Reviews
A vivid portrait of everyone’s beloved Fremantle. A well-told story that promises much.
The Sunday Times
Don't be fooled, that this is in any way a love story or even a light romance. Cappuccino Diva is a story of self discovery, of self belief and self absorption. As the novel unfolds, Angie grows in a manner which is both endearing and believable.
This is also a book about a place - Fremantle. The port city, forever struggling to be more than a suburb of Perth, is an entity that those who have spent time there have to love. Author Samantha Tidy captures the elements of Fremantle with a precision which will make those who have lived there home sick. The houses, the cafes, the hotels and - most importantly - the people, fill the pages with the life that is Fremantle.
Aussiereviews.com
Endearing, partly because of the narrative voice and partly because of loving details of the Fremantle landscape.
Sydney Morning Herald
Come with a literary pedigree.
The Australian
Cappuccino Diva
Runner-Up 2000, T.A.G. Hungerford Award, Western Australia
Samantha Tidy
Smashwords Edition.
Published by Storytorch Consulting
http://www.storytorch.com.au
Copyright © Samantha Tidy 2011.
All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the copyright act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission from the publisher.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the work of this author.
A hard copy of this book is available through http://www.storytorch.com.au
First published in 2003, by Black Coffee Press.
This edition published 2011 by Storytorch Consulting.
This edition differs slightly from the original, in that it has been edited for more clarity for non-local readers, and around 7,000 words have been removed.
Cover design by Edmund Robless, Adopt Design.
National Library of Australia Cataloguing in Publication data:
Cappuccino Diva: a novel
Tidy, Samantha
Published: Melville, W.A.: Black Coffee Press, 2003
ISBN 0646 499 327
This story is inspired by real people and events. However, it should be read as a work of fiction.
This novel received Runner Up in the TAG Hungerford Award, 2000.
Dedication
To my mum and dad.
Thanks for giving me everything. Given the choice again,
I’d pick the same parents.
Foreword
It’s been over eight years since Cappuccino Diva was first published, and in that time, a lot has changed. The book received an overwhelming response from predominantly West Australian readers, most of whom found that the book connected them to the place they know and love: Fremantle. It’s lovely to know that for several years it has been included on the West Australian English As An Additional Language Curriculum, and is used with high school students to discuss multiculturalism and local history.
This short novel (a three act tragedy complete with its own chorus – played by a piano) is the story of one year in the life of a town that many people call home. If you do not know this place, I hope the story that follows allows you to see the face of your own hometown more clearly, and to appreciate what it is as Australians, that we call home.
Whilst this novel is fiction, many of the events therein, did happen. There really was a forest blockade to save Giblett block, in 1997 (and it still stands thank you to the many people who made it happen). I really did sing and play guitar in a band (albeit, a rather crappy one). Whilst the character of Angie is fictional, I did give her some of her own experiences and family history, and as such there are people who recognise themselves in the story – some people not so happily, and some with great pride. To any of my Fremantle acquaintances who didn’t like being portrayed in a novel, what can I say – life is art, and art is life. You were a part of one year in my life and it wasn’t until later that I realised I wanted to write about it. Capturing a year in the mid to late nineties in Fremantle, though the eyes of a young, local and naïve lass, felt like the right thing to do and I am glad I did. It’s an amazing town, with a social history that needs to be remembered.