Purple Threads

by Jeanine Leane

Based on the author’s childhood experiences growing up in a house full of fiercely independent women, this collection offers a unique perspective on the Australian country lifestyle. From Aunty Boo’s surveillance of the local farmers’ sheep dip alliance to Aunty Bubby’s fireside tales of the Punic Wars, the women in this book offer sage advice to their nieces about growing up as Aboriginal girls in a white country town. Farming is not an easy pursuit for anyone, but the Aunties take all the challenges in stride, facing torrential rain, violent neighbors, and injured dogs with an equal mix of humor and courage.

Genres: Fiction, Australia, Historical, Indigenous, Book Club, Contemporary

157 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Jeanine Leane is a Wiradjuri woman from south-west New South Wales. A Doctorate in literature and Aboriginal representation from the University of Technology, Sydney, followed a long teaching career at secondary and tertiary level. Formerly an Indigenous Research Fellow at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, she currently holds a post-doctoral fellowship at ANU. Jeanine's unpublished manuscript Purple Threads won the David Unaipon Award at the 2010 Queensland Premier's Literary Awards, and, once published, was shortlisted for the 2012 Commonwealth Book Prize. Jeanine is the recipient of an Australian Research Council grant which will produce a scholarly monograph called Reading the Nation: A critical study of Aboriginal/Settler representation in the contemporary Australian literary landscape.

Reviews

[Calzean · Rating 5 out of 5]

If this book is semi-autobiographic then Jeanine Leane had a wonderful loving childhood in a house of strong, independent and proud Aboriginal women.
The dialogue and wisdom spoken between Nan and the two Aunties (Boo and Bubby) was humorous, honest and full of truisms. Their views on the Catholic Church were a highlight as well as their attendance on a Sunday to keep up the public appearance of being faithful believers. The women protected lost sheep and dogs, believed the world only needed women, kids and dogs and mistrusted most men. They knew they were different but taught the two children Sunshine and Star that being different is okay as everyone is different in their own way.
This is a small but important book on respect, the power of love and of family.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Purple Threads is a debut novel from Wiradjuri author Jeanine Leane, and it was winner of the 2011 David Unaipon award and shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize in 2012. It’s an impressive debut.

I’d really like to see the ABC make a TV series out of this book. The episodic structure lends itself to a series, and although she’s not indigenous, Anne Phelan is the sort of actor I envisage playing the role of the irascible character of Aunty Boo. Aunty Boo lays down the law about the general worthlessness of men, religion and the wastefulness of farmers, and stays single for ninety-six years to prove that marriage is all for the worse. But she’s not the only strong-minded woman: although she’s in her fifties when the story starts, she’s still constantly being ‘jarred’ by Nan for swearing!

Shortly after finishing Purple Threads, I began reading my next book for Indigenous Literature Week: it’s called Bulibasha and it’s by Maori author Witi Ihimaera. What struck me almost immediately as I began reading it was the strong sense of family which permeates both novels. For these indigenous authors it is family which, for all its faults and idiosyncracies, provides a buffer against a hostile world. Both authors venture out into that hostile world through engaging with the mainstream education system, which – for all its faults and idiosyncracies – offers a wider range of choices and the possibility of empowerment for their people. But it’s family support that provides the strength to achieve against the odds.

To read the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2012/07/02/pu...

[Tahnee · Rating 5 out of 5]

“But I wish to be purple, that small part which is bright and makes everything else graceful and beautiful.  Why then do you tell me to make myself like many?  And if I do, how shall I still be purple?”

I loved this book. Set in the shifting landscapes of Gundagai, the novel centres on the love, courage, strength, and resilience of Blak women. Based on the author’s own childhood, the story follows a young Aboriginal girl coming of age in a white country town whilst navigating her own cultural identity with support of her deadly Aunties. Through the novel’s vivid descriptions of the landscape, it explores how Country is inextricable to cultural identity and to the women who raised her. Country and life keep turning, moving in never-ending, continuous cycles. Helena Kadmos wrote an interesting essay reflecting on how this book explores cultural identity and Country: highly recommend.

I especially loved the storytelling nature of the novel: specifically how the prose was written when the Aunties shared their wisdom and stories. The inclusion of Aboriginal (Koori) English and the flow of the dialogue felt like home. Reminded me of listening to my own Elders around a fire as a child. I’ve never seen a dialect I’m so familiar with represented in written form.

