Debra Oswald’s One Hundred Years of Betty is a rollicking, poignant and deeply human exploration of a life lived to its fullest – messy, defiant and unapologetically rich. Betty, our centenarian protagonist, is no passive relic of history; she is a force, a storyteller, a woman who has clawed her way through a century of upheaval with wit, resilience and a sharp tongue that refuses to be dulled by time.
The author, seasoned Australian writer for film, television, stage, radio, and both adult and children’s fiction, has written a meditation on ageing, not as a slow retreat, but as a battle cry. Oswald’s titular character’s life spans wars, feminist revolutions and cultural shifts that would have swallowed a lesser spirit whole.
With her protagonist growing up during World War II and celebrating her 100th birthday in the aftermath of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Oswald chronicles Betty’s experiences with poverty, war, migration, marriage, motherhood and more. She’s a living testament to the power of endurance. “Respect your elders?” Betty muses. “Darling, I’ve outlived them all.”
Oswald’s prose is delightfully cheeky, laced with a knowing humour that makes Betty’s reflections feel less like a solemn recounting and more like a conspiratorial wink across the decades. “I didn’t live this long just to be polite,” Betty quips, setting the tone for a narrative that refuses to sentimentalise old age.
Instead, Oswald revels in the contradictions of longevity – the wisdom and the weariness, the triumphs and the regrets, the sheer audacity of surviving when so many others have fallen away. And her chapters carry this reflective tone:
“Palaeontologists use fossil traces to understand the past, examining the gaps in rock layers where a creature, long ago dissolved, once lived. I’ve attempted to look at my own fossil record: measuring emotional gaps in my adult self to decipher the shape of the pre memory moment that created such a hole.”
The overarching theme of intergenerational wisdom is expertly weaved across 10 decades, showing how Betty’s life is shaped by those who came before her – Pearl, Athena, Leo – each leaving their mark, each a thread in the tapestry of her existence. The novel reminds us that history is not just something we inherit; it is something we shape, something we carry forward. Betty’s story is a reminder that to grow old is not to fade, but to sharpen, to refine, to become more fully oneself.
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With One Hundred Years of Betty, Oswald has crafted a novel that is as engaging as it is profound, a celebration of life’s grit and grandeur. And how important it is to “…operate on the assumption that [your] home will remain standing and people [you] love will come safely back down the stairs”. Surrounded by characters that give her strength, Betty is not just a character; she is a challenge, a dare, a reminder that aging is not a diminishing – it is an expansion. And what a glorious expansion it is.
One Hundred Years of Betty, Debra Oswald
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 9781761470615
Format: Paperback
Pages: 448pp
Publication date: 4 March 2025
RRP: $34.99
