3 out of 4 stars
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Salvation Jane by Ann Massey is part political drama, part human rights piece all wrapped up as an engaging work of fiction. The book begins when Jane Patterson arrives in Perth, fresh out of a bad relationship, and ready to claim the inheritance left to her by her uncle Ken. He has left her a hotel, but what she finds when she arrives is anything but glamorous. It’s run-down at best, and under the care of rough around the edges, alcoholic Horrie Nelson and the sensitive, yet stubborn Ida Wright.
Her first day, Jane tours the property to gauge just exactly what she’s gotten herself into. There are cobwebs everywhere, flaking paint and crumbling plaster. After finding a large dormitory with wall-to-wall triple bunk beds, she quickly learns that what her Uncle Ken has left her is not exactly a hotel per se, but rather a single men’s homeless shelter. He felt that not enough was being done to support the homeless population, so he offered a place to stay as long as the men helped out around the hotel and earned their keep. To make matters worse, she’s gotten off on the wrong foot with Horrie, whom it seems is better to have as an ally than an enemy.
In an effort to try to get Patterson’s in better shape, Jane decides it’s time to take matters into her own hands. She inquires about whether there are tourism grants available, hoping to use the money to turn Patterson’s into a hostel. Receiving reply from Chancellor Leonard Hardie, Jane learns that the council cannot offer her financial assistance. Instead, he offers her assistance in the form of applying for State Government grants on her behalf. It isn’t until later that Jane learns of Hardie’s plans to push through a vagrancy law making it virtually illegal to be homeless, and to shut down Patterson’s completely in the process.
When a spot opens up in parliament to, Jane takes the leap to stand for election and be the voice for the homeless in Perth. Jane then begins to navigate the murky and often difficult waters of politics, the media, and staying true to herself and her cause.
Not knowing the political landscape of Perth or Australia in general, I was really interested to see how this book would unfold. The author assembles a great cast of characters that make the story incredibly interesting. Jane is also a great narrator. She has a sassy and depreciating voice that reminded me quite a bit of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum.
You learn a great deal about many of the homeless men, which makes each of the men more real, much in the way that they become real to Jane as she gets to know them and their stories. Often the homeless are considered “less than,” and for a work of fiction to tackle this topic head on is applause worthy. It made me uncomfortable to think that I have likely thought many of the same things that Jane did, but I think that is what the author is hoping for – to make the reader more aware and, hopefully, much more tolerant of their fellow man.
I did find some of the region-specific dialect a little difficult to decipher at times, but that’s to be expected. There wasn’t much that I felt the story needed to improve other than perhaps a handful of grammatical and spelling errors, but I even those were few and far between. Overall, Salvation Jane is a compelling read and I rate it 3 out of 4 stars. The only reason I took off a star is for the aforementioned spelling and grammar errors and the dialect difficulties. I think the book would appeal to a wide audience, but especially those interested in human rights issues and political drama.
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Salvation Jane
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