you’ve got here is a fictional fight that happens on
New Year’s Eve between a group of LebaneseAustralian kids and Anglo-Australian kids, which
you dub the “Brighton Brawl” in the book. But
the real Cronulla riots have a strong presence in
everyone’s anxieties in this book, in the parents’
anxieties, and in all the kids, there’s a concern
about the safety of their children... was that
palpable for you too?
In a sense, not so much from my parents’
perspective, but I had just started dating an AngloAustralian guy at the time that the Cronulla riots
happened, and I was really surprised because I had
concerned friends asking me, “Oh are you still going
to go out with him?” and I was like yeah, we weren’t
the ones that got into a fight... I don’t know what
was happening that day, some people got drunk and
they protested and it just spiralled out of control...
but it did play an important role I think for a lot of
people, because it really forced us to question how
We didn’t really let it faze us because we knew each
we feel about “otherness” in Australia, and I think as
other so well – we were friends for a long time...
Sophie examines these things the people that she’s
surrounded by are concerned about this otherness...
But there is a character... there’s a tension when a
but I think she comes to learn that Australians are
new boy arrives at the school, and he embodies
generally open people, and Lebanese people are as
that cross-cultural conversation in his own life,
well... There’s a scene where she talks to one of the
because his mum is Lebanese – she’s died – and
boys in her class and she says, are you telling me
his father is Australian... he’s a Shire boy, born
that if an Anglo person walked into your home that
and bred, a surfie kid, he lands in this school –
your parents wouldn’t welcome them with open
what did you want to explore with him?
arms? But that’s how our culture is, we’re very
welcoming, and that’s the Australian culture as well.
He was one of my favourite characters to write
about... I think I wrote from the perspective of what
It must have made for some interesting
would it be like for my kids, potentially, but the only
conversations with your boyfriend at the time...
difference is I would like my kids to have a bit more