Blended families, mixed race heritage, and devastating secrets with the power to destroy families punctuate this compelling debut. The Keneally family is richly drawn, their individual narratives bolstering the idea that family is what you make it, as McHugh probes the prejudice, PTSD, and mental illness that haunts their bloodlines. The heavy material is delicately handled, portraying trauma’s ripple effect with a gentle voice, as McHugh writes, when POW Frank returns home at the end of World War II to Winn’s attempts to nurse him back to health, “Mother and son were in need of each other’s love, but the scars of recent years remained for both of them.”
McHugh’s reunions are emotional and moving, while still relatable, and the characters’ family struggles and personal awakenings will engross readers, whether it’s Dot’s mission to protect and empower the First Nations Peoples or Joe’s reflections on the violence of Vietnam: “I believe there is a certain spirituality that transcends death and our understanding of it.” Amid the family saga, McHugh crafts an intriguing mystery centered on war-driven PTSD alongside a reckoning between Dot and her family that, though readers may see it coming, still resonates.
Takeaway: Moving story that interlaces trauma, loss, and family bonds.
Comparable Titles: Claire Lombardo's The Most Fun We Ever Had, Candice Carty-Williams's People Person.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-
McHugh succeeds in showing how legacies of violence permeate through families and societies, and how all people have to contend with their shadow selves, even as they try to live in the light. Making Shadows will appeal to readers who seek well-researched historical fiction that examines war and its aftermath through a psychological lens.
Making Shadows
by
Tony McHugh
The quotation at the start of Making Shadows heralds what is to come in the story, by referencing Carl Jung's concept of the shadow, which is the idea that confronting one's shadow (the darker aspects of oneself) can lead to self-awareness and personal growth. This theme is reflected in the characters' journeys as they confront their pasts and seek to understand themselves.
The overall plot of the novel Making Shadows revolves around the lives of several characters who are deeply affected by the traumas of war and their personal struggles. The story spans multiple generations and explores themes of resilience, healing, and the impact of historical events on individuals and families.
Here are the main characters in the novel Making Shadows:
- Alice Hewitt: A woman who struggles with the loss of her father during World War II and faces psychological battles.
- Frank Keneally: A former POW who returns from Changi and faces personal and family challenges.
- Joe Keneally: Frank's son, who serves in the Vietnam War and experiences trauma and loss.
- Dot Keneally: Joe's sister, who becomes a dentist and faces personal and professional challenges.
- Norman "Bluey" Lindsay: An investigative journalist who uncovers stories related to Vietnam veterans and organised crime.
- Linh Nguyen: A woman who is tragically killed in a carpark.
- Bindi: An Aboriginal teen who faces a difficult childbirth and whose story touches on cultural and social issues.
- Reverend Samuel York and Elizabeth York: A couple who run a mission and take care of Bindi's child, Dorothy.
Themes in Making Shadows are character driven:
- Alice's Wartime Trauma: Alice Hewitt's life is marred by the loss of her father during World War II and the subsequent struggles with her mother, leading to her own psychological battles and eventual institutionalisation.
- Frank's Post-War Challenges: Frank Keneally returns from being a POW in Changi to face personal and family challenges, including the mental health struggles of his wife Alice and raising their son Joe.
- Joe's Vietnam War Experience: Joe Keneally's service in the Vietnam War is marked by trauma and loss, including the death of his friend Harry "the Dreamer" Russell and his own injuries from a landmine explosion.
- Dot's Professional and Personal Journey: Dot Keneally's journey from childhood through her professional career as a dentist is intertwined with her personal relationships, including her complex bond with Tom and her struggles with pregnancy.
- Norman Lindsay's Investigative Career: Norman "Bluey" Lindsay rises to prominence as an investigative journalist, uncovering stories related to Vietnam veterans and organised crime, but his methods and connections raise ethical concerns.
- The Role of Organized Crime: The narrative reveals the influence of organised crime, particularly the Ndrangheta, in the lives of the characters, including the murders of Chen Lee, Linh Nguyen, and Randolph Saxe-Coburg.
- Joe's Personal and Professional Growth: Joe Keneally's journey of healing and professional success as a clinical psychologist is highlighted, culminating in his participation in the Vietnam Veterans' Welcome Home Parade.
Making Shadows highlights several socio-cultural issues:
1. Wartime Trauma and Its Aftermath: The document explores the psychological and emotional impact of war on individuals and families, such as Alice Hewitt's struggles after losing her father in World War II and Joe Keneally's experiences in the Vietnam War.
- Family and Relationships: The narrative delves into the complexities of family dynamics and relationships, including the strained relationship between Alice and her mother, and the bond between Frank Keneally and his mother after his return from being a POW.
