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The Unearthed
When human remains are discovered in the wilds of the Tasmanian west coast, the dark past comes into the light of the present in this deeply moving novel from the author of Fortune.
There are animals in the camouflage of undergrowth; they forage this final, fading night hour. They hear the grunting men and lift their heads, listen, then bound away: the scrub, the bushes shake and wave, signalling their invisible trajectories.
After decades-old human bones are discovered in the Tasmanian wilderness, Antonia Kovács returns home with questions for her father, a retired police inspector in Queenstown.
Meanwhile, Tom Pilar receives news of an inheritance, from a man he barely remembers, one of his father's friends from the early days, newly arrived in the island and looking for work.
Set amidst the harsh terrain of the timber and ore industries of the west coast, The Unearthed is a haunting novel about the past and its quiet but tenacious grip on the present. It reveals the tragic connections between the disparate lives of post-war migrants and local workers, and the fallibility of memory, the illusion of truths and the repercussions on real lives.
There are animals in the camouflage of undergrowth; they forage this final, fading night hour. They hear the grunting men and lift their heads, listen, then bound away: the scrub, the bushes shake and wave, signalling their invisible trajectories.
After decades-old human bones are discovered in the Tasmanian wilderness, Antonia Kovács returns home with questions for her father, a retired police inspector in Queenstown.
Meanwhile, Tom Pilar receives news of an inheritance, from a man he barely remembers, one of his father's friends from the early days, newly arrived in the island and looking for work.
Set amidst the harsh terrain of the timber and ore industries of the west coast, The Unearthed is a haunting novel about the past and its quiet but tenacious grip on the present. It reveals the tragic connections between the disparate lives of post-war migrants and local workers, and the fallibility of memory, the illusion of truths and the repercussions on real lives.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 1, 2023
5 people are currently reading
148 people want to read
About the author
Lenny Bartulin
9 books21 followersLenny Bartulin is the author of Death by the Book aka A Deadly Business (2008). His poetry and short stories have appeared in numerous publications, including HEAT, Meanjin, and New Australian Stories. His latest novel is The Black Russian.
Lenny Bartulin was born in Hobart in 1969 and lives in Sydney.
Lenny Bartulin was born in Hobart in 1969 and lives in Sydney.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
August 6, 2023
Human remains are found in the rugged wilderness of Tasmania’s west coast. This sends Antonia Kovács, who works in forensics, home to Queenstown, where her elderly father, a retired police inspector, still lives.
Meanwhile, Tom Pilar receives news of an inheritance from a man he barely remembers - Slavko Cicak, a friend of his father’s. Past and present collide as various lives entwine over many years. I was hooked from the opening line.
Tasmania has never been so beautifully captured on the page. It’s haunting and atmospheric, much like our landscape.
“Everything fused together, the sky, the forest, the river, and it was as though the world were only just awakening for the first time, coming into shape and being, alive in the very moment before it took recognisable form.”
I was immediately transported to these locations; places I know so well. I felt part of these communities. It was an immersive reading experience. It’s always special when your state or town gets depicted so vividly. For me, Lenny’s descriptions were the highlight. I could feel the damp atmosphere of the west coast, hear the gentle ripple of the Gordon River, and taste the delicious palačinke.
“The soft, fluffy lightness of it was like a miracle. He tasted the yellowness of the eggs, the smooth texture of the batter, the intense sweetness of the sugar, the bright, sour tang of the lemon, all together. Tom Pilar could have eaten palačinke forever.”
The Unearthed is complex, yet Lenny Bartulin weaves multiple timelines, mysteries, and characters with ease. The novel is divided into sections, each focusing on a particular individual. I kept wondering how the stories would come together. I could’ve easily read a novel solely focused on the likes of Antonia Kovács or Slavko Cicak. The characters are well-developed, the stories have heart. I had to remind myself it was fiction, as it felt so authentic.
The Unearthed is a powerful novel; the kind that requires you to pause and reflect after finishing. It highlights often neglected aspects of Tasmanian history, and helped me better understand the plight of many post-war immigrants. Deep and multi-layered storytelling at its best.
“His life was suddenly poised, its tension lines perfectly delineated and staked. There was just the right amount of give, and an equal, corresponding resistance. He was tethered and free, if such a thing were possible.”
Many thanks to Allen & Unwin for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Meanwhile, Tom Pilar receives news of an inheritance from a man he barely remembers - Slavko Cicak, a friend of his father’s. Past and present collide as various lives entwine over many years. I was hooked from the opening line.
Tasmania has never been so beautifully captured on the page. It’s haunting and atmospheric, much like our landscape.
“Everything fused together, the sky, the forest, the river, and it was as though the world were only just awakening for the first time, coming into shape and being, alive in the very moment before it took recognisable form.”
I was immediately transported to these locations; places I know so well. I felt part of these communities. It was an immersive reading experience. It’s always special when your state or town gets depicted so vividly. For me, Lenny’s descriptions were the highlight. I could feel the damp atmosphere of the west coast, hear the gentle ripple of the Gordon River, and taste the delicious palačinke.
“The soft, fluffy lightness of it was like a miracle. He tasted the yellowness of the eggs, the smooth texture of the batter, the intense sweetness of the sugar, the bright, sour tang of the lemon, all together. Tom Pilar could have eaten palačinke forever.”
