Published: Text Publishing, Australia (2005)
ISBN: 1920885757
Continuing on my Australian literature experience, I was recommended to read Kate Grenville’s The Secret River.
This appealed to me as not only would I be reading words from the hand of an Australian, but it is set in such a pivotal era of Australia’s history. The arrival of British convicts to Australia in the mid-19th century changed the face of the country and the course of its development forever. As a newly arrived resident of this country, this is a topic which interests me greatly. I realise Grenville writes fiction, but it was a good introduction and starting point to my research. And lets face it, who can resist a good dose of historical fiction? Don’t try and tell me you haven’t read at least one Philippa Gregory novel!
The Secret River is the story of William and Sal Thornhill and their family. They are English convicts who were sent to the British colony of Sydney, New South Wales. Grenville describes the hardships endured by the young couple on the year long trip over as well as during their effort to make a life for themselves in a strange and harsh country. After much personal sacrifice and hard work the Thornhills eventually become very wealthy and respected citizens of the young colony. This is marred however, as the wealth and status could never have been achieved in England and therefore feels somewhat illegitimate. This feeling of fraud is also generated because of the cost to the Aborigines that colonial prosperity comes at. This is, in fact, one of the main themes of the novel. Grenville makes it clear that the growth and settlement of white people comes at a huge moral price for the settlers. Murder, a crime which in most cases was far worse than the ones for which they were sent to Australia in the first place, became an accepted method of dealing with the ‘blacks’. It was justified as necessary in order to survive. This must have weighed heavily on the minds of those men and women involved. Despite this, as Grenville points out, future generations, even the children of the original settlers, are unaware of this guilt. She tells a story of Australia’s history and is not afraid to raise details which have been sidestepped elsewhere. Also, Grenville allows readers to see the situation from both camps, despite the novel being told from the point of view of a white man. I think this is because the protagonist William is relatively less ruthless in his treatment of the aborigines.
Grenville’s novel challenges its readers while simultaneously providing a riveting read. All Australians, and anyone who is interested in the history of the country, should read this novel.
As a final comment, an aspect of Grenville’s layout appealed to me while reading the book. All dialogue in The Secret River was in italics without traditional punctuation for speech. I enjoyed this as it gave the impression that you were reading the character’s thoughts, giving the whole novel a hushed tone.