- Resilience and Healing: Characters in the document demonstrate resilience and the journey towards healing, such as Joe Keneally's growth and success as a clinical psychologist and his participation in the Vietnam Veterans' Welcome Home Parade.
- Cultural and Social Issues: The document touches on cultural and social issues, including the experiences of Indigenous Australians, as seen in Bindi's story, and the influence of organised crime on the characters' lives.
- Identity and Self-Discovery: The theme of identity and self-discovery is evident as characters confront their pasts and seek to understand themselves, such as Alice's search for her father's spirit and Norman Lindsay's investigative career.
Review of Making Shadows: Amazon – Mr Bob.
Making Shadows is a strong fictional debut by Tony McHugh. It follows Joe and Dot's upbringing in inner-western Sydney in the post WWII era as they ride the highs and lows of not only the times, but the paths on which they have been born into - celebrating the successes of family and companionship, whilst persevering through life's greatest challenges.
The book starts with a bang, jumping through the turbulent early phases of Joe and Dot's lives for which they inherent, perhaps unknowingly, strong resilience that sets them up to push through the toughest of life's curveballs with the support of ever-loyal family and a mixed bag of 'friends'. Whilst at its core the book is a deep examination of Joe and Dot's unique paths, the book also delves into a 'who dunnit' subplot, whilst visiting influential moments in Australian modern history including First Nations, the Vietnam war and the Granville train disaster.
I must admit, I did find the first 10 chapters a faster pace than I expected (like I said the book starts with a 'bang'), however I relaxed into a flowing rhythm as the book and characters settle. The narrative moves quickly, reeling you in to not only see where the central characters will end up, but also to figure-out the 'who dunnit'.
There are too many events and themes to mention that may grab the attention of the reader (eg. post-war trauma, academic success, unspoken love to name a few), however I enjoyed just as much the detailed descriptions of the seasons and landmarks in inner-western and central Sydney throughout the 1940 - 80's through the eyes of Joe and Dot (for example the summers playing cricket around, and reference to the dental hospital near Central Station - no doubt a reference to the authors upbringing) and the overarching message of always moving forward with life, having relationships at the core of the process (including the unspoken understandings often held within family).
I thoroughly enjoyed McHugh's fictional debut, and highly recommend it for those looking for an easy-reading family mystery drama with heart.
On this sunny ANZAC day, we remember the members of the Australian armed forces, who were sent to different theatres of war in Europe in WWI, in Asia in WW2, and later in Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan. Many of them never came home and many who did were scarred for life.
On this occasion, a book that I have just finished reading recently springs to mind. " Making Shadows" is written by a friend and Periodontist colleague Dr Tony McHugh. Some of the characters in the book experienced war combat in Vietnam first hand, which shaped the careers they pursued after returning home.
Some of the main characters in the book are dentists, and I can relate a lot to their progress during their training at the Sydney Dental Hospital. The upbringing of the characters reflects the predominant Australian culture more than half a century ago, where going to church and playing cricket were the norm. The story spans quite a few decades, following the paths of the main characters in adolescence, in university, in the swinging 60s, in the Vietnam war years and their professional trajectories after the war and beyond.
It is a fact that those who fought in Vietnam often received hostile reception when they returned. Although whether Australia should have taken part in the Vietnam war is still a highly contentious issue, there are again dark clouds in the horizon, with two of the biggest countries in the world now under totalitarian rule, and peace in our time again under real threats.Those service men and women who were sent to the other side of the world to fight for the country should not be forgotten. Without them and the sacrifice they made, living in peace and prosperity in this wonderful country is not something we can take for granted. Lest we forget.🙏
" Making shadows" is a thought provoking book but it is non-judgemental , as questions on religion, morality, racial discrimination, as well as the Vietnam war and care for veterans are raised. It is a great read and hard to put it down. Highly recommended !
https://booklife.com/my/project/making-shadows-92742
Making Shadows – BookLife - Review
Tony McHugh, author
Making Shadows spans the period from the fall of Singapore in World War 2 to the Welcome Home Parade for Vietnam veterans in 1987. It is a story about what appear to be opposites – life and death, light and shadow, war and peace – when, in fact, they are the same. Joe is a National Service conscript. Assigned to his four-man tent at Nui Dat base, he is scrutinised by three regulars of the 1st Australian Task Force in Vietnam. Once they learn he has a degree in psychology, he is nicknamed Shrink. The story follows the diggers through their time in Vietnam, and their subsequent personal battles in the aftermath of the war – PTSD, drug use and organised crime, murder and revenge, heartache and good fortune. As the story proceeds, we learn about Frank, Joe’s father, and his time as a Japanese POW. We follow Joe’s adopted First Nations sister, Dot, as she weaves her way through the family’s post-war traumas and achievements, as well as her own path through racial prejudice to professional and personal fulfilment. What she and Joe don’t know is that they share the same biological father, a secret withheld by Frank and their grandmother Winn.