The Unearthed is complex, yet Lenny Bartulin weaves multiple timelines, mysteries, and characters with ease. The novel is divided into sections, each focusing on a particular individual. I kept wondering how the stories would come together. I could’ve easily read a novel solely focused on the likes of Antonia Kovács or Slavko Cicak. The characters are well-developed, the stories have heart. I had to remind myself it was fiction, as it felt so authentic.
The Unearthed is a powerful novel; the kind that requires you to pause and reflect after finishing. It highlights often neglected aspects of Tasmanian history, and helped me better understand the plight of many post-war immigrants. Deep and multi-layered storytelling at its best.
“His life was suddenly poised, its tension lines perfectly delineated and staked. There was just the right amount of give, and an equal, corresponding resistance. He was tethered and free, if such a thing were possible.”
Many thanks to Allen & Unwin for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
July 8, 2023
Smaller in scope and far less flashy than Fortune, which I read last year (and loved), but with an incredible depth of emotion, Lenny Bartulin's latest novel is still recognisable as having been written by the same author, with the same clever style of storytelling. If I had to ascribe a genre, I suppose I would say it's a mystery, but it's so much more (and less) than that. More, because it's a beautifully told tale of migration and grief and hardship and new beginnings, and less because there's no real detective in the traditional sense and no authority to formalise the findings at the end.
It all begins with the discovery of human remains in the wilderness of Tasmania's remote west coast. Not recent, so not urgent, but still needing to be dealt with. Antonia Kovács, a forensic scientist with Forensic Science Service Tasmania, volunteers to travel to Strahan to collect the bones for testing. While she's there she can drop in on her father, retired police officer Dicky Nolan. He's 89 and still living at home alone, so she worries about him.
Meanwhile, Tom Pilar has received a letter from a firm of Tasmanian solicitors. It seems he's inherited a house and some money from Slavko Cicak, a man whose name Tom does not immediately recognise. Interrogating his memory, Tom begins to remember his father having an acquaintance - or maybe even a friend - named Slavko back in his Queenstown days, before Tom was born. Having died without family, Cicak has bequeathed these assets to Tom on the condition that he arranges to bury his ashes with his daughter, who died in a hit and run accident in Queenstown in the late 1950s. Tom makes his way to Tasmania to claim his inheritance.
So in fact there are a number of mysteries to solve. As Bartulin gradually reveals the story behind each one, he weaves a complex tale of the miners and piners* of the west coast in the first half of the twentieth century. He clearly knows his subject and the location very well; coupled with the book's dedication, I wonder if there's a family history or connection at the foundation. Regardless, it's a rich and satisfying journey of discovery as all the threads begin to draw together. And then, once all the facts are laid bare, like a master, he leaves space for us to draw our own conclusions as to what really happened.
Highly recommended.
With thanks to NetGalley and Allen & Unwin for an eARC to read and review.
* Miners is self-explanatory, but the piners are the loggers or forestrymen who cut the majestic endemic pine species and sent them down the rivers to be milled.
It all begins with the discovery of human remains in the wilderness of Tasmania's remote west coast. Not recent, so not urgent, but still needing to be dealt with. Antonia Kovács, a forensic scientist with Forensic Science Service Tasmania, volunteers to travel to Strahan to collect the bones for testing. While she's there she can drop in on her father, retired police officer Dicky Nolan. He's 89 and still living at home alone, so she worries about him.
Meanwhile, Tom Pilar has received a letter from a firm of Tasmanian solicitors. It seems he's inherited a house and some money from Slavko Cicak, a man whose name Tom does not immediately recognise. Interrogating his memory, Tom begins to remember his father having an acquaintance - or maybe even a friend - named Slavko back in his Queenstown days, before Tom was born. Having died without family, Cicak has bequeathed these assets to Tom on the condition that he arranges to bury his ashes with his daughter, who died in a hit and run accident in Queenstown in the late 1950s. Tom makes his way to Tasmania to claim his inheritance.
So in fact there are a number of mysteries to solve. As Bartulin gradually reveals the story behind each one, he weaves a complex tale of the miners and piners* of the west coast in the first half of the twentieth century. He clearly knows his subject and the location very well; coupled with the book's dedication, I wonder if there's a family history or connection at the foundation. Regardless, it's a rich and satisfying journey of discovery as all the threads begin to draw together. And then, once all the facts are laid bare, like a master, he leaves space for us to draw our own conclusions as to what really happened.
Highly recommended.
With thanks to NetGalley and Allen & Unwin for an eARC to read and review.
* Miners is self-explanatory, but the piners are the loggers or forestrymen who cut the majestic endemic pine species and sent them down the rivers to be milled.
August 14, 2023
When bones, decades old are unearthed in the Tasmanian wilderness, the search for answers starts, Antonia Kovacs returns to home, this is where her father lives retired police inspector in Queenstown, will he have answers that she needs to uncover the truth?
At the same time that the bones are found Tom Pilar receives a letter from a solicitor telling him he has been left an inheritance, from a man who was friends with his father, a man he had met only twice there is a stipulation as well that he is to return his ashes to Queenstown and have them buried with the body of his daughter, is there a coincidence with the bones being discovered?
This story takes in the a lot from the past, the hit and run mystery death of a little girl, the mining and the logging that went on back it the 1950’s the many migrants that arrived to work and the locals who lived there, there are many twists in this one and it is a good story but for me it jumped around a bit I found it a bit hard to follow sometimes, there are many characters in the story, the end had me thinking, I am not sure how I felt about it.
This is a story that will appeal to many readers who love a good mystery from the past and I did enjoy it.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy to read and review.
