Book Review - Brief Lives by Peter Ryan

 Brief Lives by Peter Ryan

Sydney: Duffy & Snellgrove, 2004                                             ISBN 0975192140

I've been on a bit of a Peter Ryan kick lately, as small doses of common sense at regular intervals are a good tonic to the craziness imposed on us by COVID. This book (and yes, it is an homage to John Aubrey, as Ryan explains in his introduction) is a grouping of longer and shorter pieces on famous, and not so famous Australians, and one native of New Guinea. Ryan, in his position of publisher at Melbourne University Press, had the fortune to meet many great Australians, but perhaps the most interesting of these pieces come from Ryan's reflections about some of his wartime comrades.

Of particular interest is the essay on Alf Conlon, head of the Directorate of Research and Civil Affairs in World War II. Ryan served in the unit, and shines an interesting light on a grouping that has, over time, developed a reputation that far exceeds its importance in the running of the War. Ryan explains that Conlon was a master manipulator, and a "big-picture" man who was hopeless at running an office, let alone a huge department. While Conlon is interesting himself, the roll-call of people who served in DORCA is staggering - John Kerr, James McAuley and Harold Stewart of Ern Malley fame, are just a few of the people that passed through its doors at Victoria Barracks.

As one would expect, Ryan has a couple of essays in Brief Lives on writers: his essay on Cyril Pearl is a reminder of a journalist and author who's Wild Men of Sydney is still well worth reading if one wants to understand a hidden part of Australian history. Ryan lets us into his relationship with Pearl, who was clever, urbane and lots of fun to lunch with. Another wonderful and acerbic dining companion of Ryan's was Alec Hope, who is shown not only to be a great poet and critic, but also a wonderful teacher.

Some of the shorter pieces in this book refer to local doctors or wood-cutters, who epitomized for Ryan some aspect of the Australian character, from dry humor to resilience in the face of adversity. Ryan not only admired "great" Australians, such as Macfarlane Burnet, but those unknowns who had shown great courage in the most difficult conditions such as 'Papa' Singin, from New Guinea, who assisted Ryan when he was working behind the lines in the War.

And what was it in those people that he admired? Courage, loyalty, learning, and love for Australia rank highly; as well as an ability to recite poetry. These are of course qualities that Ryan himself had in abundance, and which come through in his descriptions of this varied group, from former Prime Minister Ben Chifley, to Mitchell Librarian Ida Leeson.

Peter Ryan is well worth reading: not only for his content, but also for the clearness of his style and his ability to cut through the rubbish to get to human truth. Worth picking up.

Cheers for now, from

A View Over the Bell