Tony Birch’s short stories are precious gems. Written in a deceptively simple prose, the pages of Dark as Last Night capture the humanity, courage and humour of characters in the midst of life.
On a fundamental level Birch is concerned with examining human interactions and how people show care for each other in moments of struggle. He writes about relationships – between children, siblings, teenagers, parents and children, the young and old, even strangers on a bus.
These 16 stories include those about domestic violence, personal grief and ragtag adventures in city streets or by the river. They carry as much humour as they do sorrow, as much human kindness as violence. The perspective and experience of children, tough beyond their years, is central to this collection, as it was in Birch’s novels Blood (2011), Ghost River (2015) and The White Girl (2019).
One of the lighter moments in Dark as Last Night explores the awkwardness of teen romance. Birch has an eye for cheeky detail, describing the dramatic pressure of a choice between the Beatles or the Rolling Stones in a moment of utmost importance: “All I wanted to do was kiss Marnie again. And touch her. I had to give the correct answer. I took Marnie’s hand in mine and hoped for the best. ‘Bowie,’ I said. ‘David Bowie.’”
There are several other light-hearted stories – including a trip to the blood bank in the midst of Covid-19 self-isolation anxiety – but for the most part Dark as Last Night examines the need for fortitude in the face of danger or great difficulty. Siblings stick up for each other in the face of bullies, or share the burdens of parental death and grief. A child reports the violence of her father to the police. Few writers are able to evoke such unaffected moments of tenderness and personal bravery.
Two of the most resonant stories bookend the collection. After Life introduces us to Joe and his sister, Angie. Both are dealing with the death of their brother, Billy. Lemonade, the second-last story, also features the brothers. In After Life Joe is surprised to learn of Billy’s existence as a tenant in a block of commission flats. Cleaning out his brother’s belongings, Joe realises that Billy’s contribution to a local men’s shed was greatly valued by his neighbours. The quiet sense of community his brother experienced gave dignity and meaning to his life, even if that life seemed a silent ruin. Joe is at first unable to see past the pain of the present until an observation from his sister jars him into a different way of thinking about the past. Like many of Birch’s stories, we see siblings looking after each other, both in life and death.
Lemonade, the second snapshot of Joe and Billy, gives us some insight on the guilt Joe has carried since childhood. In a way, this second episode emerges from the time captured in the photograph, and it also leads to a moment of peace. Joe has always felt he abandoned Billy, the originary moment of this failure being on the front steps of the boys’ house. But, following Billy’s death, Joe has a chance encounter with a woman on a bus. His perspective on the past changes, thanks to a few kind words from a stranger. This makes all the difference.
Dark as Last Night reinforces the fact that Birch is also a master of endings. Always resonant, they can be almost absurd, or macabre, or poetic justice for those who wield power over the weak. Perhaps my favourite ending in this collection is in the final story, Riding Trains With Thelma Plum. A cast of disparate characters converge on public transport. A man wearing a “Pussies Lives Matter” T-shirt is angered by a young woman. Birch’s acerbic wit in illustrating this situation is just one example of how he – surely one of the finest writers of the short story working in Australia today – balances out the darker realities captured in Dark as Last Night.
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