At the same time that the bones are found Tom Pilar receives a letter from a solicitor telling him he has been left an inheritance, from a man who was friends with his father, a man he had met only twice there is a stipulation as well that he is to return his ashes to Queenstown and have them buried with the body of his daughter, is there a coincidence with the bones being discovered?
This story takes in the a lot from the past, the hit and run mystery death of a little girl, the mining and the logging that went on back it the 1950’s the many migrants that arrived to work and the locals who lived there, there are many twists in this one and it is a good story but for me it jumped around a bit I found it a bit hard to follow sometimes, there are many characters in the story, the end had me thinking, I am not sure how I felt about it.
This is a story that will appeal to many readers who love a good mystery from the past and I did enjoy it.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy to read and review.
October 24, 2023
The Unearthed is an atmospheric and engrossing example of Tasmanian gothic fiction. While the narrative revolves around a crime (or perhaps more than one), it's not a mystery novel in the traditional sense. Narrative threads from the past and the present weave a mesmerising story set against the dramatic and mysterious landscape of Tasmania's south-west.
The narrative opens with Hobart forensic scientist Antonia Kovács, who is visiting Tasmania's west coast to collect some human bones found recently in a remote forest ravine . While in the area, Antonia also takes the opportunity to pay a visit to her aging father, Dicky Nolan, a retired Queenstown police inspector who now lives in nearby Strahan. Mention of the bones provokes a strong reaction in Dicky, arousing Antonia's curiosity as to what her father may know or suspect about the identity of the deceased.
Meanwhile, Tom Pilar receives an unexpected solicitor's letter at his home in Sydney - he's been left a property in Queenstown and a sum of money by a man he only remembers meeting once, while a child. The recently deceased Slavko Cicak had been a one-time colleague of Tom's father Ivan, also now deceased, when they had worked together in the mines of Queenstown after both had migrated from Croatia following the Second World War. Tom recalls accompanying his father and uncle Boz to visit Cicak and his wife Radenka at their farming property to collect a pig for roasting in the run-up to Christmas. Cicak had given the young Tom an envelope containing a WW2 Croatian fascist 100-kuna note.
Short chapters told from Antonia's present perspective are interspersed between longer sections relating the stories of Slavko Cicak, Ivan and Tom Pilar and a Queenstown forestry worker by the name of James "Jimmy" Allinson. The reader gradually forms an impression of events that occurred in late 1950s Queenstown, the reverberations of which have led to the recent macabre discovery. While there is an underlying crime/mystery component, ultimately this is a story of human experience, failure and resilience, love and revenge.
As in his previous novels, Lenny Bartulin employs a deceptively light touch to explore raw human emotion, and the result is a moving and engrossing story. Given the themes relating to the post-war migrant experience in wild Tasmania, it was impossible not to be reminded of Richard Flanagan's much-lauded novels Death of a River Guide and The Sound of One Hand Clapping. In The Unearthed, Lenny Bartulin also captures the mysterious essence of the beautiful but forbidding landscape of the west coast.
The Unearthed was an amazing read, and one that will stay in my thoughts for some time to come (I read a library copy, but will soon be purchasing a copy for my own collection).
The narrative opens with Hobart forensic scientist Antonia Kovács, who is visiting Tasmania's west coast to collect some human bones found recently in a remote forest ravine . While in the area, Antonia also takes the opportunity to pay a visit to her aging father, Dicky Nolan, a retired Queenstown police inspector who now lives in nearby Strahan. Mention of the bones provokes a strong reaction in Dicky, arousing Antonia's curiosity as to what her father may know or suspect about the identity of the deceased.
Meanwhile, Tom Pilar receives an unexpected solicitor's letter at his home in Sydney - he's been left a property in Queenstown and a sum of money by a man he only remembers meeting once, while a child. The recently deceased Slavko Cicak had been a one-time colleague of Tom's father Ivan, also now deceased, when they had worked together in the mines of Queenstown after both had migrated from Croatia following the Second World War. Tom recalls accompanying his father and uncle Boz to visit Cicak and his wife Radenka at their farming property to collect a pig for roasting in the run-up to Christmas. Cicak had given the young Tom an envelope containing a WW2 Croatian fascist 100-kuna note.
Short chapters told from Antonia's present perspective are interspersed between longer sections relating the stories of Slavko Cicak, Ivan and Tom Pilar and a Queenstown forestry worker by the name of James "Jimmy" Allinson. The reader gradually forms an impression of events that occurred in late 1950s Queenstown, the reverberations of which have led to the recent macabre discovery. While there is an underlying crime/mystery component, ultimately this is a story of human experience, failure and resilience, love and revenge.
As in his previous novels, Lenny Bartulin employs a deceptively light touch to explore raw human emotion, and the result is a moving and engrossing story. Given the themes relating to the post-war migrant experience in wild Tasmania, it was impossible not to be reminded of Richard Flanagan's much-lauded novels Death of a River Guide and The Sound of One Hand Clapping. In The Unearthed, Lenny Bartulin also captures the mysterious essence of the beautiful but forbidding landscape of the west coast.
The Unearthed was an amazing read, and one that will stay in my thoughts for some time to come (I read a library copy, but will soon be purchasing a copy for my own collection).
October 6, 2023
“Even the dead come back and get into the paper. Sometimes even a pile of bones, out in the wilderness, in the middle of nowhere, down a ravine. Front-page headlines in the west coast locals, then some page threes, below the fold, in the state and nationals. A Brazilian couple on a hiking holiday stumbled upon them. Partial skull, teeth, some vertebrae, femur, scapula, pelvis, broken ribs and phalanges scattered about…”
The discovery of some human remains in Tasmania’s remote north west is the kicking off point of this moving and atmospheric tale. The Unearthed spans three generations and pays tribute to some hard working migrants who left their homeland in Croatia for a more promising life in Australia.
