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The River and the Book
From the internationally bestselling author of The Books of Pellinor comes a powerful story about the exploitation of indigenous people by the First World. In Simbala's village they have two treasures: the River, which is their road and their god; and the Book, which is their history, their oracle and their soul. Simbala is a Keeper of the Book, the latest in a long line of women who can use it to find answers to the villagers' questions. As developers begin to poison the River on which the villagers rely, the Book predicts change. But this does not come in the form that they expect; it is the sympathetic Westerner that comes to the village who inflicts the greatest damage of all.
144 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2015
10 people are currently reading
581 people want to read
About the author
Alison Croggon
53 books1,729 followersAlison Croggon is the award winning author of the acclaimed fantasy series The Books of Pellinor. You can sign up to her monthly newsletter and receive a free Pellinor story at alisoncroggon.com
Her most recent book is Fleshers, the first in a dazzling new SF series co-written with her husband, acclaimed playwright Daniel Keene. Her latest Pellinor book, The Bone Queen, was a 2016 Aurealis Awards Best Young Adult Book finalist. Other fantasy titles include Black Spring (shortlisted for the Young People's Writing Award in the 2014 NSW Premier's Literary Awards) and The River and the Book, winner of the Wilderness Society's prize for Environmental Writing for Children.
She is a prize-winning poet and theatre critic,, and has released seven collections of poems. As a critic she was named Geraldine Pascall Critic of the Year in 2009. She also writes opera libretti, and the opera she co-wrote with Iain Grandage was Vocal/Choral Work of the Year in the 2015 Art Music Awards. Her libretto for Mayakovsky, score by Michael Smetanin, was shortlisted in the Drama Prize for the 2015 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards. She lives in Melbourne..
Her most recent book is Fleshers, the first in a dazzling new SF series co-written with her husband, acclaimed playwright Daniel Keene. Her latest Pellinor book, The Bone Queen, was a 2016 Aurealis Awards Best Young Adult Book finalist. Other fantasy titles include Black Spring (shortlisted for the Young People's Writing Award in the 2014 NSW Premier's Literary Awards) and The River and the Book, winner of the Wilderness Society's prize for Environmental Writing for Children.
She is a prize-winning poet and theatre critic,, and has released seven collections of poems. As a critic she was named Geraldine Pascall Critic of the Year in 2009. She also writes opera libretti, and the opera she co-wrote with Iain Grandage was Vocal/Choral Work of the Year in the 2015 Art Music Awards. Her libretto for Mayakovsky, score by Michael Smetanin, was shortlisted in the Drama Prize for the 2015 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards. She lives in Melbourne..
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
February 5, 2017
A gem. Powerful and poetic and woven through with wisdom. It speaks to the role of mythology in building cultural identity and geopolitical resource conflict and the clash of cultural values. But it does all this through a quiet tale of a young girl leaving her village and travelling to the city. This is a book to be read and re-read for its layers of gentle wisdom. A perfect Grade 6 book that will widen our student's thinking as they learn about the potential for reductive understandings in our study of Development.
August 3, 2017
>"All writing comes from the inside," said Ling Ti. "It burns you with wanting to be written. It's the writing that matters."
-- From Chapter 25, The River and the Book
Rivers and books have so much in common, don't they? They each have a beginning, a middle and an end. They're ever-changing, never quite the same -- even a little way further on. If you ever revisit them they are different again, their compositions have somehow altered -- either in their elements or the relationship between those elements -- and outside influences have meant that your perception has had to permanently adjust. Which is why Alison Croggon's novella, The River and the Book, works so well, each aspect of the title informing the other and complementing it.
The first-person narrator is Simbala, who lives in a village on the banks of an unnamed river in an unidentified country. Does it matter where in the world this is? Not really, for this could be any so-called undeveloped country one can think of, about to be forever affected by commercial exploitation, the unrest that comes in its wake, the environmental impacts that accrue and the societal fragmentations that inevitably follow. Healthy rivers matter -- for the environment, for the communities that rely on it for life and livelihood. And when the river that flows past Simbala's village shows signs of change for the worse, it'll inevitably affect her, family, friends and the community that depends on it.
The Book that is in the hereditary keeping of Simbala is more than just a totem object. On one level it may be an aid to bibliomancy, for foretelling possibilities, but also a consolation, an heirloom and an indicator of communal health. On yet another level Croggon presents it as an ever-changing possession, perhaps in a magic realist sort of way -- though as with all literature any random page will never reappear the same as the first time you saw it.
When an outsider -- an environmental activist and academic writer -- visits the village to examine how corporate greed upriver adversely affects those living downriver, she herself proves by a single inexplicable act to be the catalyst for change that she ostensibly came to record. In an attempt to right the wrong visited on her village Simbala, the hereditary Keeper of the now lost Book, travels alone in pursuit of Jane Watson. Spurred by shame and anger she finds her way to the teeming city, here to reflect on loss, change and failure while pouring her heart into the new book she is writing and communicating her hopes and fears to her new companions. Until, that is, she hears that Jane Watson is back in the city.
