Emeritus professor Richard Nordquist describes a memoir as writing that employs the literary techniques usually associated with fiction or poetry to report on actual persons, places, or events. Rochelle Siemienowicz describes her memoir as ‘a story, with parts made up and fragments rearranged like a dream half-remembered…’
The result is an accomplished example of the genre, exploring Siemienowicz’s strict upbringing and her growing sexual awareness.
The stand-in for the author is the significantly named Eve. Her first-person account explores intense sexual needs and their fulfillment with transparent honesty but there is nothing in this book for the voyeur or lover of pornography. There is much in the book, however, for those who decry the wisdom of a too-strict religious upbringing, as Eve depicts a life torn between the religious demands of family and friends and the needs of the flesh.
Eve’s conditioning is in constant conflict with her instincts, an irresistible force meeting an immovable object. Despite her mother’s exhortations, it is this conflict that leads to Eve marrying too young, further complicating her relationships with both her female and male friends.
There are a few glimpses of Eve’s parents busily doing good in many places but the focus is on the deep insights into the ups and downs of Eve’s personal relationships. And if this memoir is indeed only ‘a dream half-remembered’, it is still recounted with a clear eye for detail, as well as with love, affection and sensitivity. Underlying it all is a startlingly honest self-analysis.
Throughout, the language is deceptively simple, peppered with lively dialogue and poetic descriptions that convey many vivid impressions of Perth and a few of Melbourne, as well as a great description of a riotous New Year’s Eve outing.
Fallen is satisfying reading for those that think that monogamy is as over-rated as democracy but it should be compulsory for for those who believe that a strict, uncompromising religious upbringing is beneficial for the young in their care.
For readers intrigued by the oft-hidden details of the lives of others, it is the kind of frank memoir that reveals what so often goes unseen,
Fallen: a memoir about sex, religion and marrying too young
by Rochelle Siemienowicz
Affirm Press
$24.99