Growing up in predominantly white spaces, specifically in schooling, I shared similar sentiments to the main character of “wanting to be normal”. I am so grateful for the strong Blak women in my life who encouraged me to be purple. To be Blak and proud.

“Well, you was born to be purple. So be it! An’ black too, ya hear.”

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was touched by the women in this book, their fierce determination to go their own way, protect their own, and after early lives dependent on others, achieve a place, a farm and land of their own. When I consider the time and social environment in which they lived, the courage and love required to accomplish this cannot be ignored or dismissed. I felt envious and wished I had had women like these in my life when I was a child.

Early in the book I was a bit confused by a non-linear narrative and then sort of settled in and the reading, which I did before bed, became like sitting with them around the fire, just listening to their storytelling. More of a "remember that time when..." experience than a straight forward memoir or novel. It actually felt inclusive and just right.

[zara may · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I think that much of the book being written from the perspective of a child gives really important insights into how her Indigenous family functioned within a world in which families were exactly the opposite to theirs. The family's relationship to animals, and how they take in lots of abandoned and injured cats, dogs and lambs is so beautiful, and is so contrasted with Sunny's white grandparents in Queensland who kill a horse because it has gone lame and can no longer 'earn its keep'. The way the family thrives when it floods also shows that floods are not natural disasters, just natural.

[Isla Went · Rating 4 out of 5]

guys it wasn’t that bad

[Natasha (jouljet) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tale of resistance, matriarchal lines and power, and fierce family love. A story based on the author's own childhood and upbringing, this is a beautiful Aboriginal Australia story.

In Gundagai, a multi-generational family of women have managed to secure their own piece of land and home, and made themselves a safe place.

The threat from neighbouring farmers, the authorities or police, and the ever racist town folk, is always there - but if they stick together, mind their own, they will be ok.

Told through young Sunny's eyes, and often daring ever-listening ears, the stories of history and culture, land and care of the environment around them, knowledge from far and wide, and from within, guides them all. Different threads to the other white ones, but ever strong and resilient.

[Tori · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read that paints a picture of what it was to be Indigenous in the 1950s. Told from the perspective of Sunny, a young girl growing up with her Aunties and Nan, the story has the naivety of a child but Jeanine captures the wider picture and adult themes in a natural and engaging way. With immersive language and descriptions Purple Threads is a great story of what it means to be different.

[Hannah Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no commentary, it wouldn’t seem right to do so.
I just have to say, I would be honoured to be remembered as lovingly as these women are by Jeanine Leane.

[Lara Raymant · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Men are like snakes on legs, girl. You can’t trust them. They’re cold-blooded, and you can’t train them either.”

[Simina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A moving feminist coming of age story of an Indigenous girl growing up surrounded by women and her sister.

[Julia Peppitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Country and life really do keep turning through the words of authors like Leane. Such beautiful descriptions of a magical childhood, nurtured by incredible women. One of my favourite reads.

[Jonas Dragendorf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Für mich schärft die Geschichte die Bedeutung von Zugehörigkeit, Familie und sich verstanden fühlen. Mit den Geschichten der Aunties am Feuer wird das Leben der Frauen auf dem australischen Farmland erzählt. Diskriminierung, Erbschaft, häusliche Gewalt und Klassenunterschiede werden unaufdringlich thematisiert. Eine Tierliebe zieht sich durchs ganze Buch, die mir besonders gefällt. Ich habe einige Zeit gebraucht, um in den Slang reinzukommen, aber er gibt vermutlich ein noch authentischeres Bild. Ein gelungenes, kurzweiliges Buch für alle, die einen Einblick in das australische Landleben in den 1950ern bekommen wollen.

[Juicesmum69 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an innocent and beautiful recount of growing up Aboriginal in Australia. The story touches on very real struggles along with the changing physical and political landscapes of the time, all whilst making you have a lil giggle along the way. It’s hard not to love this book and the strong women depicted within it 🫶🏻🖤

[Renée Dahlia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating family story about growing up in Australia. Leane's writer's voice is almost stream of consciousness in style (which I usually find challenging) yet this time it really works as a natural voice for the story.