Croggon's book is endorsed by Amnesty International UK "as contributing to a better understanding of human rights and the values that underpin them." You might, therefore, see this an merely as issues book -- well-meaning, do-gooding, preaching to the converted and, maybe, ultimately rather depressing. These are what my initial thoughts were, but I was wrong. This is, indeed, about change brought about by human exploitation and ignorance, but it is also about managing that change as individuals, especially when we feel powerless in the face of developments greater and stronger than ourselves. We can only do what we can. It could be about calling individuals to account, though that often can come at great personal cost. Or it could be about finding positive things to do, establishing new relationships and underpinning it all with love and compassion. That too may be difficult: "The secret, Sim, is always to write with love," he said. "Love is the hardest thing in the world, and it's the one thing we mustn't forget. It's much more difficult than anyone thinks."
But it may be the best means to make ourselves happy, after a fashion, especially after the loss of things we once held dear. This, I feel, is the core idea I took from The River and the Book, despite its unpromising starting point of environmental disaster. And love and compassion can only help make us stronger, place us in a better position to address those issues that disturbed us so.
The author -- a poet, playwright and best-selling fantasy writer -- offers us a beautifully-written gem of a book, realistic but also optimistic. She sympathetically conjures up a disappearing way of life in a way that reminds me a little bit of Ursula Le Guin's speculative novels. For Croggon this was a clearly a book that was inside her, burning her with just wanting to be written; for us it is one to consider, to treasure and to share.
http://wp.me/s2oNj1-book
-- From Chapter 25, The River and the Book
Rivers and books have so much in common, don't they? They each have a beginning, a middle and an end. They're ever-changing, never quite the same -- even a little way further on. If you ever revisit them they are different again, their compositions have somehow altered -- either in their elements or the relationship between those elements -- and outside influences have meant that your perception has had to permanently adjust. Which is why Alison Croggon's novella, The River and the Book, works so well, each aspect of the title informing the other and complementing it.
The first-person narrator is Simbala, who lives in a village on the banks of an unnamed river in an unidentified country. Does it matter where in the world this is? Not really, for this could be any so-called undeveloped country one can think of, about to be forever affected by commercial exploitation, the unrest that comes in its wake, the environmental impacts that accrue and the societal fragmentations that inevitably follow. Healthy rivers matter -- for the environment, for the communities that rely on it for life and livelihood. And when the river that flows past Simbala's village shows signs of change for the worse, it'll inevitably affect her, family, friends and the community that depends on it.
The Book that is in the hereditary keeping of Simbala is more than just a totem object. On one level it may be an aid to bibliomancy, for foretelling possibilities, but also a consolation, an heirloom and an indicator of communal health. On yet another level Croggon presents it as an ever-changing possession, perhaps in a magic realist sort of way -- though as with all literature any random page will never reappear the same as the first time you saw it.
When an outsider -- an environmental activist and academic writer -- visits the village to examine how corporate greed upriver adversely affects those living downriver, she herself proves by a single inexplicable act to be the catalyst for change that she ostensibly came to record. In an attempt to right the wrong visited on her village Simbala, the hereditary Keeper of the now lost Book, travels alone in pursuit of Jane Watson. Spurred by shame and anger she finds her way to the teeming city, here to reflect on loss, change and failure while pouring her heart into the new book she is writing and communicating her hopes and fears to her new companions. Until, that is, she hears that Jane Watson is back in the city.
Croggon's book is endorsed by Amnesty International UK "as contributing to a better understanding of human rights and the values that underpin them." You might, therefore, see this an merely as issues book -- well-meaning, do-gooding, preaching to the converted and, maybe, ultimately rather depressing. These are what my initial thoughts were, but I was wrong. This is, indeed, about change brought about by human exploitation and ignorance, but it is also about managing that change as individuals, especially when we feel powerless in the face of developments greater and stronger than ourselves. We can only do what we can. It could be about calling individuals to account, though that often can come at great personal cost. Or it could be about finding positive things to do, establishing new relationships and underpinning it all with love and compassion. That too may be difficult: "The secret, Sim, is always to write with love," he said. "Love is the hardest thing in the world, and it's the one thing we mustn't forget. It's much more difficult than anyone thinks."
But it may be the best means to make ourselves happy, after a fashion, especially after the loss of things we once held dear. This, I feel, is the core idea I took from The River and the Book, despite its unpromising starting point of environmental disaster. And love and compassion can only help make us stronger, place us in a better position to address those issues that disturbed us so.
The author -- a poet, playwright and best-selling fantasy writer -- offers us a beautifully-written gem of a book, realistic but also optimistic. She sympathetically conjures up a disappearing way of life in a way that reminds me a little bit of Ursula Le Guin's speculative novels. For Croggon this was a clearly a book that was inside her, burning her with just wanting to be written; for us it is one to consider, to treasure and to share.
http://wp.me/s2oNj1-book
February 16, 2016
This is an interesting little quick read. The story takes place in an unknown, third-world country in modern time. The story is narrated by a young indigenous woman who lives on a river as does her village. The river brings life. She is the keeper of a magical book that has been passed down daughter to daughter for 1000 years (or at least a long time).
But the modern world starts over using the river up stream and then a white western woman comes and steals the book.
So this story is told after the fact. After the white woman has done this and how Simbala goes in search of Jane Watson.
Other than the talking cat which everyone seems to accept as normal this story fits in well as a modern contemporary story of cultural theft. In fact Amnesty International has a note at the end of the book pointing this out and saying it is s good talking point.
I enjoyed the book but was frustrated at the same time. I wanted to wring Jane's neck.
But the modern world starts over using the river up stream and then a white western woman comes and steals the book.
So this story is told after the fact. After the white woman has done this and how Simbala goes in search of Jane Watson.
