Written as a love letter to her ageing father in his dying days, Mandy Sayer’s No Dancing in the Lift paints an intimate portrait of an unconventional childhood, grief and how love plays out under painful circumstances.
This memoir by the award-winning narrative non-fiction writer builds on her internationally published autobiographical work, Dreamtime Alice, in which she recounts the itinerant years spent performing as a tap dancer on the streets of New York and New Orleans with her father, jazz drummer Gerry Sayer.
Sayer: personal insight
No Dancing in the Lift is a vulnerable, honest and very personal insight into the final stages of Gerry’s life, with Mandy firmly by his side as he battles terminal cancer. Set on the gritty streets of Kings Cross and Darlinghurst, Sayer doesn’t shy away from the realities of poverty, addiction, mental illness, infidelity, drug use and isolation.
From the opening sentence – ‘by the time I arrive to clear out your flat, you’d been dead 10 days’ – Sayer recounts her experiences to her unconventional father, who she describes as more of a friend.
The book intertwines the present with memories of past days including her Irish father’s tall stories, jam sessions, rebellion and all-night parties.
Sayer notes difficult times when Gerry left the family for good and her mother descended into long distance alcoholism. Yet, her love for her father shines through regardless of her dysfunctional childhood spent in music bars and pubs.
However, Sayer’s urge to buck the conventions of typical adult life, marriage and suburban values remain and colour her present decisions.
Her use of prose is vivid and poetic, such when Sayer writes ‘the sky detonated into chandeliers of light’ and ‘hundreds of fruit bats glide across the bay like black silk handkerchiefs’. On the flip slide, she describes ‘elderly people lying in beds in open wards, faces with the grey pallor of uncooked prawns’.
Sayer: lasting love
Towards the end of the book, a new story unfurls for Sayer as deep friendship turns into a joyous and lasting love – just as her father slips away.
With a fearless exploration of inescapable grief as a sole carer for someone with a terminal illness, interspersed with uplifting elements, this book will resonate with anyone who has faced losing their parents with all the joy of memories shared, heartbreak and unending love shared in between.
No Dancing in the Lift, by Mandy Sayer, is published by Transit Lounge on 31 August 2025.
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Excitable Boy: Essays on Risk, Dominic Gordon, review
Excitable Boy: Essays on Risk is Melburnian Dominic Gordon’s first book. The 13 “essays” are more like vivid snapshots of Gordon’s memories as he grew up walking the line between normality and trouble. Through Gordon’s eyes, the reader is brought along to train yard graffiti sessions, drugged-up clubs and Melbourne’s western suburbs pre-gentrification.
Aptly titled, each essay engages with the theme of risk – whether it be through petty crime, injury or wagging school. Don’t let the word “essay” deter you though, the storytelling quality of the essays is unmissable and makes for a compelling read for fiction-lovers.
The essays are inseparable from the book’s Melbourne setting. Gordon crafts descriptions of damp alleyways, streets and suburbs with ease, rather than relying on indulgent, rambling monologues to tell his stories. These essays will possibly hit harder for those familiar with the city, as Gordon reflects his home back to readers with mirror-like accuracy.
He does not fall victim to snobbish literary jargon and purple prose. Word choices are best described as refreshingly blunt – avoiding frills and instead establishing a strong voice: ‘a sad-looking guy in his thirties whose legs are so thin he could be snapped up and used for kindling’ (from the essay ‘Grey Metallic Blue’).
Lines like this are common and uncomfortably enjoyable to read. Read more …