Rifling Paradise

by Jem Poster

Shipped from UK, please allow 10 to 21 business days for arrival. Rifling Paradise , hardcover, signed book, 1st Edition Signed by Authors 1st UK Ed Pub Sceptre Signed to tp Sl bumped to upper leading corner ow clean tight sound square copy Signed Dust Jacket First Edition

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

325 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Jem Poster worked as an archaeologist, surveying and excavating a range of sites on behalf of the Inspectorate of Ancient Monuments, before taking up an administrative post with Cambridge University's Institute of Continuing Education in 1987. From 1993 to 2003 he was University Lecturer in Literature with Oxford University's Department for Continuing Education and a fellow of Kellogg College. From 2003 to 2012 he was Professor of Creative Writing at Aberystwyth University, and is now Emeritus Professor. He is the author of two novels, Courting Shadows (2002) and Rifling Paradise (2006), as well as a collection of poetry, Brought to Light (2001). He has won prizes in major poetry competitions including first prize in both the Cardiff International Poetry Competition in 1995 and the Peterloo Poets Open Poetry Competition in 2001. He has been Chair of the editorial board of Wales’s leading literary journal, New Welsh Review, and is currently Programme Advisor to the Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education’s MSt in Creative Writing and Director of its International Summer School in Creative Writing; he is an Affiliated Lecturer of the Institute. He is Director of Academic Programmes for the Financial Times Oxford Literary Festival and in 2014 spent four months as Writer in Residence at Arizona State University.

Reviews

[Velvetink · Rating 4 out of 5]

i of 5 books for $3 -19/04/2013 review by By James Ley (The Age) Jem Poster's Rifling Paradise is a historical novel set in the late-19th century that begins with its narrator - a minor English aristocrat named Charles Redbourne - facing an angry mob of local villagers. We soon learn that Redbourne has been involved in a series of indiscretions with several boys. The mob has arrived at his doorstep after one of the boys has hanged himself.

It is a promisingly edgy opening. The confrontation is tense and dramatic, as Redbourne attempts to bluster his way out of trouble, adopting an air of upper-class bravado while struggling to control his fear. The remainder of the novel never really lives up to the potential of its opening scene.

Redbourne's response to being threatened is to flee. With the financial backing of a rich uncle, he sails to New South Wales to rekindle his ambition of becoming a famous naturalist. Upon arrival, he moves in with a wealthy landowner named Vane and his daughter Eleanor, an emotionally troubled artist. He also encounters the brutish Bullen, who accompanies him on hunting trips in search of new specimens, and Billy, a sensitive half-aboriginal boy who is enlisted as a guide for an ill-fated expedition into the Blue Mountains.

Rifling Paradise wants very much to be taken seriously, most obviously with regard to its environmental theme. The characters are caught up in a debate about our relationship with the natural world. Eleanor, in particular, throws into relief the 19th century's faith in science and progress. Through her, Redbourne comes to reflect upon the compatibility of a scientific approach with appreciation of the world's natural beauty, and to consider the role art plays in shaping our perceptions.

[sisterimapoet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel tried to cover a lot of ground - relationships, sexuality, class, home and away, man and the natural world, native people vs. newcomers, tradition vs. science. Any of which would have been great if done in a bit more depth. But perhaps attempting to cover them all within a few hundred pages and inevitable some suffered by being skimmed.

All in all I enjoyed this book, but I felt as if the slow pace of the first half (where I felt we were truly getting to know the personalities and motivations of the characters) then spun out of control in the jungle gothic drama of the second half (which was well written and tense in itself).

The ending also came rather suddenly and seemed a little unlikely and unexplored considering what had gone before. Clearly flawed but still a decent read.

[Robert Ditterich · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning of this story is quite dark, as our central character reveals attributes that might make for a sordid sort of tale, but the writing was crystal clear and the quality of the prose led me to keep reading. I'm very glad I did.

The novel is really well paced, somehow suggesting very complex plot development, but delivering a trim and precise tale that ends more quickly than seemed possible. It is scattered with moments of real tension as the author uses the story to contrast several different character types, all responding to the cultural paradigms of the time- some characters stuck within them and some managing to grow through them. A very satisfying read.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

evocative

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beter dan ik dacht, maar niet goed genoeg om aan te raden. Wel een boek waar je even over blijft nadenken, losse eindjes en hints aan elkaar verbinden.