Other than the talking cat which everyone seems to accept as normal this story fits in well as a modern contemporary story of cultural theft. In fact Amnesty International has a note at the end of the book pointing this out and saying it is s good talking point.
I enjoyed the book but was frustrated at the same time. I wanted to wring Jane's neck.
April 8, 2017
I loved every word of this book. Beautifully crafted "fable" about the path towards corporate greed and environmental destruction. This is a short, simple tale for all lovers of words and stories.
Any reader who loves the power of words will fall into this book's trance and get lost in the imagery and majesty of each chapter.
Any reader who loves the power of words will fall into this book's trance and get lost in the imagery and majesty of each chapter.
November 16, 2015
This story is told by Simbala. Simbala was raised in a village that has two treasures as named in the title of the story: the river and the book. Both these treasures become threatened by the exploitation of First World developers. For Simbala’s village, livelihood and survival are dependent on the river. It provides, food, irrigation and the means of transport. As foreign corporations colonise the country by financing large scale cotton farming, water levels drop due to irrigation and the quality of the water is compromised by the poisoning effects or insecticide runoff.
The second treasure, the Book, is the oracle of the village, it predicts futures and answers the important questions of the villagers. We are told that “inside the Book was written everything that had been, everything that was and everything that was to come” (p.16). Simbala, like her mother, grandmother and the women in her family before them, is the Keeper of the Book. When a foreign woman, Jane Watson, visits the village, she is warmly welcomed and spends time living in the village learning their way of life and the pattern of their days. Jane Watson, however, violates this trust in a devastating manner when she leaves the village and takes the Book with her. This event sets Simbala on a quest down the river to retrieve the Book.
The strength of this small novel is the powerful themes that are contained within the story. The themes of colonialism and its impact on indigenous cultures, Westernisation, human rights, theft, revenge, methods of activism and effecting change and healing are all explored within the novel. Some reviewers have commented on it’s lack of subtlety but this is appropriate for Middle School readers and is more than adequately compensated by Croggon’s beautiful use of language.
Endorsed by Amnesty International, this is a beautiful book that raises many issues for discussion and is worth considering for Middle School students.
The second treasure, the Book, is the oracle of the village, it predicts futures and answers the important questions of the villagers. We are told that “inside the Book was written everything that had been, everything that was and everything that was to come” (p.16). Simbala, like her mother, grandmother and the women in her family before them, is the Keeper of the Book. When a foreign woman, Jane Watson, visits the village, she is warmly welcomed and spends time living in the village learning their way of life and the pattern of their days. Jane Watson, however, violates this trust in a devastating manner when she leaves the village and takes the Book with her. This event sets Simbala on a quest down the river to retrieve the Book.
The strength of this small novel is the powerful themes that are contained within the story. The themes of colonialism and its impact on indigenous cultures, Westernisation, human rights, theft, revenge, methods of activism and effecting change and healing are all explored within the novel. Some reviewers have commented on it’s lack of subtlety but this is appropriate for Middle School readers and is more than adequately compensated by Croggon’s beautiful use of language.
Endorsed by Amnesty International, this is a beautiful book that raises many issues for discussion and is worth considering for Middle School students.
March 29, 2016
The burning question this story left me to ponder was: by writing from the perspective of Sim is Alison Croggon actually Jane Watson? The story is important in raising questions about ethics and cultural values, sustainability and corruption; highlighting how much of the subtleties of indigenous cultures and spirituality are unknowable to western minds and unlocked by their members over a lifetime. It also hints at the resilience of culture and its ability to adapt to the world around it coupled with the idea that there is a predestined path that we all unconsciously tread. Undoubtably this book confirms that you should always read a book with a question in your heart.
July 22, 2020
Rating: 3 Stars
This book wasn't necessarily bad. But, it wasn't good either. It simply lacked – a lot.
Being a rather short story, the story and the characters never felt 'fleshed' out. After reading I don't feel as if I knew anything more than what the summary – or the title – says: there is a river, a girl and a book. That's it. The story never acquires any depth. The characters were forgettable and the plot...I'm not sure there was a clear-cut plotline. Here and there a few lines did make me smile but that wasn't enough to make up for the overall 'flatness'.
Despite not offering any interesting ideas, or characters, it was readable.
This book wasn't necessarily bad. But, it wasn't good either. It simply lacked – a lot.
Being a rather short story, the story and the characters never felt 'fleshed' out. After reading I don't feel as if I knew anything more than what the summary – or the title – says: there is a river, a girl and a book. That's it. The story never acquires any depth. The characters were forgettable and the plot...I'm not sure there was a clear-cut plotline. Here and there a few lines did make me smile but that wasn't enough to make up for the overall 'flatness'.
Despite not offering any interesting ideas, or characters, it was readable.
September 21, 2015
Little book, big message. Written in whimsy as though it were a fable, Alison Croggan’s latest novel lyricises the dangers of Western imperialism on Indigenous cultures. Endorsed by Amnesty International, the River and the Book follows Simbala on a quest down the river, weaving fairytale with poignant message and magical realism with a landscape rich in tradition to texture the beginning of a valuable conversation.
June 17, 2015
If there's one thing for certain, it's that Alison Croggon know how to put words together. This is a BEAUTIFUL tale that holds so much more than its page count implies.
