The Hummingbird Effect by Kate Mildenhall
“Below the surface through the rippled roiling waters of us, down, deep down, silver scales flash against a piece of buckled tin tossed in, an old engine grown slick with river muck and weed and here, what’s this? Snouting forward in the murky dark, a bundle of rags attracting the bottom dwellers, glide on past before it reveals its innards.”
The third novel from Aussie literary fave Kate Mildenhall takes us on an epic narrative journey across time and the lives of four different women. The Hummingbird Effect (2023) introduces us to Peggy, Hilda, Cat and Maz as they each attempt to navigate the challenges they face in their individual timelines.
The book moves deftly between the experiences and perspectives of each character, and I was impressed by just how seamlessly Mildenhall manages to transport us through the shifting timelines and back again. Each character holds a strong sense of self and a clear voice - vital for readers in a novel that brings them and their small worlds together.
There’s Peggy, a strong-willed meat factory worker in Footscray, who, at nineteen years old, is determined to be something more than the world would have her destined to be in 1933. That is until she catches the eye of the handsome yet overbearing slaughterman, Jack:
“She knows him. Everyone does. Jack King, up-and-comer, son of a slaughterman, probably the great-great-grandson of one. The women say his name a little breathlessly … She watches him work. He looks like a man who gets what he wants.”
Told through a mix of Hilda’s perspective, nursing home reports and text message exchanges between her remaining family members, Hilda is living out her days in a residential home when the COVID-19 pandemic hits. As dementia begins to claim Hilda, she clings to her memories, fearful of losing them altogether:
“But the thought of the shower, that scouring heat, watching everything she remembers swirling and twirling with that awful stinky pink soap down that little silver drain …”
Hilda’s story may be the most poignant of the four. After an astonishing career as a female academic studying moths at a time when female academics were mostly mocked, Mildenhall shows us with great empathy the sense of loss that can be too easily found at the end of a life and the sad fate of being forgotten:
“No one has been inside this room for twelve hours. No food. No water. No last cup of tea. Hot and strong, only enough milk to cover the bottom of the cup, just the way she likes it.”
In 2031, Cat’s taken a job at an AI-assisted warehouse, packing orders for a large money-hungry online retailer (akin to Amazon) while she waits for her voice to heal and she can return to her music career. Her partner, La, is keen for them to start a family, and her new role offers a comprehensive and well-compensated health package that includes IVF. But Cat is torn between bringing her employer to account, raising a child in the world in its current state and losing La.
And finally, youthful Maz is attempting to make sense of a senseless world in 2181. With her younger sister in tow, Maz is growing up and learning that not all those who claim to be looking out for her and the rest of their group are telling the full truth about their motives.
As she begins to recall memories of her mother’s teachings and witnesses dark actions from the leader of the group, she realises she has a choice to make:
“Maz bites hard on the bottom of her lip to stop from crying out. Leans forward, desperate to hear Trust’s voice again, but there is only wind, the quiet drag of a body over the wet ground.”
There is a lot going on in this one, and I was genuinely in awe of how wonderfully woven together the story of each character is. There were a few moments that pulled me out of the narrative, but these were minor, and overall this was an exhilarating page-turner that I woke eager to return to with my morning coffee.
With beautiful meditations on female bonds and an empowering focus on women who challenge the status quo, The Hummingbird Effect is an immensely enjoyable read with some vital messages at its heart.
Fans of Emily St John Mandell, Charlotte McConaghy and Anne Patchett will definitely want to get their hands on this one.
*Content warning: The Hummingbird Effect contains scenes of domestic violence and elder person neglect.
Elaine Chennatt is a writer, educator and psychology student currently residing in nipaluna. She has a special interest in bibliotherapy (how we use literature to make sense of our lives) and is endlessly curious about the creative philosophies of others. She lives with her husband and two bossy dachshunds on the not-so-sunny side of the river (IYKYK). Find her online at wordswithelaine.com.
