Sunday 8 September 2013

The Secret River by Kate Grenville

"A tall awkwardly put-together fellow, he had no more idea of farming than the man on the moon, but anyone could make things grow on the river-flats."

I wanted to like this much more than I did. It feels almost un-Australian to feel ambivalent about such a well realised tale of the bloody struggle between the early settlers and the indigenous population. In terms of the way the novel is written, no fault could be found, perhaps I was just not in the mood for an unflinchingly grim tale.
 
On a more positive note, by finishing this novel I completed the Top 10 Aussie books to read before you die as per the First Tuesday Book Club list, but it seems I have a lot more lists to complete before that final (and hopefully far off) death knell.
 
 3 out of 5 crops of corn are a waste of time.


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