The story is told as a series of brief short stories that present a new character who plays a crucial part in the ongoing story. It’s then up to us to work out how they tie into the unfolding mystery.
Tom Pilar finds that he’s named in Slavko Cicak’s will but he has trouble remembering who Slavko even is. It’s only when he delves deeply into his father’s past that the memories come flooding back. So he makes the trip to the remote town of Queenstown to spread the ashes and take a look at the house he has just inherited.
Slavko Cicak was born in Croatia and lived there until he was old enough to flee as the country was being ripped apart by war. His life of petty crime nets him one big payout that he uses to get to Australia and, on the ship he meets the woman who would be his wife. Together they have a daughter and are happy until the day she is run down and killed by a hit and run driver. Driven by grief and despair he won’t rest until he finds the person responsible.
As each person is introduced and their life’s history is examined, as well as revealing a full and interesting past filled with hopes, dreams and expectations, we also learn that there are mysteries hidden away in their pasts. As disparate as their lives appear, they’re all drawn together in the rugged north western Tasmanian hinterland.
The Unearthed is built around tremendously strong character development with each successive person introduced and then exhaustively brought to life in exquisite detail. It’s funny, though, as I got to know some of the main characters, I realised I didn’t like some of them, but I could sympathise with their plight and could understand the actions that they end up taking. The good, the bad and the downright ugly you can’t help but be drawn in by stories of tragedy and the fight to overcome adversity no matter how difficult the odds.
I thought this was a masterfully told tale that seamlessly combines the terrible actions of its characters with the forbidding harsh beauty of the land in which it’s set. While I wouldn’t exactly characterise it as a crime story, crimes are committed and there’s plenty of suffering and hardship. It’s real and heartfelt and very well conceived.
The discovery of some human remains in Tasmania’s remote north west is the kicking off point of this moving and atmospheric tale. The Unearthed spans three generations and pays tribute to some hard working migrants who left their homeland in Croatia for a more promising life in Australia.
The story is told as a series of brief short stories that present a new character who plays a crucial part in the ongoing story. It’s then up to us to work out how they tie into the unfolding mystery.
Tom Pilar finds that he’s named in Slavko Cicak’s will but he has trouble remembering who Slavko even is. It’s only when he delves deeply into his father’s past that the memories come flooding back. So he makes the trip to the remote town of Queenstown to spread the ashes and take a look at the house he has just inherited.
Slavko Cicak was born in Croatia and lived there until he was old enough to flee as the country was being ripped apart by war. His life of petty crime nets him one big payout that he uses to get to Australia and, on the ship he meets the woman who would be his wife. Together they have a daughter and are happy until the day she is run down and killed by a hit and run driver. Driven by grief and despair he won’t rest until he finds the person responsible.
As each person is introduced and their life’s history is examined, as well as revealing a full and interesting past filled with hopes, dreams and expectations, we also learn that there are mysteries hidden away in their pasts. As disparate as their lives appear, they’re all drawn together in the rugged north western Tasmanian hinterland.
The Unearthed is built around tremendously strong character development with each successive person introduced and then exhaustively brought to life in exquisite detail. It’s funny, though, as I got to know some of the main characters, I realised I didn’t like some of them, but I could sympathise with their plight and could understand the actions that they end up taking. The good, the bad and the downright ugly you can’t help but be drawn in by stories of tragedy and the fight to overcome adversity no matter how difficult the odds.
I thought this was a masterfully told tale that seamlessly combines the terrible actions of its characters with the forbidding harsh beauty of the land in which it’s set. While I wouldn’t exactly characterise it as a crime story, crimes are committed and there’s plenty of suffering and hardship. It’s real and heartfelt and very well conceived.
January 26, 2024
*RTC
Hobart based writer Lenny Batulin has been endorsed by two authors I deeply respect, Mark Brandi and Ben Hobson. I have a weakness for Tasmanian set literature so I was more than happy to review The Unearthed by Lenny Bartulin. A perplexing historical murder mystery novel, The Unearthed is a dark and winding tale.
The Unearthed was a book that I admit to selecting based on the setting, I am just head of heels in love with Tasmania so I will grab anything I can get my hands on if it is set in the Apple Isle. I couldn’t resist the front cover of Lenny Bartulin’s latest novel, it features a nostalgic postcard-like image of a Tasmania Street from times gone by. It really set the mood perfectly going into this one.
There are a few things you need to be aware of when going into this novel. The setting is breathtaking and portrayed with a great deal of localised vision. The Unearthed it is quite a short story breadth wise and this means that there wasn’t as much depth to the characters as I would have personally liked. There is a large cast for such a small book, so it can be hard to develop a full connection to the protagonists featured. However, their feelings, experiences and ideas are well realised by this skilled author within his restricted frame. Although The Unearthed begins as a contemporary mystery, it morphs into a historical mystery come fiction study novel. Bartulin indulges in plenty of descriptive prose around industrialism, the timber industry, mining and migrant life in the 1950s era. I did find this interesting, but it wasn’t quite what I was expecting based on my assumptions of this novel’s synopsis. So it’s kind of important to adjust your incoming expectations. The pace is slow, meandering and plodding, which complimented the author’s writing technique, but it didn’t quite suit my mood at the time of reading. I believe there are many out there who have highly praised The Unearthed out there, so do seek these out on Goodreads and the like.