The book is quirky and funny, while also being poignant about the reality of life as an Aboriginal kid in rural Australia. I adored the parts about going to Sunday School (a mirror to my own experiences of being forced to attend church for appearances sake). There are many threads in this book, and I highly recommend it.

[Niki Searson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot compacted into this story. Beautiful strong characters, a lovely read, I highly recommend. Would also love to see these characters and story transferred to TV to share with those who don’t read.

[Nora Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐️ 3.5

One of the better books I’ve read for school. A little hard to get into, but had some overall enjoyable parts. The ending (epilogue) really got me in the feels. It (the epilogue especially) was just written so beautifully and ended it perfectly, even if it was a little bittersweet.

[Jasmin Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps even more beautiful than the first time I read it. 5 stars.

[Rizki Febriani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I borrow this book from a local library near my uni. The book that I borrow have different cover. It has purple cover with "First Nations Classics" written on it. It also has an introduction part by Evelyn Araluen.

I decided to borrow this book because I had the pleasure of having Jeanine Leane as one of the guest lecture during one of my subjects in uni, and becase she is a writer, why not trying to read one of her books?

I'm an international student who lives and learn in the land of First Nations people, and I reckon I better learn the history of the people here. Hence, I hit the nearest library and read a book.

Purple Threads was enjoyable read, though, I don't know if this is a pure fiction or some part of it is real. Autie Boo was a good role model to have, she was strong and smart and capable. Autie Bubby in the other hand was caring and kind. A perfect balance of role model for Sunny and Star. They teach the girls that it is okay to be different. There are lots of topics touch by this book, from domestic violence to inheritance rights.

Although, it was kinda hard for me to understand some part of the book because of the way Jeanine write the Aunties and Nan's conversation. Maybe she tried to describe they way they talk if it's a real conversation, but because English is not my native language, I need to think harder what was the conversation about. I can imagine though how hard it is for me to understand the Aunties and Nan conversation if it's happen in real life. It also kinda hard for me to imagine Australia in the past, the writer is not clearly mention when this story takes place, but because Aunty Boo makes references about Indonesia and Sukarno, my best guess is that the story takes place around 1950 - 1960s after the world war 2. I can't imagine how Australia around this period of time since I lack background information and local history.

Overall, I recommended this for other international students who want to learn a little bit about First Nations people and story. You'll find a lot of conversation surrounding strong women who fight for their rights and also offered you with their wisdom.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I would have enjoyed this more if it had been written as a non-fiction autobiography/family history. I found the earlier chapters slightly tedious, I wasn't enjoying the narrative being carried by conversations which were a bit mundane/predictable. At the beginning I was a bit bored by this novel, but started quite liking it in later chapters. I enjoyed the descriptions of country through the seasons. Nan was raised in a church home and married to a white farmer, who brought her back to her own country, where she had lots of daughters and three/four? sons. Petal's mum is probably one of the daughters. The narrator, Sunshine, is Petal's daughter. Sunshine and her sister Star are raised by their Nan and Aunty Boo and Aunty Bubby. To appear respectable and to possibly avoid being taken by welfare , the children are dressed smartly and attend church, despite Nan and Aunties being irreligious. The family do not appear to practise much traditional culture, (destructive colonisation/Nan stolen generation married to white farmer, disrupted culture), but retain a connection with and knowledge of the land and seasonal changes, love of animals, care and respect for family, take the law into their own hands when a neighbour experiences domestic violence, occasionally criticise/ridicule settlors' attitudes/actions etc. Aunty Boo manages to hold on to the farmhouse and the farm paddock, despite the white grandfather wanting all to go to his youngest son who wants to sell. I would love to read the authentic family history, I don't think the story/plot works so well as fiction

[T P · Rating 4 out of 5]

The narrative voice of Sunny was interesting as it unusual to read from the perspective of a child. It worked well because the reader gained familiarity with her world alongside her as she experienced the world and grew up, as opposed to observing from a birds eye view the happenings of Gundagai. Sunny’s family was beautifully presented as symbiotic, and their love for one another was clearly expressed by the way Leane focused on their positive attributes. It was refreshing reading something that wasn’t overly critical of its characters, where the strongest current throughout the pages was love and harmony. I particularly liked the concept brought forth by Leane of the world turning and turning as the seasons passed and how time was something that was allowed to flow naturally as opposed to being something to be commodified. The feminist themes were also engaging with the whole secret world of women and cloak and daggers activity going on where the women were able to manipulate the situation to their advantage to get their fair share. It was wholesome how the Aunties cared for the injured or neglected animals, especially the little terrier at the end that lived in Nans pocket because he gave her comfort as she grew old. I liked imagining Aunty Boo spying on the National Sheep Dip Alliance Party and also how she hoodwinked her selfish brother and frustrating father into changing the will.

