The End of the Morning

There is both a joy and a sadness in reading Charmian Clift’s unfinished novel, The End of the Morning, as it is published now, 55 years after her death. Nadia Wheatley, Clift’s long-time advocate, biographer, and champion of the work and the woman that was Charmain Clift, has produced this wonderful volume.

It comprises a novella-length opening to an unfinished book, an insightful essay by Wheatley on the background of said novel, and a further selection of Clift’s wonderful essays from her groundbreaking, wildly popular newspaper weekly columns of the 1960s. She just wrote so bloody well. Heartfelt, direct, empathetic, unapologetic, challenging us – she pulled no punches and was not afraid to be heard.

Clift first started The End of the Morning in 1962. Her most important autobiographic work, just 47 pages, is simply a delight. A beautifully evoked memory of a young girl’s relationship with her own country and people in coastal Kiama, Clift’s writing is evocatively rendered with love and fondness and honesty. It begins as a panoramic picture of place and people, of the day-to-day happenings of the family and the community. There are portraits of struggles and trials and joys of the everyday that are just beautifully written, and I smiled and grimaced and laughed and cried – often within the same page.

This is a wonderful book and Nadia Wheatley has done a superb job in keeping Clift’s work alive. Charmian Clift painted with words: read and listen to her passionate voice, her fine, detailed descriptions of place and time and people, of the love she felt and the troubles she struggled with. That she took them all on board and then challenged us all to be better – bless her.