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With My Little Eye
by Sandra Hogan
Published by Allen and Unwin
ISBN 9781760878467
As the subtitle of this book says, it is an incredible story of a family of spies in the suburbs.
Not just the adults (parents) but also the young children as they grow up into adulthood.
On first reading the book, thoughts that came across my mind were, could this really be true? Wow, this is incredible.This is quite an eye-opening reading about the lives these three young children and their parents had, as part of the spying world and their part in the early days of Australia's spy agency, ASIO.
Imagine, as a child, having to remember to keep quiet about helping your dad as he was working, which was most of the time. Such as when he was taking a photo of you, but actually concentrating on a person or scene behind you. Or, you suspected that when out shopping, he was observing others in the shopping centre. Or, enjoying Chinese meals with Chinese families, at a time when it was quite an exotic thing to do. And not being able to mention a thing about these events to your school friends.
Having to remember to never mention that you and your family had been socialising with other families from Croation and Serbian origins, because your dad was doing important work keeping Australia safe by spying on the various communities.
Or, when visiting a close relative, being restricted from talking to the kids that lived next door. You could talk to them but not cross the fence. How many young children would understand all of this, or remember not to mention a word about it to anyone.
Never ask questions about things that seemed odd such as why daddy is always working long hours or why he disappears for days at a time. Or, suddenly finding a stranger sleeping in your bedroom, when you woke up in the morning. Again, don't ask questions, actually don't utter a word.
These, and many other, strange things happened all through the childhoods of this family as dad and mum performed important work keeping the country safe.
Their mum was always there for them, keeping a comfortable and safe home, but one of the phrases that stood out for me was that she could give a stare that would stop a fire engine going to put out a fire.
Their mother also worked for ASIO in the early days but, even when she officially stopped working for the organisation, she was still working for them because "you never really left". She spied upon parents of children at the same school, or the extra curricula activities in which her children were involved by joining in various parent organisations. Hard to believe at first, but then so are many things shared in this book that are an eye-opener.
Something to ponder reading "With my Little Eye" while they were constantly being trained, is how will these children turn out as adults. Yes, we do find out.
A fascinating read, this book is difficult to put down. It's been well researched by the author, journalist Sandra Hogan, who worked in collaboration with the eldest child of the family, Sue Ellen. She also met and interviewed her siblings and their mother Joan. It is a very easy read and I particularly enjoyed the lengthy epilogue.
Highly Recommended
This is independent review, I am not paid by the publishers, so.If you Liked this review, Buy me a coffee
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