A Few Right Thinking Men

April 11, 2016
Gentill’s well-mannered first novel in a series set in Depression-era Australia introduces gentleman painter Rowland “Rowly” Sinclair, the somewhat emotionally reserved youngest son of a moneyed family. Rowly’s pursuit of his artistic path and financial support of several similar-minded creative friends are causes of concern to his older brother and their peers, “right-thinking men” who suspect Rowly’s associates of Communist leanings or worse. When Rowly’s uncle, also named Roland Sinclair, dies after being assaulted in his Sydney home, the police suspect the elderly housekeeper, in collusion with other disenfranchised elements, despite the housekeeper’s reported sighting of mysterious dark figures at the scene. Convinced the police are pursuing the wrong path, Rowly looks deeper into his uncle’s holdings and interests. Gentill’s positioning of Rowly as an observer of the personal consequences of political actions targeting the privileged and the not so fortunate helps inform the sometimes dry narrative.