November 27, 2024
Kayaknya ini pertama kali ini baca tema YA dan aku langsung jatuh hati, proses membacanya menyenangkan, aku sgt enjoy, punya properti menyembuhkan jiwa dgn narasinya yg lembut membelai pikiran.
Awal setting cerita bertempat di lahan etnis sebuah bangsa atau suku yg tinggal di sepanjang sungai yg terletak di dataran bernama Pembar, tokoh utamanya seorang perempuan muda bernama Simbala atau Sim yg terinspirasi untuk menuliskan ceritanya sendiri dalam sebuah buku setelah sering mendengar cerita dr storyteller buta Harim yg ia dengarkan di balai kota.
Simbala berstatus sbg Book Keeper di desanya, gelar yg diturunkan dr ibu dan nenek moyangnya, untuk menyimpan dan menjaga sebuah Buku, Buku itu adalah mata budaya sukunya dan merupakan warisan yg amat sakral, dari buku itu seseorang bisa mencari jawaban dr pertanyaan pertanyaan atau masalah yg selama ini mebelenggu mereka, pertanyaan itu bisa bersifat personal spt tentang hubungan atau perjodohan maupun formal untuk urusan spt bisnis, karir, dll, mungkin bisa dibilang buku ajaib ya, dan Buku itu cuma bisa dibaca oleh seorang Book keeper, orang biasa gak akan bisa baca itu.
Garis besarnya kehidupan Sim yg selama ini berjalan damai dan statis tiba tiba mengalami pergolakan sejak adanya pembangunan pabrik katun di hulu sungai yg menyebabkan sungai mereka kian tahun makin tercemar dan makin surut, serta kedatangan seorang perempuan asing kulit putih bernama Jane Watson, seorang aktivis yg ingin menulis buku ttg kehidupan suku suku dataran Pembar yg terkena dampak pembangunan pabrik, selain itu sang Buku jg memberikan jawaban misterius nan aneh dr pertanyaan Sim yg khawatir akan segala perubahan ini.
Itu awal premisnya, dan kita diajak untuk menemani Sim dalam perjalananya keluar desa untuk mengejar 'sesuatu', aku suka karna ini buku bhs inggris pertama yg bisa aku ikutin secara emosional, gak cuma literal ngerti bahasanya tp merasa kurang diresapi, buku ini berhasil nangkep perhatian aku dr awal ampe akhir, aku suka aja ngeliat perkembangan karakter Sim dan perjalanan dia dr kota ke kota, awalnya terlihat impossible tp perlahan lahan dia berhasil menaklukkan tujuan perjalanannya dgn berani dan lapang dada, serta membangun kebahagiaan dgn orang orang disekitar lingkungan barunya.
Penulisannya jg mantep bgt, sederhana tp memikat, aku terutama suka penggambaran pemandangan yg suka Sim liat kyk pendaran cahaya matahari atau tetesan embun di rumput pagi, it enhance the experience, menurutku ini jg bisa dibaca orang yg baru awal awal baca bhs inggris, karna emg sederhana bgt, ga pake kosa kata rumit, buku ini penulisannya oke, karakternya oke, plotnya jg oke, triple kill imo.
Aku belajar banyak dr cerita ini, dari Sim, ttg perubahan, perjalanan atau proses, ketabahan, dan perjuangan untuk selalu bertindak demi sesuatu atau seseorang yg kita cintai, pokoknya baguss, 100% reccomended!!
Awal setting cerita bertempat di lahan etnis sebuah bangsa atau suku yg tinggal di sepanjang sungai yg terletak di dataran bernama Pembar, tokoh utamanya seorang perempuan muda bernama Simbala atau Sim yg terinspirasi untuk menuliskan ceritanya sendiri dalam sebuah buku setelah sering mendengar cerita dr storyteller buta Harim yg ia dengarkan di balai kota.
Simbala berstatus sbg Book Keeper di desanya, gelar yg diturunkan dr ibu dan nenek moyangnya, untuk menyimpan dan menjaga sebuah Buku, Buku itu adalah mata budaya sukunya dan merupakan warisan yg amat sakral, dari buku itu seseorang bisa mencari jawaban dr pertanyaan pertanyaan atau masalah yg selama ini mebelenggu mereka, pertanyaan itu bisa bersifat personal spt tentang hubungan atau perjodohan maupun formal untuk urusan spt bisnis, karir, dll, mungkin bisa dibilang buku ajaib ya, dan Buku itu cuma bisa dibaca oleh seorang Book keeper, orang biasa gak akan bisa baca itu.
Garis besarnya kehidupan Sim yg selama ini berjalan damai dan statis tiba tiba mengalami pergolakan sejak adanya pembangunan pabrik katun di hulu sungai yg menyebabkan sungai mereka kian tahun makin tercemar dan makin surut, serta kedatangan seorang perempuan asing kulit putih bernama Jane Watson, seorang aktivis yg ingin menulis buku ttg kehidupan suku suku dataran Pembar yg terkena dampak pembangunan pabrik, selain itu sang Buku jg memberikan jawaban misterius nan aneh dr pertanyaan Sim yg khawatir akan segala perubahan ini.