⭐️⭐️⭐️3 stars
🙏Thanks to @allenandunwin for the copy.
Hobart based writer Lenny Batulin has been endorsed by two authors I deeply respect, Mark Brandi and Ben Hobson. I have a weakness for Tasmanian set literature so I was more than happy to review The Unearthed by Lenny Bartulin. A perplexing historical murder mystery novel, The Unearthed is a dark and winding tale.
The Unearthed was a book that I admit to selecting based on the setting, I am just head of heels in love with Tasmania so I will grab anything I can get my hands on if it is set in the Apple Isle. I couldn’t resist the front cover of Lenny Bartulin’s latest novel, it features a nostalgic postcard-like image of a Tasmania Street from times gone by. It really set the mood perfectly going into this one.
There are a few things you need to be aware of when going into this novel. The setting is breathtaking and portrayed with a great deal of localised vision. The Unearthed it is quite a short story breadth wise and this means that there wasn’t as much depth to the characters as I would have personally liked. There is a large cast for such a small book, so it can be hard to develop a full connection to the protagonists featured. However, their feelings, experiences and ideas are well realised by this skilled author within his restricted frame. Although The Unearthed begins as a contemporary mystery, it morphs into a historical mystery come fiction study novel. Bartulin indulges in plenty of descriptive prose around industrialism, the timber industry, mining and migrant life in the 1950s era. I did find this interesting, but it wasn’t quite what I was expecting based on my assumptions of this novel’s synopsis. So it’s kind of important to adjust your incoming expectations. The pace is slow, meandering and plodding, which complimented the author’s writing technique, but it didn’t quite suit my mood at the time of reading. I believe there are many out there who have highly praised The Unearthed out there, so do seek these out on Goodreads and the like.
⭐️⭐️⭐️3 stars
🙏Thanks to @allenandunwin for the copy.
June 12, 2023
Australian author Lenny Bartulin has an eclectic but fascinating output – he began his career with three noir-ish accidental detective books set in Sydney, moved on to Infamy, a historical Western set in Tasmania and followed that up with Fortune, a picaresque historical romp which centred (sort of) around Napoleon. In his latest book, Unearthed, he brings some of these threads together – using what at first appears to be a crime procedural set in Strachan, a small port on the west coast of Tasmania, as the framing for an exploration of post-war Eastern European migration to the island.
Antonia Kovács returns to her home town of Strachan and her ageing ex-policeman father when some human remains are discovered by a hiker. The narrative will check back in with Antonia from time to time but Bartulin has other stories to tell. The first is that of Tom Pilar who has received an inheritance from an old friend of his father, Slavko Cicak -a sum of money, a house in Queenstown and instructions to bury his ashes in the grave of his daughter. Following Tom’s memories of both his father and Cicak from when he was a boy. Further back still, Bartulin tells the story of how Cicak came to Australia as part of a wave of Eastern European refugees and of the tragedy that would come to define his life.
While The Unearthed as some of the trappings of a crime novel, it is really the story of a diverse and complex Tasmanian community. This is a world of hard working in the mines, hard drinking and violence, but also one of love, loyalty and strong community bonds. Bartulin bring readers into this world with luminous prose such as this:
A couple of hours later, he reached the high country, part the central lakes, Unfurled, rolling landscapes. Endless carpets of button grass, wide plains stretching to distant mountains. Streaked greys and blues, Antarctic whites, yellows, oranges and greens, tremulous, dense… That he was here now, so many years later, it was like jet-lag, a stickiness, a simultaneous presence and absence, like being caught on the tracks of a strange alignment, a borderline.
But this is also about the stories we tell. Those we tell ourselves and those we tell others. Not only stories that make sense of the world but stories that serve to make the unpalatable palatable. How stories:
… were simply either boiling or simmering. They were always on the stove and everybody was always in the soup. To write them, to tell them, was an arbitrary bracketing, a contrived moment… Erin believed that the controlling force of the universe was not ourselves, wasn’t the stories we apparently forged and authored, but rather a universe of infinite narratives shooting around, looking for somewhere to land.
In the end Bartulin circles back, making the various threads of each of the disparate but connected stories relevant to the initial mystery. And in doing so he has used his crime narrative to effectively shine a light on a particular time and place and the community that defined it.
Antonia Kovács returns to her home town of Strachan and her ageing ex-policeman father when some human remains are discovered by a hiker. The narrative will check back in with Antonia from time to time but Bartulin has other stories to tell. The first is that of Tom Pilar who has received an inheritance from an old friend of his father, Slavko Cicak -a sum of money, a house in Queenstown and instructions to bury his ashes in the grave of his daughter. Following Tom’s memories of both his father and Cicak from when he was a boy. Further back still, Bartulin tells the story of how Cicak came to Australia as part of a wave of Eastern European refugees and of the tragedy that would come to define his life.
While The Unearthed as some of the trappings of a crime novel, it is really the story of a diverse and complex Tasmanian community. This is a world of hard working in the mines, hard drinking and violence, but also one of love, loyalty and strong community bonds. Bartulin bring readers into this world with luminous prose such as this:
A couple of hours later, he reached the high country, part the central lakes, Unfurled, rolling landscapes. Endless carpets of button grass, wide plains stretching to distant mountains. Streaked greys and blues, Antarctic whites, yellows, oranges and greens, tremulous, dense… That he was here now, so many years later, it was like jet-lag, a stickiness, a simultaneous presence and absence, like being caught on the tracks of a strange alignment, a borderline.
