Praise and Reviews
“How to live well has always been the question. Perhaps even more so in our complex modern world. Black Cow
is a novel of our time. We follow the characters through all the
compromises, adjustments and hard choices that must be made in order to
live a life of wholeness and integrity. This is a life affirming
story.” Judy Johnson
“Most people don’t simply wake up one morning and realize that
they’ve veered away from their ideals and set themselves squarely in the
middle of the path leading back to them. In reality such an awakening
is gradual, fueled by series of seemingly disconnected incidents; and
the road back, if one can even get there, is more like a game of Giant
Steps than a straight trajectory. Black Cow examines the
possibility of lifestyle change through the actions of the Archer
family. Fast-paced, gorgeously-written and stunningly perceptive, Black Cow is not only a great read; it is a timely and important one.” Joan Schweighardt
“Magdalena Ball is a remarkable wordsmith. Her prose hovers above
your skin like ‘need’ and never drifts away. Her latest novel, Black Cow,
is yet another masterpiece which I will keep treasured on my bookshelf.
The characters in this story are on the hunt for happiness, for refuge,
clawing their way through the stark reality of unfulfilling wealth,
corporate hierarchies, fatigue, stress-related illnesses, and family
neglect. Ball’s seamless exploration of the faulty human-condition and
the urgent notion that money means success is brilliantly interwoven
with the gentle quietness of unconditional love, invoking sighs and
gasps and the sudden realization that life is so much more than what we
are conditioned to expect. Life is precious, and small enough to cradle
in the palm of a baby’s hand. Jessica Bell
“The Archer family lives The success lie. Black Cow is a
brilliant expose of the life behind corporate success. James has to
force himself to become the ‘iceman’ to function as the CEO of the
company; Freya, his wife, leaves behind her scientific career to become a
real estate agent to people with lives as shallow as her own has
become; their children possess every gadget young teens could want,
except quality time with their parents. In their attempt to rescue
themselves before the family disintegrates totally, the members of the
Archer family move from the affluent Eastern suburbs of Sydney to rural
Tasmania, where they learn many hard lessons about life and how to be a
family.” Jan Mitchell
“The prose style is brilliant. It is clever and insightful in
describing and personalizing the angst of the modern world. Classic…it
reminds me of John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row in its ability to capture the
moment in history in a personal way.” Doug Osborne
“A tightly written documentary of one family’s epiphany and move from
rampant consumerism to sustainable lifestyle.” Linda Cockburn
“Excellent, professional and polished…capturing that claustrophobic
feeling of being trapped and not knowing where to turn. This is a
gripping yarn that will appeal to a wide group of readers.” Lisa Heidke
“Magdalena Ball has set a new standard, maybe initiated a new genre. Her Black Cow isn’t for the Beat Generation; it’s for this millennium’s fast-track generation. Black Cow
captures the mind-freezing pace of this digital age before coming up
with the most hopeful ending possible ” Carolyn Howard-Johnson
“I think we all can relate to James and Freya. The story is
beautifully written, and so well-portrayed and with believable
characters and beautiful description…in short, I cared. I like the dirt
motif and the ‘black cow’ motif. Even though it was a very dark comic
portrayal, I was riveted and I felt teary-eyed at the end in a good
way.” Kristin Johnson
“Being wealthy isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be. Who knew
there is so much stress involved in trying to stay on top. A big house,
matching Jags in the driveway, kids in private school, designer clothes,
and all of the latest tech gadgets couldn’t keep this family happy.
Maybe a move to the Tasmanian bush was the answer. Magdalena Ball writes
so vividly that my own shoulders tensed as I followed the Archer
family’s struggles and I looked for ways to simplify my life. Gradually
my tension lessened as I followed the family to Tasmania, as I inhaled
the wonderful scent of blooming flowers, and stroked the black cow. A
good read for everyone.” Janet S. Gould
“In this cunningly crafted novel Magdalena Ball takes us to the heart
of a family floundering on the brink of self destruction. And it is
truly a destruction of self we are watching in painful clarity…Ball
peels back the layers of the relationship as she brings Freya and James
back from the brink of their own carefully scripted disaster, giving
hope in change to sustainable solutions for their lives, both
environmental and emotional. It is a hope we cannot help but savour. A
hope that compels us to re-examine our own lives and seek meaning, and
the courage to sacrifice in order to live without compromise, or regret.
To check the compass of our own yesterdays, todays and tomorrows.”
Linda Brooks
“Black Cow is to be commended for its realism and its
honesty. It’s not a thrill ride, not an entertainment to divert us
momentarily from the challenges of daily living, but a meditation on how
life should be lived, on what we value and what we don’t…All this said,
they could well make a movie out of Black Cow, and I’d buy a ticket.” Gerald Everett Jones
“Black Cow is an open-eyed take on mid-life crisis and the
need to redefine who we are and why the heck we are here anyway. She
pulls no punches. Her no-holds-barred approach leaves you feeling like a
Peeping Tom who looked over the shoulders of her characters into their
inner sanctums and watched them sink, swim and drag themselves ashore
spitting weed. This is an honest-to-goodness, warts-and-all, voyage into
an unchartered sea change for which Magdalena is to be roundly
congratulated!” Jennifer McCrae-Poulter
“Magdalena Ball writes with insightful realism, but there is beauty and passion and hope woven into the words, as well… Black Cow
is an intelligent, deeply reflective story of a family who reaches its
deepest lows, then transcends the expected norm to reconnect with the
earth and each other in a joyful, satisfying adventure.” Aaron Paul
Lazar
“Magdalena Ball’s skill as an explorer and cartographer of interior
landscapes draws us deep inside the lives of an ambitious and successful
Sydney couple, the Archers. We are engrossed with Freya and James and
their two teenagers from the first page as they desperately struggle
to keep up in the “rat race.” Ball writes in a clear, flowing style
marked by her poet’s ear for the brilliant image, and we are carried
along as James and Freya make the impossible decision to leave their
affluent city life and escape to what they hope will be a
self-sustaining farm life in rural Tasmania. But as the old adage goes,
“Wherever you go, there you are,” and James continues to compulsively
over-work and over-drink, while Freya is unable to break free of her
craving for material things. Yet transform they do, as every surprising
turn of Ball’s story reveals hidden facets and strengths in James,
Freya and their two children as the family finds new values and meaning
in their new life.” Ruhama Veltfort