Itu awal premisnya, dan kita diajak untuk menemani Sim dalam perjalananya keluar desa untuk mengejar 'sesuatu', aku suka karna ini buku bhs inggris pertama yg bisa aku ikutin secara emosional, gak cuma literal ngerti bahasanya tp merasa kurang diresapi, buku ini berhasil nangkep perhatian aku dr awal ampe akhir, aku suka aja ngeliat perkembangan karakter Sim dan perjalanan dia dr kota ke kota, awalnya terlihat impossible tp perlahan lahan dia berhasil menaklukkan tujuan perjalanannya dgn berani dan lapang dada, serta membangun kebahagiaan dgn orang orang disekitar lingkungan barunya.
Penulisannya jg mantep bgt, sederhana tp memikat, aku terutama suka penggambaran pemandangan yg suka Sim liat kyk pendaran cahaya matahari atau tetesan embun di rumput pagi, it enhance the experience, menurutku ini jg bisa dibaca orang yg baru awal awal baca bhs inggris, karna emg sederhana bgt, ga pake kosa kata rumit, buku ini penulisannya oke, karakternya oke, plotnya jg oke, triple kill imo.
Aku belajar banyak dr cerita ini, dari Sim, ttg perubahan, perjalanan atau proses, ketabahan, dan perjuangan untuk selalu bertindak demi sesuatu atau seseorang yg kita cintai, pokoknya baguss, 100% reccomended!!
June 11, 2023
This is a beautifully written YA modern fable of a colonizer’s exploitation of indigenous land and culture. Set in an indeterminate time and place, readers can nevertheless recognize similarities between the colonizers’ tendencies to plunder the riches from the land and culture of the places they’ve “discovered”. Deceptively simple but profound in its ways, I’d recommend this for younger readers and adults alike.
September 27, 2020
3.5 stars
A beautiful story, with great writing and characters
A beautiful story, with great writing and characters
March 26, 2021
Deceptively thin but deep in meaning, this is a book to challenge readers. With its touches of fable, philosophy and truth. Alison writes of a village who has two treasures under threatk; the river and the book. The story is told by Simbala, the Keeper and it is interwoven with tales of others and her cat who is so delightfully drawn throughout the book. A gem of a story which should be read more widely.
"Watch for the cranes, who will bring my love to you, even as far as the Plains of Pembar."
"Watch for the cranes, who will bring my love to you, even as far as the Plains of Pembar."
January 15, 2024
The River and the Book by Alison Croggon is my first book by her since I read the Pellinor Series. We all know how much I love that series (check out my handle) so I was super excited to dive into more from her!
This is a short, but beautiful, book that has solidified my love for Croggon's writing. We follow a young girl named Simbala who is very important in her village. She can speak to the Book, which answers the villagers questions. It's an honoured position and one that she understands the weight of. The river is also incredibly important to the village, but they notice that it is not as prosperous as it used to be. In fact the river seems to be poisoned from the cotton plantations upstream which don't care about what they pump into the river. One day a western woman comes to the village, looking into the damage that the river pollution is causing. But she is the biggest danger of all to the village.
This book has important and nuanced discussions on white saviours and their "good" intentions versus the negative impacts that they leave in their wake. Simbala spends years attempting to correct the impact of this western woman, but nothing will ever be the same again.
From a literature perspective we get to see so much character development from Simbala, she starts off not knowing anything about the outside world. Because she doesn't need to. But as that need changes she slowly learns more and sees others reactions. She still maintains her convictions and her beliefs, whilst becoming a different person than she was when she left her home. There is also fantastic worldbuilding. Whilst this is a very mild urban fantasy, Croggon still does a fantastic job of embellishing and explaining the world and I feel so invested in the lives of these people.
On CAWPILE I rated this: Characters: 9, Atmosphere: 8, Writing: 8, Plot: 10, Intrigue: 9, Logic: 8, and Enjoyment: 9 giving an overall score of 8.71 and a 4.5* rating.
Content warnings: a passing mention of rape, poverty depicted, cultural appropriation, death of a parent, colonialism, xenophobia.
I loved this read and I'm so so glad that I finally delved into more from Croggon. This is a beautiful book and I really do recommend picking it up! (as well as obviously the Pellinor series - duh). Have you read anything from Alison Croggon before? Are you going to now? Let me know!!
This is a short, but beautiful, book that has solidified my love for Croggon's writing. We follow a young girl named Simbala who is very important in her village. She can speak to the Book, which answers the villagers questions. It's an honoured position and one that she understands the weight of. The river is also incredibly important to the village, but they notice that it is not as prosperous as it used to be. In fact the river seems to be poisoned from the cotton plantations upstream which don't care about what they pump into the river. One day a western woman comes to the village, looking into the damage that the river pollution is causing. But she is the biggest danger of all to the village.
This book has important and nuanced discussions on white saviours and their "good" intentions versus the negative impacts that they leave in their wake. Simbala spends years attempting to correct the impact of this western woman, but nothing will ever be the same again.
From a literature perspective we get to see so much character development from Simbala, she starts off not knowing anything about the outside world. Because she doesn't need to. But as that need changes she slowly learns more and sees others reactions. She still maintains her convictions and her beliefs, whilst becoming a different person than she was when she left her home. There is also fantastic worldbuilding. Whilst this is a very mild urban fantasy, Croggon still does a fantastic job of embellishing and explaining the world and I feel so invested in the lives of these people.
On CAWPILE I rated this: Characters: 9, Atmosphere: 8, Writing: 8, Plot: 10, Intrigue: 9, Logic: 8, and Enjoyment: 9 giving an overall score of 8.71 and a 4.5* rating.
Content warnings: a passing mention of rape, poverty depicted, cultural appropriation, death of a parent, colonialism, xenophobia.
