Finally finished The Timeless Land. Now reading The Little Company, also by Eleanor Dark.
Further text and illustrations to follow!
Update 3.6.11. At a conference I attended a few years ago, The Secret River was given to the overseas speakers with the indication from the conference organiser that to read the book was to go a long way to understanding the state of our nation today, particularly with respect to the plight of Aboriginal people and race relations; it was some sort of insight into how the nation was born, the book was a clue to the psyche of the nation. I personally feel that The Timeless Land makes an even more powerful statement than Secret River. I found it very moving and Dark's insights into the fatal attraction of alcohol, for example, are compelling.
The Little Company is a much more domestic book, set in a family during WW2, quite political I would say and again, so very insightful and beautifully written. She captures people's "small moments" in such a finely detailed way. A truly wonderful writer, is Eleanor Dark.
I finished The Little Company last night. It was really very good. Again, someone else's words describe this book so much better than I ever could; here's the back cover blurb: "The work successfully demonstrates how personal questions intertwine with larger political and intellectual concerns, and the impact of extraordinary times on ordinary people ... the book has a complex narrative structure and explores the politics and propaganda of the war through the experiences of the Massey family. The book records some of the events of the war but is primarily set in Sydney and the Blue Mountains".
Dominic and I had gone to the library yesterday and I picked up Puberty Blues. It's just a little shorty so I had finished that by this morning. And now I am reading Tangara, one of the three I recently bought from Leura books.
