Stephanie Johnson

Crimes of Neglect
ISBN: 0908652658
Published by New Women's Press, NZ
First Published: 1992

First there was Liam, who broke my heart, then Farrell who later broke my nose, then Harriet with her little feet sickle-shaped, then the baby Ellen, perfect in every sense except for her timing. There could have been another, Krishna's child, but I got rid of it.

Bea is forty-four, nomadic and alcoholic, a cellist of sorts. Her cello, mostly unplayed, is part of the equilibrium she seeks from Christchurch to Auckland to Sydney.

In this challenging first novel Stephanie Johnson explores our ideas about motherhood and the family, about responsibility, hope and loss.

Reviews of Crimes of Neglect

Johnson’s style and natural wit infects every domain of this startling novel… It is a while since the face of piety and arrogance has looked so unwelcoming, and the face of a free spirit splattered with alcoholic puke so innocent and welcoming… I suppose it would be decorous if Stephanie Johnson never wrote another word. It won’t happen. Hers is a voice that must and will be heard.
(Karen Lamb, The Age, 6.6.92)

It is a terrific read for those who love to pore over the intricacies and horrors of family relationships, and who are perplexed by some women’s habitual passivity. It is sharp, achingly perceptive, cruel and gripping reading.
(Alison Jones, New Zealand Herald)

This is a very successful first novel, tremendously rich in characters and characterisation.
(Modern Times, June, 1992)

Crimes of Neglect, sins of omission – the moralists will get us on them every time. While Stephanie Johnson avoids the moralistic stance through her choice of narrator, it’s the demands of responsibility she’s concerned with here and the consequences of failing to take them on… It’s the voice of experience from a surprisingly young writer… This is a remarkably accomplished novel. Provocative rather than reassuring, it takes the comfortable world of non-committal and gives it a shake.
(Liam Davison, Australian Book Review)