setting. Sydney comes to vivid life: its working-class terrace houses, the luxurious house and garden that Vanessa inhabits; the heat of a Sydney summer day followed by one of its famous ‘southerly busters’; the games and interests of young children. The Depression bites into the family’s lives in various ways – the desperation of the working poor and unemployed is easy to understand. The snobberies and prejudices, and what used to be called the Australian ‘cultural cringe’, are all there on the pages.

There is a twist towards the novel’s end, and a resolution for PS and his aunties. I closed the book hoping that everyone had learnt something out of the drama that had surrounded them; and that the future would be bright for PS.

Careful, He Might Hear You is beautifully written, a masterful example of mid-twentieth century Australian social realist literature. It’s a compelling, engrossing, funny and emotional read.
First published in 1963, the edition I read was republished in 2012 by Text Classics.