Reviews
BookLife - Review
McHugh’s emotive family narrative unfolds through multiple perspectives, showcasing the far-reaching, multigenerational effects of family secrets and trauma. Australian Joe Keneally, whose troubled and abusive mother, Alice, died when he was a baby, was raised by his father, Frank, and grandmother Winn—along with his adopted sister, Dot, a First Nations woman whose connection to Joe is much closer than either realizes. As Joe’s conscripted into the Australian Army to fight on the Vietnam front, and Dot tries to navigate home life without him, McHugh follows the Keneally family through several decades, charting their devastating life changes, loss, and enduring family bonds against the backdrop of World War II through the aftermath of the Vietnam War.
Blended families, mixed race heritage, and devastating secrets with the power to destroy families punctuate this compelling debut. The Keneally family is richly drawn, their individual narratives bolstering the idea that family is what you make it, as McHugh probes the prejudice, PTSD, and mental illness that haunts their bloodlines. The heavy material is delicately handled, portraying trauma’s ripple effect with a gentle voice, as McHugh writes, when POW Frank returns home at the end of World War II to Winn’s attempts to nurse him back to health, “Mother and son were in need of each other’s love, but the scars of recent years remained for both of them.”
McHugh’s reunions are emotional and moving, while still relatable, and the characters’ family struggles and personal awakenings will engross readers, whether it’s Dot’s mission to protect and empower the First Nations Peoples or Joe’s reflections on the violence of Vietnam: “I believe there is a certain spirituality that transcends death and our understanding of it.” Amid the family saga, McHugh crafts an intriguing mystery centered on war-driven PTSD alongside a reckoning between Dot and her family that, though readers may see it coming, still resonates.
Takeaway: Moving story that interlaces trauma, loss, and family bonds.
Kate Michaelson – Reedsy Discovery
Scenes depicting Joe's experiences in Vietnam are vividly rendered and introduce us to characters from all walks of life. Also, Dot, who is of Aboriginal descent, makes for a particularly compelling character, and McHugh brings her intelligence and charisma alive on the page. Overall, Making Shadows is a cerebral novel that tackles a range of ambitious subject matter--from war to mental health.
McHugh succeeds in showing how legacies of violence permeate through families and societies, and how all people have to contend with their shadow selves, even as they try to live in the light. Making Shadows will appeal to readers who seek well-researched historical fiction that examines war and its aftermath through a psychological lens.
Prof Patrick Tseng - Periodontist - Guest Professor University of Cambodia
On this sunny ANZAC day, we remember the members of the Australian armed forces, who were sent to different theatres of war in Europe in WWI, in Asia in WW2, and later in Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan. Many of them never came home and many who did were scarred for life.
On this occasion, a book that I have just finished reading recently springs to mind. " Making Shadows" is written by a friend and Periodontist colleague Dr Tony McHugh. Some of the characters in the book experienced war combat in Vietnam first hand, which shaped the careers they pursued after returning home.
Some of the main characters in the book are dentists, and I can relate a lot to their progress during their training at the Sydney Dental Hospital. The upbringing of the characters reflects the predominant Australian culture more than half a century ago, where going to church and playing cricket were the norm. The story spans quite a few decades, following the paths of the main characters in adolescence, in university, in the swinging 60s, in the Vietnam war years and their professional trajectories after the war and beyond.
It is a fact that those who fought in Vietnam often received hostile reception when they returned. Although whether Australia should have taken part in the Vietnam war is still a highly contentious issue, there are again dark clouds in the horizon, with two of the biggest countries in the world now under totalitarian rule, and peace in our time again under real threats. Those service men and women who were sent to the other side of the world to fight for the country should not be forgotten. Without them and the sacrifice they made, living in peace and prosperity in this wonderful country is not something we can take for granted. Lest we forget.🙏
"Making shadows" is a thought provoking book but it is non-judgemental , as questions on religion, morality, racial discrimination, as well as the Vietnam war and care for veterans are raised. It is a great read and hard to put it down. Highly recommended !
Review of Making Shadows: Amazon – Mr Bob.
Making Shadows is a strong fictional debut by Tony McHugh. It follows Joe and Dot's upbringing in inner-western Sydney in the post WWII era as they ride the highs and lows of not only the times, but the paths on which they have been born into - celebrating the successes of family and companionship, whilst persevering through life's greatest challenges.
The book starts with a bang, jumping through the turbulent early phases of Joe and Dot's lives for which they inherent, perhaps unknowingly, strong resilience that sets them up to push through the toughest of life's curveballs with the support of ever-loyal family and a mixed bag of 'friends'. Whilst at its core the book is a deep examination of Joe and Dot's unique paths, the book also delves into a 'who dunnit' subplot, whilst visiting influential moments in Australian modern history including First Nations, the Vietnam war and the Granville train disaster.