[Daniella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the novel offers plenty of intriguing elements, they are not worked out at all. There are definite implications of incest between father (Edward Vane) and daughter (Eleanor > Nellie) but when the protagonist, Charles Redbourne, marries the daughter, he ignores any potential hints in this direction. While the protagonist does develop from appreciating animals from a scientific point of view (killing, dissection, stuffing/taxidermy) to appreciating them in life, he shies away from voicing any of these changes in his principles. The implications of homosexuality that make the protagonist leave/flee from his estate in England (to Australia) are not taken any further. The romance-plot ending in marriage is destabilised by the protagonist’s wondering whether he didn’t decide on a wife too quickly and should have perhaps looked around a bit more first. The figure of the half-aboriginal boy working as a guide is more of an idealised type than an actual character, and so is his father. The death-by-disease through drinking unclean water is presented as a proper punishment for the appropriately named Bullen (who bullies both Redbourne and the boy) and Redbourne’s illness can be seen as a kind of purgatory-penance phase before he can happily continue his life.

[Maida · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed this book. It took me quite a while to finish it for one reason or another, but none of the reasons was boredom. It covered a lot of topics, not very thoroughly, I agree, but it was just enough to make it a complete work of art. I loved the flow, the ending, too. I liked the characters, too. I am really glad it ended the way it did, I really hoped it would when I was about half-way through. It was a nice little adventure, something I haven't really read before. Maybe a bit like a mix of some other novels and ideas I've seen before. All in all, I don't think it's really for everyone, but it was for me. 3.5/5

[Larry · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a story that takes place almost entirely in the wilds of 19th century Australia, Rifling Paradise feels strangely claustrophobic. 
Charles Redbourne, his reputation in question, flees England to pursue his ambition as amateur naturalist in the land down under.  We see his confusion as a lover of nature who proceeds to kill the fauna of the country so he can add specimens to his collection.  His experiences, observing fellow whites who carelessly abuse and destroy nature and treat native peoples horribly, lead him to a different outlook and an unexpected wife.

[Fredsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

The victorian gentleman, a landowner who has squandered his inheritance and his reputation, is sent by his rich uncle to visit a man in Australia. A lot happens during the visit while the plodding hero goes about collecting specimens (dead animals) for the family cabinet of curiosities. I enjoyed this book a lot except for the animal murders; it was fine to be in Australia again. I give it a 3.5 star rating.

[Janelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rifling Paradise was very ambitious but the book failed to establish what it really wanted to achieve. While I enjoyed the variety of themes laid out in every page, I still felt unsatisfied with how they were never fully recognized and covered. I liked the overtones or lust and sexuality but the way it was told was lazy. RP was a slow-read and fine for a lazy afternoon.

[Claire Haeg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A novel about colonization and one about the despoiling of nature. Set in early to mid-19th Century Australia. Another one of those I'd have to consider if I ever managed to direct a May-Term trip to the east coast of Australia.

[Jane Peskara / Audrey Valentine · Rating 1 out of 5]

SPOILER



it sucks, i have no idea what this book wantedt to tell me, more than 300 pages and it was basically about a guy who is gay, lost in the outback, marrying a young woman and tha twas it. WTF? i did buy cheap books a few times and mostly they suck...

[Hawley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some parts were really interesting and others simply baffling. If the writing hadn't of been so good in parts I know I wouldn't have been able to finish it. I didn't help that the characters were all rather pathetic and weak or just too strange to relate to.

[Cel Jel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I enjoyed the story, it seemed to have holes in the plot. The characters were not fully developed, and the undertones were contrived. Still it was a read for book club, and I would not have otherwise read it. It raised the effect of naturalists on collecting specimens for collections.

[Julie Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://juliekrose.blogspot.com/2009/0...

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book where the main chararcter is trying to learn about how to lead his own life while gathering specimens is not my norm but I found it enriching

[Book Line and Stinker · Rating 3 out of 5]

chosen by Jean
Score - 55 out of 100

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really great little book

[Gill Schell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up because of its cover ! An easy read but a superficial, uninteresting plot. A pity because it had so much potential. Perhaps the author just tried to cover too many themes.