I loved this read and I'm so so glad that I finally delved into more from Croggon. This is a beautiful book and I really do recommend picking it up! (as well as obviously the Pellinor series - duh). Have you read anything from Alison Croggon before? Are you going to now? Let me know!!
March 29, 2016
Through out the reading (which I enjoyed though I found the sentences stilted the flow somewhat) I could not cease the overriding question: I wonder how Croggon believes she is positioned regarding the current zeitgeist of anti black-face and anti cultural appropriation. Here we have a white older woman writing as the narrator of a darker skinned foreign (non-Australian) young girl/woman.
There is a lot of loud opinion in Australian + social media and non-mainstream media about the abhorrent abuse of cultural mimicry, pretense, and pretend. Even when the dress-ups or depiction are in admiration (and the admiration does not necessarily depict the other as the Other, only not of as the Self, hence the costuming or mantle of dramatic depiction).
Croggon has a history of theatre work (including review). The theatre's foundation is depicting otherness, igniting empathy and investigating what is foreign to the acting, and writing, self. Foreign within the confines of one humanity.
The commonalities of this book make it a pertinent read across the world. Whether one is affected by fracking in northern NSW or suffering rising sea and water shortages on a small Pacific Island, there are those who take, those who kill to protect, those who take to enhance their greed and, often, those who play the role of the affected. The mostly disaffected, ignorant, blinded and unorganised and intimidated 99%.
I did not know where the book was set - it seemed to be a conflation of contemporary regions of development and dictatorship from Tibet, to China, to India, to Africa, to the Middle East. And that is part of its strength as a fable for all people. Most of us are only one to four generations away from peasantry, religious dictation and living directly from the health and wealth of land dependent of community resilience.
There is a lot of loud opinion in Australian + social media and non-mainstream media about the abhorrent abuse of cultural mimicry, pretense, and pretend. Even when the dress-ups or depiction are in admiration (and the admiration does not necessarily depict the other as the Other, only not of as the Self, hence the costuming or mantle of dramatic depiction).
Croggon has a history of theatre work (including review). The theatre's foundation is depicting otherness, igniting empathy and investigating what is foreign to the acting, and writing, self. Foreign within the confines of one humanity.
The commonalities of this book make it a pertinent read across the world. Whether one is affected by fracking in northern NSW or suffering rising sea and water shortages on a small Pacific Island, there are those who take, those who kill to protect, those who take to enhance their greed and, often, those who play the role of the affected. The mostly disaffected, ignorant, blinded and unorganised and intimidated 99%.
I did not know where the book was set - it seemed to be a conflation of contemporary regions of development and dictatorship from Tibet, to China, to India, to Africa, to the Middle East. And that is part of its strength as a fable for all people. Most of us are only one to four generations away from peasantry, religious dictation and living directly from the health and wealth of land dependent of community resilience.
January 25, 2016
Much wisdom is contained in these few short 136 pages. Set in a small riverside village in Africa and a large city, it tells the tale of Simbala D Kulafir Atan Mucarek Abaral Effenda Nuum (Sim). The book tracks her coming of age and the search for the stolen 'Book' that tells the story of her past, present and future. She is the next in line of 'Keepers' of the book and it is her duty to locate the book and return it to her village. This is a story about abuse of power, culture, and property by white invaders who disrespect local inhabitants and the environment in order to fulfill their greed. I adored the book along with the talking cat, Mely, and the slow gentle paddle down the beautiful but dying river. A perfect novel to share with children 10 to 14.
August 2, 2015
A beautiful book. Alison skilfully jumps back and forth between chapters to the climax. It isn't particularly subtle with its themes and metaphors, but for the intended audience I would expect they would come away having learned a lot, whether about colonialism, theft, and poverty. This is a great book for kids between 10 and 15 or so, maybe older, and it's quite an easy read with short chapters and a lyrical voice. Loved the touch of magic that is threaded through without being overbearing.
January 1, 2016
Brilliant book is brilliant. Review on The Book Wars soonish.
June 5, 2022
I like it
July 26, 2023
"Inside the Book was written everything that has been, everything that was and everything that was to come."
A story about courage, belief, innocence, trust, betrayal and exploitation. The writing is simple and beautiful.
This is the courageous journey of a strong woman who goes beyond her horizons, meets different people, visits many new places and builds a path of her own. Simbala Nuum, who is the keeper of the Book, is forced to leave her peaceful and comfortable life in the village when a westerner takes advantage of the innocent villagers, and then betrays them by stealing one of their most valuable treasures - the Book.
The story of this book, as it is mentioned in the credits, points towards the rights to privacy, culture and property.
"The gods give and take in their own time," said my grandmother. "There is no profit in assigning fault."
On the other hand, Grandmother also said that truthfulness has many faces, and that some of those faces might look like lies. "You can never be quite certain," she said. "And that is a good thing, because only a god can be certain about the truth, and even then only sometimes. It is much harder to be a human being than it is to be a god."
--
"Nobody can really know what pain is like for another person. Words can point towards the feeling, but they can`t describe it. You just have to hope that the person to whom you`re trying to describe the experience has felt similar pain themselves."
"It was then I noticed that those who have least often offer the most."
"a harmless simpleton."
"What profit it a man, if he gains the world and loses his soul?"
A story about courage, belief, innocence, trust, betrayal and exploitation. The writing is simple and beautiful.
