Australian writer Tegan Bennett Daylight has always been surrounded by books. As a child she was encouraged to read by her mother, who would gather a stack of books for her children to explore whenever they said they were bored. As a young woman she would escape into the many different realms that fiction offers. Later, she would pick up her mother's tradition of quoting from great literature and poetry as a way of communicating with her own children.
Many of the essays are deeply personal. In 'Vagina' she talks about the physical and emotional trauma of child birth, while in 'Detail II' she shares her mother's last days, and 'Georgia Blain' is about her dear friend who died too soon. Along the way we learn about Bennett Daylight's family, her tight friendships with fellow authors, and gain an insight into her work as a lecturer.
Throughout The Details Bennett Daylight would mention preparing to facilitate sessions at the Sydney Writers' Festival and I recalled the many times I attended her sessions, admiring her erudite and insightful commentary on literature. I first saw her at the 2015 Festival where she spoke with Helen Garner in a session on ' Lives and Writing'. The following year at the 2016 Festival she had a great talk with Jonathan Franzen about the books that influenced him. I also recall seeing Bennett Daylight and Charlotte Wood at the 2018 Festival where they spoke about humour in serious literature.
There were many aspects of The Details that I enjoyed, such as her commentary on tertiary education, her linking of literature with memory, and her analysis of works that showcase the importance of detail. Her personal accounts of grief were heartbreaking, and brought back memories of my own deathbed vigil experience. But overall I found this collection uneven and lacking flow. While I am glad to have read The Details, but I must admit that I prefer Bennett Daylight's fiction, especially her short story collection Six Bedrooms (2015).