Sunny, born 1956, is feisty, anarchic, adventurous. She has a childhood, which in many ways is idyllic. She and her two brothers along with their coevals run fairly wild and even by the pretty relaxed standards of the Steiner community in which she is brought up, Sunny is rebellious. But there are darker undertones of violence, sexual abuse, and death in Sunny’s life, and when her beloved son Minu is jailed for a year, she steps out on a high wire voyage towards freedom for them both.
Reviews for Ingredients for the Making of a Woman
"A really unique and obsorbing story of one woman's coming of age. Saumarez deals with her ambivalence for, and her attempts to draw strength from the Steiner Community in which she grew up. She takes us deep into her personal world, a passionate, bruised, fearless and sexy world, racing ahead through life until she is stopped short by the imprisonment of her much loved son. And then all the other hurts that she has buried seem to come flying at her. A totally gripping and life enhancing read."
--Esther Freud. (author of * Hideous Kinky*, *Peerles Flats*, etc.)
"Suzanna Samaurez has crafted a novel which beguiles and seduces its reader. It had me screaming with laughter one moment, and crying the next. Samaurez has written the literary equivalent of a cup of tea and candid chat with an old friend. Chatty, topical, heart-felt, and astoundingly witty, one of the many blessings of this work is that it never falls into tawdry melodrama or sentimentality. The work, straddling two time-lines, is awash with brilliantly drawn characters - and here the author displays her amazing talent for painting the entire character with minimal brushstrokes. Profoundly moving, topical, and a damned good read. It is the hardest thing in the world to write a good story, and this is a very good story by an exciting writer. I look forward to her next work."
--Sean Riley: Sean Riley is one of Australia's most exciting playwrights, recently winning The Adelaide International Festival of the Arts Playwrights Award, as well as being shortlisted for the 2004 Patrick White Award, in honour of Australia's Nobel Prize winning author. His past work include THE LAST ACRE and TIME OF THE ASHES. His epic trilogy BEAUTIFUL WORDS will premiere in 2005.
