Sofie Laguna explores the part of growing up we don’t talk about

BY NYAH BARNES

AUSTRALIAN author Sofie Laguna says her new novel ‘The Underworld’ began unexpectedly one noisy Friday night in a Melbourne basketball stadium.

Busy watching her nine–year–old son’s skills and drills session, Laguna opened her notebook and began to write.

“It was very noisy, and I was sitting on the benches along the side with my notebook,” she said. “Being a writing parent, I’ve learned to find those opportunities absolutely anywhere.”

Amid the chaos, the character who would become Martha Mullins appeared fully formed.

“In my attempt to endure the noise and create a kind of wall, this character poured forth with an enormous amount to say,” Laguna said.

Set in 1970s Sydney, ‘The Underworld’ tells the story of Martha’s transition from child to adult, exploring family, identity and belonging.

Laguna said adolescence was new territory for her, and it gave her a lot of opportunities to learn about writing.

“It is not a time I’ve ever explored in any novel before, but this voice suddenly had an enormous amount to say, and she said it with humour and with rage.”

She described this initial experience as “transcendent”.

When she reread her early pages that night, she knew something important had begun, “it was messy, but it had a heartbeat.”

Laguna soon set aside another project to focus entirely on Martha’s life.

“When I began to investigate the events of her life that were particularly formative, I learned I had to start the story when Martha is making that transition [to adulthood], a challenging, unsettling, thrilling time.”

Laguna, a former actor trained at Melbourne’s Victorian College of the Arts, and now author, says writing requires the same immersion she once found in performance.

“I loved being in character and it’s still one of my favourite things. Except I do it on the page, which asks for much greater discipline and rigour.

“It also gives me much greater range because I’m not limited by physicality.”

Before turning to writing, Laguna faced years of inconsistent theatre work.

“I was always very serious about my work life,” she said, “I had all those big dreams… so it was a painful journey.”

 

In the mid–1990s she began studying creative writing at RMIT, hoping to “write myself a show or something.”

After one particularly difficult year in theatre, she decided to focus on writing, “I literally had a crystal-clear thought,” she said, “I’m going to focus on writing.”

Within weeks she had written a picture–book manuscript, which was readily accepted for publication.

Laguna was thrilled, “I never looked back,” she said, “I just wrote.”

Laguna said her novels often draw from personal experience.

“Even if we read and listen and learn all sorts of things from outside of us… it’s still being processed through the artist or the writer. So, it must all be their own life in a way.”

In writing ‘The Underworld’, she revisited some of her own teenage experiences, from boarding school, to learning Latin. In doing so, Martha continued to take shape.

Setting the story in the 1970s allowed her to explore an era when gender roles and expectations were shifting.

“I wanted her far away enough from more contemporary ideas of gender and sexuality. It was an exciting time for feminism, but still pretty challenging,” Laguna said.

Despite the difficulties her young protagonist faces, Laguna emphasises Martha’s resilience.

“She was fragile, yes, but she didn’t give up… she starts appreciating books, poetry, language, teachers.”

She said Martha is “really loveable” character, who is surrounded by people who cherish her.

Laguna hopes readers will feel the same connection she has to Martha’s world.

“It would be so great if readers could experience even some of that sort of delicious immersion… it was exhilarating and it swept me away,” she said.

Laguna will be touring with ‘The Underworld’ in November, including one night at The Book Room on November 19.

In addition, Laguna is collaborating with her husband, illustrator Mark McBride, on a graphic novel to be released by Penguin Random House next year.

Tickets for Sofie Laguna at The Book Room can be found at thebookroomcollective.com/