I must admit, I did find the first 10 chapters a faster pace than I expected (like I said the book starts with a 'bang'), however I relaxed into a flowing rhythm as the book and characters settle. The narrative moves quickly, reeling you in to not only see where the central characters will end up, but also to figure-out the 'who dunnit'.
There are too many events and themes to mention that may grab the attention of the reader (eg. post-war trauma, academic success, unspoken love to name a few), however I enjoyed just as much the detailed descriptions of the seasons and landmarks in inner-western and central Sydney throughout the 1940 - 80's through the eyes of Joe and Dot (for example the summers playing cricket around, and reference to the dental hospital near Central Station - no doubt a reference to the authors upbringing) and the overarching message of always moving forward with life, having relationships at the core of the process (including the unspoken understandings often held within family).
I thoroughly enjoyed McHugh's fictional debut, and highly recommend it for those looking for an easy-reading family mystery drama with heart.
Review – Medbeat Media
Making Shadows
by
Tony McHugh
The quotation at the start of Making Shadows heralds what is to come in the story, by referencing Carl Jung's concept of the shadow, which is the idea that confronting one's shadow (the darker aspects of oneself) can lead to self-awareness and personal growth. This theme is reflected in the characters' journeys as they confront their pasts and seek to understand themselves.
The overall plot of the novel Making Shadows revolves around the lives of several characters who are deeply affected by the traumas of war and their personal struggles. The story spans multiple generations and explores themes of resilience, healing, and the impact of historical events on individuals and families.
Here are the main characters in the novel Making Shadows:
- Alice Hewitt: A woman who struggles with the loss of her father during World War II and faces psychological battles.
- Frank Keneally: A former POW who returns from Changi and faces personal and family challenges.
- Joe Keneally: Frank's son, who serves in the Vietnam War and experiences trauma and loss.
- Dot Keneally: Joe's sister, who becomes a dentist and faces personal and professional challenges.
- Norman "Bluey" Lindsay: An investigative journalist who uncovers stories related to Vietnam veterans and organised crime.
- Linh Nguyen: A woman who is tragically killed in a carpark.
- Bindi: An Aboriginal teen who faces a difficult childbirth and whose story touches on cultural and social issues.
- Reverend Samuel York and Elizabeth York: A couple who run a mission and take care of Bindi's child, Dorothy.
Themes in Making Shadows are character driven:
- Alice's Wartime Trauma: Alice Hewitt's life is marred by the loss of her father during World War II and the subsequent struggles with her mother, leading to her own psychological battles and eventual institutionalisation.
- Frank's Post-War Challenges: Frank Keneally returns from being a POW in Changi to face personal and family challenges, including the mental health struggles of his wife Alice and raising their son Joe.
- Joe's Vietnam War Experience: Joe Keneally's service in the Vietnam War is marked by trauma and loss, including the death of his friend Harry "the Dreamer" Russell and his own injuries from a landmine explosion.
- Dot's Professional and Personal Journey: Dot Keneally's journey from childhood through her professional career as a dentist is intertwined with her personal relationships, including her complex bond with Tom and her struggles with pregnancy.
- Norman Lindsay's Investigative Career: Norman "Bluey" Lindsay rises to prominence as an investigative journalist, uncovering stories related to Vietnam veterans and organised crime, but his methods and connections raise ethical concerns.
- The Role of Organized Crime: The narrative reveals the influence of organised crime, particularly the Ndrangheta, in the lives of the characters, including the murders of Chen Lee, Linh Nguyen, and Randolph Saxe-Coburg.
- Joe's Personal and Professional Growth: Joe Keneally's journey of healing and professional success as a clinical psychologist is highlighted, culminating in his participation in the Vietnam Veterans' Welcome Home Parade.
Making Shadows highlights several socio-cultural issues:
1. Wartime Trauma and Its Aftermath: The document explores the psychological and emotional impact of war on individuals and families, such as Alice Hewitt's struggles after losing her father in World War II and Joe Keneally's experiences in the Vietnam War.
- Family and Relationships: The narrative delves into the complexities of family dynamics and relationships, including the strained relationship between Alice and her mother, and the bond between Frank Keneally and his mother after his return from being a POW.
- Resilience and Healing: Characters in the document demonstrate resilience and the journey towards healing, such as Joe Keneally's growth and success as a clinical psychologist and his participation in the Vietnam Veterans' Welcome Home Parade.
- Cultural and Social Issues: The document touches on cultural and social issues, including the experiences of Indigenous Australians, as seen in Bindi's story, and the influence of organised crime on the characters' lives.
- Identity and Self-Discovery: The theme of identity and self-discovery is evident as characters confront their pasts and seek to understand themselves, such as Alice's search for her father's spirit and Norman Lindsay's investigative career.
