Garbo Laughs

Britta Santowski is a freelance writer in Victoria.

Garbo Laughs traces two years in the life of Harriet Browning, a
first-rate movie buff and a second-rate writer. Harriet, her daughter
Jane, her son Kenny, and their neighbour, journalist Dinah Bloom, create
the Friday-night movie club to view and frequently revisit new and
classic movies. While Harriet’s husband Lew drifts mostly backstage,
his character bonds these four in a most unique way.

Life turns upside down when Harriet’s eccentric Aunt Leah and
egotistical nephew Jack come to stay indefinitely. Normal life is
interrupted and best friends Harriet and Dinah deal with unresolved
issues. Harriet is forced to confront her writing and lack of passion,
while Dinah contends with relationships and ill health.

In this realistic portrait of a small gathering of neighbours,
Elizabeth Hay takes ordinary life and moulds it into something
believable and interesting. The novel’s meandering pace allows the
reader to become well acquainted with Harriet and her supporting cast.
Just like their cherished movies, Garbo Laughs captures life’s
precious and precarious moments and frames them in a series of stills.