[Nicole Witen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have the new edition - First Nations Classics Series by University of Queenslands Press. It's not yet on Goodreads so I wanted to note my edition was longer and different cover.

This was a touching tale. From the first couple of pages, Leane's writing sucks you in and you never want to put it down. I even teared up in the end. A story of a loving family and a nuanced treatment of issues that affected indigenous people in the mid-20th century. It's a story about strong women, you are warned. I went into this novel having absolutely no idea what to expect, and I was thoroughly delighted.

I won't spoil it for anyone, but I love the meaning behind purple threads, and I am adopting it into my vernacular.

This is going to be one of those novels when people ask me what novel would you like to experience again for the first time - this one.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book. Read it in 2 days because I couldn’t put it down each time I picked it up.
The story is so perfectly told from the perspective of Sunny, a little girl who observes the lives of the wonderful group of women who raise her and her sister. Quintessentially Australian, this book touches on issues in our society both past and present, such as racism, equality among genders, family dynamics, the stolen generations, impact of catholic missionaries and much more. It is told however in such a thoughtful way that the world that the author has build just unfolds before your eyes. Loved it!

[Jessica Rijs · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about the fierce womanhood flourishing in a patriarchal, colonial system designed to extinguish it. The characters were hilarious, strong and beautifully complex. I loved how Leane wove familial themes with power and patriarchy, childhood with responsibility, religion with race. I especially enjoyed the metaphor of story ownership, how they would pass stories between one another but be kept safe and sacred by their owner. The never ending teas were familiar and a warm motif. I loved this book. I've read Leane's academic writing, so to read a novel of hers was thrilling and did not disappoint. A truly excellent writer.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seeing this from a post on Mastadon I was intrigued despite the reviewer not finding this the best of books.

Dealing with the natives is something that we or Canada have as well and it's always been an issue relationship and I would assume that they there countries have the same.

For me this story really fell short as it seemed to not really expose the characters in any way that made them memorable.

I felt sad for this author as it just didn't really show me anything about the culture that this story was about and that makes me sad as this should have been such an amazing book.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as it was chosen as the Great Festival Read at the Bathurst Writers and Readers Festival. It is a semi-autobiographical account of a young indigenous girl growing up with her aunts, grandmother and sister in southern New South Wales. Her aunts teach Sunny about the strength of women, about caring for the environment and how to deal with being different. There are strong themes (eg the treatment of indigenous Australians, domestic violence) running under the narrative but they are dealt with a light touch - follow the purple thread.

[Dajuroka Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read. One of my set texts next term. Indigenous female writer with somewhat foreign insights ( to me at least as an ageing white male ) into the land - country- and the struggle aboriginal women have had over the last few generations. Intricate weaving of intertextuality with Macbeth and Wuthering Heights. Some delightful descriptions of the flora and fauna and the turning of the seasons. Have to read a few more times but an easy entry into indigenous Australian writing.

[Danaë Paternoster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Purple threads tells the story of the events in Sunny's life and the strong bond with her female relatives she grew up. It shows what it is like for an Indigenous girl to grow up in a world of colonisation, Christianity with its weird habits and prayers, and trying to blend in a racist society. It's such a good read, and yet many sad events pass by, I can't help but smile with the positivity in this autobiography.

[Crooked Eye · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fabulously told story of a young aboriginal girl growing up. While her mother was unlikable, her aunties were fabulous, strong women who had to fight for everything they had. And fight they did. I couldn't help but laugh at Boo who believed the quickest way to a man's heart was with a spear, and the way she only voiced opinions in that way when she was out of Nan's earshot.

I absolutely recommend this quick read!

[Joan Garvan · Rating 4 out of 5]

So good to be able to read an increasing number of books by Aboriginal authors and hearing their stories of life in Australia. Thank you Jeanine Leane for sharing your stories with us. Whenever I drive through Gundagai now I think about your family living there in those lovely hills around the town.