Moon at Nine
by Deborah Ellis
Allen & Unwin
Living in Australia, we are quite naïve about the consequences in many countries for expressing love for someone of the same sex. Deborah Ellis is a proud, gay woman who has achieved international acclaim with her courageous and dramatic books that give Western readers a glimpse into the lives of young people in less fortunate countries. In 2013, a woman told her about her early years in Iran, where over 4,000 lesbian and gay people have been executed since 1979, and this is the basis for Moon at Nine.
The story is set in 1988 after the Shah had been overthrown. The government controls every aspect of people’s lives and alcohol, videos, music and magazines from the West are banned, even though they seem to be available to those with enough money. Fifteen year old Farrin is at a school for intelligent girls from all over Tehran and she keeps a low profile as her wealthy parents still support the former Shah. With spies everywhere, Farrin has quickly learnt to wear two faces – one for private and one for when she is out in public.
When outgoing Sadira turns up at her school, Farrin sees how she bravely confronts authority. As the girls spend more time together and their friendship develops into something more, they are warned that their affection would lead to the death penalty. In a world where secrets are kept and favours are traded and bought, these spirited teenagers are “not yet ready to bow down to the demons that run this world” and the consequences are devastating. This is an easy but memorable read.
Based on what actually happened, this story is repeated in more than seventy countries spread over Asia, Africa, Europe and the Caribbean. Saudi Arabia, Mauritania, Sudan, Yemen, Nigeria and Somalia still impose the death penalty for lesbians and gay men while Barbados and Sierra Leone sentence them to life in prison. In Malaysia, people are whipped for loving someone of the same sex and in Dominica they are forced into psychiatric treatment.
Lezly Herbert
Becoming Westerly
by Jamie Brisick
Allen & Unwin
What started off as an article for Surfer’s Journal became a documentary and a book as Jamie Brisick spent more and more time with Westerly Windina. The book starts off in Bangkok where Westerly talks affectionately about her former self as she waits for sexual reassignment surgery. She recalls how Peter Drouyn won his first Australian surfing championship when he was 15 years old and found himself at the world championships at the age of 17. Westerly recalls the dramas Peter went through as he tried to purge inner demons on a wave. Known for his eccentric behaviour and ambitious ideas, he always felt sidelined by the surfing community.
Westerly still holds onto Peter’s disappointments and sometimes it is difficult to like Peter. Westerly sees Peter as an awkward misfit in the surfing scene and later at acting school. Jamie Brisick, who was once a surfer himself, talks to friends and fellow surfers to get more information about Peter. One of the judges for the Australian titles tells Jamie that Peter was discriminated against “because he was an arsehole” and so arrogant. Despite making ground-breaking contributions to surfing, many of Peter’s projects never went anywhere.
Over a considerable period of time, Jamie is able to compile a very personal account of Peter releasing his inner Marilyn – the Hollywood showgirl Westerly always knew was in there. It is a love/hate relationship as Westerly struggles with her rebirth, but what emerges is a tale of courage and self-belief.
Lezly Herbert