But this is also about the stories we tell. Those we tell ourselves and those we tell others. Not only stories that make sense of the world but stories that serve to make the unpalatable palatable. How stories:
… were simply either boiling or simmering. They were always on the stove and everybody was always in the soup. To write them, to tell them, was an arbitrary bracketing, a contrived moment… Erin believed that the controlling force of the universe was not ourselves, wasn’t the stories we apparently forged and authored, but rather a universe of infinite narratives shooting around, looking for somewhere to land.
In the end Bartulin circles back, making the various threads of each of the disparate but connected stories relevant to the initial mystery. And in doing so he has used his crime narrative to effectively shine a light on a particular time and place and the community that defined it.
September 7, 2024
Long listed for the 2024 ARA Historical Novel Prize, this is the story of Croatian refugees in Australia after World War II. The story takes place in a remote mining town in Tasmania. The novel was close to being great, but, for me, it just fell short. Early on, the reader could discern the answer to the mystery established at the start when the remains of a person were found by hikers in the wilderness. The novel did capture a time and circumstance well.
October 23, 2023
A skeleton is discovered in the Tasmanian bush and the search for answers comes in the form of what are basically interconnected short stories. Each person involved has a history, a link to the event, and to others within the novel.
This was an interesting way to approach this topic. Many of the characters have a history of migration and the depiction of them and their work in the Tasmanian bush was well done, as was the descriptions of the country itself. Some "stories" read better than others, some characters more central to the events. Overall I enjoyed and admired this book but ultimately was left wishing there was a little more to it.
This was an interesting way to approach this topic. Many of the characters have a history of migration and the depiction of them and their work in the Tasmanian bush was well done, as was the descriptions of the country itself. Some "stories" read better than others, some characters more central to the events. Overall I enjoyed and admired this book but ultimately was left wishing there was a little more to it.
January 9, 2024
Great read. Interesting structure, atmospheric writing, and best of all lots of descriptions of key places in Western Tasmania such as the Empire Hotel, Gordon River and the streets of Queenstown (as depicted on the cover).
September 5, 2023
Beautifully written, often poetic and atmospheric blending of historic fiction and mystery/crime genres. The Tasmanian setting was an integral aspect of this book. I loved the interweaving of plots and characters, of past and present, of memories and long forgotten stories. A very well crafted book which was an enthralling read.
November 24, 2023
Tasmanian-born Lenny Bartulin is the author of five books and his latest, The Unearthed (Allen & Unwin), is the first of his I’ve read. I was drawn to the setting of the story in my own locality, as well as the fact that I enjoy a good mystery.
Set mainly on the West Coast of Tasmania, in and around the townships of Strahan and Queenstown, there were some very familiar places mentioned throughout this book, like Hamer's Hotel in Strahan and the gravel football oval in Queenstown, giving the story a strong grounding and sense of atmosphere.
Initially, on finishing the book, I had the strange feeling of not being sure what I thought, but the more I mulled it over, the more I feel it was actually cleverly done. It included several mysteries to be solved and, unlike crime novels I have read in the past, they aren’t solved in the traditional sense, almost allowing the reader to form their own conclusions. This book will make you stop and reflect on what you have just read.
Told from multiple points of view and jumping between various timelines in the present day and 1950s, each part of the story reveals pieces of the mystery.
When bones are found in the Tasmania wilderness, one of the main characters, Antonia Kovács, discovers through her work at FSST (Forensic Science Services Tasmania) that they are decades old.
She has questions for her father, a now retired Police Inspector who had been stationed at Queenstown around the time, so she heads home to where he is now enjoying a quiet retirement in the harbourside township of Strahan.
Meanwhile, Tom Pilar the other main character in the book, receives an inheritance. It’s from a man belonging to his past, a friend of his father's, though Tom can barely remember him. He travels from the mainland to Queenstown to get a better understanding of why he was receiving it. I felt the author's description of the drive from Hobart to Queenstown was spot on!
There are flashbacks where we meet some post-war migrants and locals working in the mines. It’s through these flashbacks that the mysteries begin to unfold.
I found it interesting how the mysteries were revealed, laughing to myself when I realised the clues I had clearly missed. I certainly won’t be a detective anytime soon!
I enjoyed the local references; I could tell that the author had spent time in and around the areas described in the book. There has also been some extensive research undertaken into the lives of the migrant workers of the area in the early/mid 1900s.
At 274 pages you can easily devour this in one sitting. The Unearthed was released in Australia on August 1st by Allen & Unwin, in paperback, e-book and audio.
Set mainly on the West Coast of Tasmania, in and around the townships of Strahan and Queenstown, there were some very familiar places mentioned throughout this book, like Hamer's Hotel in Strahan and the gravel football oval in Queenstown, giving the story a strong grounding and sense of atmosphere.
Initially, on finishing the book, I had the strange feeling of not being sure what I thought, but the more I mulled it over, the more I feel it was actually cleverly done. It included several mysteries to be solved and, unlike crime novels I have read in the past, they aren’t solved in the traditional sense, almost allowing the reader to form their own conclusions. This book will make you stop and reflect on what you have just read.
Told from multiple points of view and jumping between various timelines in the present day and 1950s, each part of the story reveals pieces of the mystery.
When bones are found in the Tasmania wilderness, one of the main characters, Antonia Kovács, discovers through her work at FSST (Forensic Science Services Tasmania) that they are decades old.
