A trip down memory lane for those who love to laugh at the quirky language of a “typical Aussie”.
Graham Seal is a professor at Curtin University and is an international authority in the field of folklore. In 2017 he was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia “for service to the preservation and dissemination of Australian folklore, particularly through a range of academic, editorial and research roles.” He has written nine books about great stories/yarns from our past.
In this latest book, Australia’s Funniest Yarns, Seal has gathered traditional stories from country towns and the outback. He tells us that Australians traditionally like their humour irreverent, crude and with very sharp teeth.
Nearly 200 stories have been compiled under eight different headings such as Hard Cases, Working for a Laugh and The Laws of Life. Many of the stories will provide laugh-out-loud moments for those of an age who remember hearing the stories from older relatives or may have told the stories themselves. For some it will be like a trip down memory lane. The younger reader may have heard their grandparents regale them with stories like these, but some may leave scratching their heads at the absurdity of our Aussie slang. Expressions like “Mad as a cut snake”, “fit as a Mallee Bull” and “pissed as a parrot” are all sayings that were common vernacular to the true-blue Aussie.
Some of the stories are enlightening. Did you know Mark Twain (American author) visited Australia in 1895 and while in Adelaide, was impressed by the number and variety of faiths and the various places of worship, counting 1719 other religions?
Australia’s Funniest Yarns is full of songs, stories, poems, rules and quizzes. It is a lovely book for those who want to catch a glimpse of the old characters who used their stories and language to make the Australia of the past much more colourful than it is today.
It may not be for everybody, but if you like to reminisce on an Australia which is rapidly disappearing, this is the book for you.
Reviewed by Sue Mauger
Distributed by: Allen & Unwin
Released: December 2019
RRP: $29.99
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