This is the courageous journey of a strong woman who goes beyond her horizons, meets different people, visits many new places and builds a path of her own. Simbala Nuum, who is the keeper of the Book, is forced to leave her peaceful and comfortable life in the village when a westerner takes advantage of the innocent villagers, and then betrays them by stealing one of their most valuable treasures - the Book.
The story of this book, as it is mentioned in the credits, points towards the rights to privacy, culture and property.
"The gods give and take in their own time," said my grandmother. "There is no profit in assigning fault."
On the other hand, Grandmother also said that truthfulness has many faces, and that some of those faces might look like lies. "You can never be quite certain," she said. "And that is a good thing, because only a god can be certain about the truth, and even then only sometimes. It is much harder to be a human being than it is to be a god."
--
"Nobody can really know what pain is like for another person. Words can point towards the feeling, but they can`t describe it. You just have to hope that the person to whom you`re trying to describe the experience has felt similar pain themselves."
"It was then I noticed that those who have least often offer the most."
"a harmless simpleton."
"What profit it a man, if he gains the world and loses his soul?"
July 9, 2023
Simbala is the author of this tale. Simbala was raised in a village that is home to the river and the book, two gems mentioned in the story's title. Because First World developers take use of them, both of these riches are put in danger. The river is essential for the livelihood and survival of Simbala's hamlet. It offers transportation, irrigation, and food. Water levels fall due to irrigation as foreign firms colonise the nation by supporting extensive cotton farming, and the water's quality is harmed by poisoning effects or insecticide runoff.
The second treasure is the Book, which serves as the villagers' oracle and provides crucial insights into the future. According to the statement on page 16, "Everything that had been, everything that was, and everything that was to come was written inside the Book." Simbala is the Keeper of the Book, just like her mother, grandmother, and the women in her family before them. Jane Watson, a visitor from outside the town, is welcomed with open arms and spends some time residing there to get to know the people and their way of life. But when Jane Watson leaves the village and takes the Book with her, she gravely betrays this trust. Simbala embarks on a mission to find the Book along the river after this incident.
This book overall was an interesting and good read. Recommended for 10 plus readers.
The second treasure is the Book, which serves as the villagers' oracle and provides crucial insights into the future. According to the statement on page 16, "Everything that had been, everything that was, and everything that was to come was written inside the Book." Simbala is the Keeper of the Book, just like her mother, grandmother, and the women in her family before them. Jane Watson, a visitor from outside the town, is welcomed with open arms and spends some time residing there to get to know the people and their way of life. But when Jane Watson leaves the village and takes the Book with her, she gravely betrays this trust. Simbala embarks on a mission to find the Book along the river after this incident.
This book overall was an interesting and good read. Recommended for 10 plus readers.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 1, 2021
"I watched as the stars faded and the landscape began to materialize out of the night and become solid again, and the rim of the world grew rose-pink and deepened to orange and then split with molten gold, and the first rays of the sun speared the wide, empty plains."
I read this in 2016 when it was long-listed for the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year for Older Readers 2016. Perhaps I should write by the shores of a river, at least I have a cat by my side.
"What does a cat know about books?"
Quite a lot, when she's not sleeping.
Simbi's story is alive with the colours and scents and happiness of her life in the village by the River. Then she loses everything. First the lifeblood of the village, the River, begins to falter and dry up, not flooding anymore and lowering every year. As refugees arrive from upriver, they tell the villagers about the Water Wars causing the drought.
People from Tarn, a neighbouring country, settled on the Plains of Pembar on what they think is empty land to farm cotton. Their thirsty crop sucks up so much water, causing drought further down the river. When Pembar villagers try to stop this, the Tarnish settlers start killing villagers indiscriminately and the violence escalates.
Meanwhile Simbi's mother dies and her daughter becomes the new Keeper of the Book, which holds her village's cultural knowledge. Only the Keeper can translate the Book for the other villagers. Soon after Simbi becomes the Keeper, the Book is stolen by Jane Watson, an anthropologist visiting from Tarn. The villagers had welcomed her and feel betrayed by her deception.
Simbi feels the most guilt, she let Jane Watson see the book, and enjoyed her friendship when Jane visited the village. Her guilt leads Simbi on Jane's trail to confront her and take back what she stole. In the city Simbi makes new friends, including Mely the cat (who only talks to select special people) and eventually finds Jane Watson. The confrontation isn't quite what Simbi expects, Jane apologises and returns the book. She is now campaigning to save the dying River that feeds every village along its banks.
This is where the real life colonisation of indigenous people parallels with the world of The River and The Book. Jane Watson is the oppressor and supposed saviour of the villagers along the River. Simbi is torn between forgiveness and hatred, and argues with her friends about what she should feel and do.
"When I think of Jane Watson sitting in her cramped office, looking crushed and ashamed, I am almost certain I don't hate her. When I think of the suffering she has caused me and the people I love, I am almost certain that I do."
Over the hundreds of years we've oppressed indigenous Australians, it's rarely the same individual who does both, but Jane Watson is a metaphor for our society. Does our current willingness to offer "help" to indigenous cultures make up for the damage we did in the past? Is this just another form of oppression? Does saying sorry achieve anything?
As Simbi wrestles with these questions, indigenous people the world over do too. Simbi finds there are no easy answers. The River and The Book cleverly ends with Simbi feeling hope for her future, but not yet sure what that future might hold. The Change the Book predicted is still in progress, just as in real life our stories don't end, but continue while we live, and continue for those living after.