She has questions for her father, a now retired Police Inspector who had been stationed at Queenstown around the time, so she heads home to where he is now enjoying a quiet retirement in the harbourside township of Strahan.
Meanwhile, Tom Pilar the other main character in the book, receives an inheritance. It’s from a man belonging to his past, a friend of his father's, though Tom can barely remember him. He travels from the mainland to Queenstown to get a better understanding of why he was receiving it. I felt the author's description of the drive from Hobart to Queenstown was spot on!
There are flashbacks where we meet some post-war migrants and locals working in the mines. It’s through these flashbacks that the mysteries begin to unfold.
I found it interesting how the mysteries were revealed, laughing to myself when I realised the clues I had clearly missed. I certainly won’t be a detective anytime soon!
I enjoyed the local references; I could tell that the author had spent time in and around the areas described in the book. There has also been some extensive research undertaken into the lives of the migrant workers of the area in the early/mid 1900s.
At 274 pages you can easily devour this in one sitting. The Unearthed was released in Australia on August 1st by Allen & Unwin, in paperback, e-book and audio.
July 28, 2023
The Unearthed by Larry Bartulin is an atmospheric story set on the North-West Coast of Tasmania. Moving between the past and present the story unfolds about miners and piners, with hardship and grief a dominating factor.
The publisher’s blurb gives an intriguing introduction to the story.
After decades-old human bones are discovered in the Tasmanian wilderness, Antonia Kovács returns home with questions for her father, a retired police inspector in Queenstown. Meanwhile, Tom Pilar receives news of an inheritance, from a man he barely remembers, one of his father's friends from the early days, newly arrived in the island and looking for work. Set amidst the harsh terrain of the timber and ore industries of the west coast, The Unearthed is a haunting novel about the past and its quiet but tenacious grip on the present. It reveals the tragic connections between the disparate lives of post-war migrants and local workers, and the fallibility of memory, the illusion of truths and the repercussions on real lives.
Two story lines, one of a body discovered and the other of Tom Pilar returning to Queenstown to claim the inheritance, merge and cross paths in the present and the past.
A complex story with many threads and characters - the reader is drawn in and taken on a slow and deep journey where more suggestive events emerge.
An interesting read with significant historical aspects.
This review is based on a complimentary copy from Allen & Unwin via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#TheUnearthed #NetGalley
The publisher’s blurb gives an intriguing introduction to the story.
After decades-old human bones are discovered in the Tasmanian wilderness, Antonia Kovács returns home with questions for her father, a retired police inspector in Queenstown. Meanwhile, Tom Pilar receives news of an inheritance, from a man he barely remembers, one of his father's friends from the early days, newly arrived in the island and looking for work. Set amidst the harsh terrain of the timber and ore industries of the west coast, The Unearthed is a haunting novel about the past and its quiet but tenacious grip on the present. It reveals the tragic connections between the disparate lives of post-war migrants and local workers, and the fallibility of memory, the illusion of truths and the repercussions on real lives.
Two story lines, one of a body discovered and the other of Tom Pilar returning to Queenstown to claim the inheritance, merge and cross paths in the present and the past.
A complex story with many threads and characters - the reader is drawn in and taken on a slow and deep journey where more suggestive events emerge.
An interesting read with significant historical aspects.
This review is based on a complimentary copy from Allen & Unwin via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#TheUnearthed #NetGalley
September 25, 2023
There’s no doubt Lenny Bartulin is a fine writer. He has a real gift for description. Having made the drive between Queenstown and Hobart I could visualise it from his words.
I use audiobooks when walking and Lewis Fitzgerald narrated this one. He is a terrific reader. So by that metric I should have really enjoyed it. What went wrong? Too much description I think.
The plot plods slowly, very slowly along.
A body is found near Queenstown, Tasmania. It is decades old.
Tom grew up in Queenstown. His Yugoslavian father landed up in there to work in the mines in the post World War II migration boom, along with many others. We learn about his father’s life, his childhood, his family and his war time experiences.
Tom discovers a friend of his father has left him everything in his will. Tom barely remembers him. He returns to his home town after many years to finalise things.
We also are told in great detail about the life of this benefactor and also his parents.
And so it goes.characters, siblings, parents and in some cases grandparents.
There are interconnections and a point to all this but it takes the long way round to get there. Too long for me I’m afraid. Too often on my walks I found myself muttering, “ get on with it.”
Looking at the reviews there’s no doubt many loved the book and with valid reasons. I’m afraid I just wasn’t one of them.
I use audiobooks when walking and Lewis Fitzgerald narrated this one. He is a terrific reader. So by that metric I should have really enjoyed it. What went wrong? Too much description I think.
The plot plods slowly, very slowly along.
A body is found near Queenstown, Tasmania. It is decades old.
Tom grew up in Queenstown. His Yugoslavian father landed up in there to work in the mines in the post World War II migration boom, along with many others. We learn about his father’s life, his childhood, his family and his war time experiences.
Tom discovers a friend of his father has left him everything in his will. Tom barely remembers him. He returns to his home town after many years to finalise things.
We also are told in great detail about the life of this benefactor and also his parents.
And so it goes.characters, siblings, parents and in some cases grandparents.
There are interconnections and a point to all this but it takes the long way round to get there. Too long for me I’m afraid. Too often on my walks I found myself muttering, “ get on with it.”
Looking at the reviews there’s no doubt many loved the book and with valid reasons. I’m afraid I just wasn’t one of them.
