This is the story of Charles 'Chic' Stringer, written by his widow Margaret Rose. It celebrates the career of one of the Australian film industry's most respected stillsmen of the 1970s and '80s, and in doing so depicts their shared journey.
Much more than a memoir
This is a wonderful book in so many different ways. It is a memoir of the love of two people who were made for each other, but it is also a story of the Australian film industry over several decades, beginning from the 1960s. It a a story of places, the relationship of the author, Margaret Rose Stringer, to the cities of Perth, Melbourne, and Sydney. It is a wonderful travel documentary, with beautiful photographs, of the travels of Margaret and her husband Chic in Europe, cities like Madrid and Barcelona, as well as Paris, come alive in the narrative of Margaret Rose Stringer. It is the perfect love story, and more so for being true, of two people who find each other when they are at their lowest and who live for each other for three decades. For those who love cats, Margaret and Chic come across and the perfect cat owners in addition to their many other wonderful qualities. Most of all this is the story of a unique man who gave so much to Margaret Rose and to everyone around him. He was a man who had no ego but many creative talents not only as a stillsman in the film industry but also as a housebuilder and a cordon bleu cook. Most of all he comes across as a man who had compassion for all living beings, whose care of those around him and particularly his loving care of Margaret Rose exemplifies this unconditional love and compassion, reminiscent of the best of Buddhist teachings of the Dalai Lama. Chic was diagnosed and died of lung cancer in Sydney. Margaret Rose documents his deterioration and the care, or the lack of it that he and she as his carer received. As a narrative of an illness this should be compulsory reading to all health professionals and those who teach future doctors and nurses. Chic may have died but on the pages of this wonderful memoir he lives on as someone each one of us would love to have as a caring friend.
Guest, 19/09/2013
And then like my dreams
Romance,travel,devotion and pathos in a very readable book.
Guest, 18/09/2013
Death comes and steals, but it cannot take true love.
I never knew Charles Chic Stringer. After reading this book, I wish I had. We both worked in film and television, but our paths never crossed. However, now I feel like I did know him, such is the way this honest and frank book has been written. The story of a woman, from an awkward childhood through to her finding absolute true love and her perfect partner. A wonderful life together cut short by death. The author lays bare all of the emotion that death leaves behind. Her struggles and triumphs are inspirational. A pleasure to read.
Guest, 17/09/2013