The cover and chapter headings are beautifully illustrated by Katie Harnett. I remember her whimsical art from The Minnow and her style is perfect for this story. Seemingly simple, but with layers of meaning the more you look. On her tumblr you can see some of her initial designs. I love that Katie was inspired by weaving patterns, just as Simbi wove cloth before she left the village.
It was interesting reading The River and the Book after Freedom Ride. Like Simbi's village, Indigenous Australians were dispossessed of their culture and their land and our apologies don't change this past.
"They are caught between one world and another, and they no longer belong anywhere."
Simbi feels this when she lives in the city, and thinks she can't return to her village. By the end of her story, she realises she can belong in both places, remembering her cultural past, while living her current life. I hope many people read The River and the Book and consider its parallels with our reality.
This is from my blog http://ofceilingwax.wordpress.com/201...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 16, 2019
Absolutely loved this book! It made me want to tear up my social science degree but then stick it back together!
I loved how Croggon shows the conflicting experiences and perspectives that inevitably exist in the world but still manages to convey a strong political message. The story was also interesting as an obvious reflective inquiry into the author’s own role, responsibilities and relevance as a white writer in a world where non-white people/women suffer disproportionately as a result of environmental and economic problems. I also loved the broad spectrum of emotions experienced by Sim and her relatable musings on these reactions. It reminded me of Murakami, but with a feminist and political flare that lacks in his work. Loved it!
I loved how Croggon shows the conflicting experiences and perspectives that inevitably exist in the world but still manages to convey a strong political message. The story was also interesting as an obvious reflective inquiry into the author’s own role, responsibilities and relevance as a white writer in a world where non-white people/women suffer disproportionately as a result of environmental and economic problems. I also loved the broad spectrum of emotions experienced by Sim and her relatable musings on these reactions. It reminded me of Murakami, but with a feminist and political flare that lacks in his work. Loved it!
October 19, 2022
I started reading this book quite a few years ago, when I first got it as a christmas gift. I had read Croggon's Pellinor series, and enjoyed them massively, and wanted to see what some of her other work was like. I'm not sure why I didn't finish it at the time, I was much younger so I might have gotten distracted with another, more exciting book.
I'm glad I finally got around to reading it, because I enjoyed this book a lot. It brings to light a lot of important issues in the indigenous world, as ficticious as this world is it holds many similarities with our own. The main character, Sim, is a strong woman and she is inspiring in her honesty and bravery. A quick but worth while read.
I'm glad I finally got around to reading it, because I enjoyed this book a lot. It brings to light a lot of important issues in the indigenous world, as ficticious as this world is it holds many similarities with our own. The main character, Sim, is a strong woman and she is inspiring in her honesty and bravery. A quick but worth while read.
December 12, 2022
"what profit it a man if he gains the world and loses his soul?"
"for the first time in my life, i was no one:"
"books do change things."
"there aren't proper words for pain.... nobody can really know what pain is like for another person."
"i don't know whether it's a curse or a blessing to stay sane."
despair was not the sum of the world's lesson.
those who have the least often offer the most. i suppose they know what it was like to be hungry.
talks about self-identity, cultural values, death & non-death grief and loss, friendship & belonging. good read.
"for the first time in my life, i was no one:"
"books do change things."
"there aren't proper words for pain.... nobody can really know what pain is like for another person."
"i don't know whether it's a curse or a blessing to stay sane."
despair was not the sum of the world's lesson.
those who have the least often offer the most. i suppose they know what it was like to be hungry.
talks about self-identity, cultural values, death & non-death grief and loss, friendship & belonging. good read.
March 4, 2021
A good read but I think reading this for the school curriculum really made it less enjoying for me. It is very good and I would recommend it. I wouldn't say it's a favorite and nor did it make me ever cry like it did with some other reviewers, it seems. It's a very emotional story though and pretty good. Would 10/10 recommend to a friend (not that they'll read it but it's the thought that counts).
July 11, 2017
I believe history has been concerned for far too long especifically about what happened to male adults. This book tells a refreshingly different story. It is a story about a community and shows a different perspective on social values. It is also a story about a girl and her journey inwards by leaving behind her first idea of home. It is also a book about human rights.
August 19, 2018
One of the shortlisted books for this year's Bangkok Book Awards, this is an enjoyable, informative and important book. Exploring 'change' against and the loss of indigenous culture and traditions in an un-named country, the supposed Western saviour, brings with her an unexpected ability to cause damage. An Amnesty endorsed text, it would be a deserving winner, but it won't win!
June 4, 2020
This is a nice short story piece that makes a powerful point about the destruction we are causing to the earth and to the people within it.
It’s cute but I’m pretty sure I’ll forget this tale fairly swiftly if I’m honest. Alison Croggan is a great writer though and I’ll definitely check out whatever she does next.
It’s cute but I’m pretty sure I’ll forget this tale fairly swiftly if I’m honest. Alison Croggan is a great writer though and I’ll definitely check out whatever she does next.
October 16, 2024
A beautiful fable and an important lesson
… about human rights and the complexities of being human, as well as the necessity of treating our natural resources respectfully. A deep message conveyed with a delicate touch.
… about human rights and the complexities of being human, as well as the necessity of treating our natural resources respectfully. A deep message conveyed with a delicate touch.
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