February 18, 2024
I must admit I nearly gave up on this book, I could t seem to get into it and saw no connection or purpose of introducing this multitude of characters. In the end I did quite enjoy it. It’s not your typical crime novel. After the remains of a body has been found Antonia Kovac investigated the crime and returns to seek information on it from her Dad who used to be a copper in the nearby town. The story introduces a number of characters and goes back decades to explain how each of them came to be in this forsaken mining town in Tasmania. I found the back stories rather interesting, although admittedly at times reverted to speed reading when the descriptions were too much for my liking, while a bit of surround noise adds to the story sometimes I felt less is more. Anyhow, in the end we get to see how all the characters fit into the storyline. Like I said not what I would describe as a typical crime novel, but more an exploration of the characters that filled this remote mining town. Their lives and backstories often started with so much hope and promise but turned bleak just like the town. I rate it a 3.5 and am glad I persevered with the story.
January 2, 2026
This is a story of bones, secrets, and generations of people trying to survive in the unforgiving environment of the West Coast of Tasmania. We're about to discover the real cost of identifying who these old bones belong to...
Short of giving you the synopsis again, take my word that this is an enthralling story. We're essentially solving a mystery, that they try very very hard to resist exposure.
The characters were treated with reverence and particularly the immigrant stories could have reflected real life experience in similar communities.
The Author should be commended for their work on building a layered multi generational story, which highlights the nuisance of the people of the west coast of Tasmania (past and present), along with using the unforgiving environment as a character, this helps to place the story as firmly Australian.
This story was experience via Audiobook on Libby, which I feel added to my enjoyment of it. Hearing the characters voices added dimentiallity. Lewis Fitz-Gerald the Narrator, was outstanding - I'd listen to anything else that he reads (except for Bluebird by Malcolm Knox which was a terrible story).
All options are my own.
5/5 stars
Short of giving you the synopsis again, take my word that this is an enthralling story. We're essentially solving a mystery, that they try very very hard to resist exposure.
The characters were treated with reverence and particularly the immigrant stories could have reflected real life experience in similar communities.
The Author should be commended for their work on building a layered multi generational story, which highlights the nuisance of the people of the west coast of Tasmania (past and present), along with using the unforgiving environment as a character, this helps to place the story as firmly Australian.
This story was experience via Audiobook on Libby, which I feel added to my enjoyment of it. Hearing the characters voices added dimentiallity. Lewis Fitz-Gerald the Narrator, was outstanding - I'd listen to anything else that he reads (except for Bluebird by Malcolm Knox which was a terrible story).
All options are my own.
5/5 stars
July 19, 2023
Australian author, Lenny Bartulin’s The Unearthed (2023) is an intriguing ode to life in the western Tasmania timber wilderness and its links to post-war migrant workers. It begins with the discovery of remains in the bush and a detective visiting her elderly father. It then morphs into a historic tale of several immigrant characters and their lives as piners or Huon pine timber cutters. A gentle historic tale with nobly humanistic people and an atmospheric feel, which is a joy to read. Its finale returns to the mystery of the discovered remains and is delightful literary fiction with a four and a half stars read rating. With thanks to Allen & Unwin and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own, freely given and without inducement.
December 31, 2023
I liked this book. There are no constant reminders about who belongs to who and how they fit in. It’s tight and neatly done. I bought this book on a recent trip to Tasmania. I chose two local authors from the extensive collection of Tasmanian books in a wonderful bookshop in Salamanca Square in Hobart. A friend had recommended the shop and I try to support independent bookstores and local authors when I can. Very happy with this choice from the pen of Lenny Bartulin. Having recently visited all the towns mentioned, it was a great pick. Will look out for more from him.
November 24, 2023
Remains of a body are found near Queenstown in Tasmania. A detective from Hobart goes to collect the remains. She has a connection to the town as her father was a policemen there. At the same time Tom Pilar is left a friend of his fathers inheritance. We learn a lot of backstory about how these immigrants arrived in Queenstown, but the story moved very slowly for my liking.
March 11, 2024
This was a bit too understated for me. I wanted a bit more of everything: more (some?) action, more mystery and suspense. I felt there were too many characters, all dealing with major issues, and I didn't care about any of them. And I had no interest in who the bones belonged to or why Tom was left the house.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 11, 2025
I really wanted to love this book, but I just found it so disjointed. There weren’t a lot of answers for some of the big questions raised early on (like why the inheritance?) and a lot of information was added in about things that didn’t really seem pertinent, like parental lineage. I had a lot of hope for this but I just finished it feeling a bit ‘meh’. 2.5
September 7, 2023
A murder mystery split over two time frames. Well described characters but you have an idea of the killer about a third of the way in. The other 2/3 is taken up with descriptions of other characters who I was not really interested in.
September 23, 2025
Engrossing, quick read with vivid, vision like descriptive text of Tasmania and its characters makes it feel like you just watched a mini series. If I was reading in Kindle, I would be tempted to highlight it often. Loved it and will read more Lenny Bartulin.
October 3, 2023
Lots of stories, not entwined enough, should've been much longer.
November 4, 2023
A good book but just didn't do it for me.
Guessed what happened reasonably early on.
Only finished it cos it was easier to than to just give up.
Guessed what happened reasonably early on.
Only finished it cos it was easier to than to just give up.
December 14, 2023
A slow burning mystery story with lots of characters to keep track of and beautiful descriptions of the wild west coast of Tasmania.
January 5, 2024
Based in my hometown! The setting was superb!!! Great story!
January 22, 2024
Profoundly moving.
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