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Secrets From The Dust (2010)

by George Hamilton(Favorite Author)

3.83 of 5 Votes: 3

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Browsing Rhino

review 1: This is the stunning story of Margaret, a mixed race Australian Aboriginal girl, who is captured from her family. She is brought up initially in a school which trains girls in domestic service but is eventually placed with an adoptive white family who have baggage of their own. It’s a sensitive telling of a shocking tale, which respects the native Australians and their beliefs. Margaret chooses to be baptised, seeing it as a way to marry a white person and improve her own children’s lot in life. We see her gradually change her views and try to emulate those who are successful in society. The change is a sad one, as she cannot be accepted, society’s views being as they are. This is a beautifully written, suspenseful novel and it shocked me in the same way the Th... moree Help did. It reminded me that people of differing race and culture had treated one another this way in my own lifetime. No doubt in places people still feel like this but thankfully it isn’t considered acceptable by most of us now. I heartily recommend this novel. It’s a brilliant read!
review 2: I finished this book in nearly a day. It's a quick read as the main character, Margaret, easily draws you in. As a foreigner currently living in Australia, I loved how the author painted the vastly different experiences of Aboriginal history between rural and urban Australian life in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Though the focal point of the book, is Margaret's experiences of colonisation and internal search to understand who she is and where she belongs, when no one is willing to accept her as she is. Interestingly, there was a less developed, but underlying theme of European immigrants struggle to adapt and/or belong in their experiences of immigrating to Australia. The book would make great discussion for a bookclub. less

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