Njunjul the Sun

by Meme McDonald

A 16-year-old Aboriginal boy leaves his family and home for the big city, and as he struggles to make sense of his experience he realises that he must have the knowledge of his own people and culture in order to know who he is, and to find his direction.

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult

168 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 2002

Reviews

[Moses Kilolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are different reason why I admire a book, or even love it. For some its because of the sheer power of the writing, others the beauty of the story, and yet some, like this one, just plain speaks to me. When you've been through something, or are experiencing it, and you find it expressed elsewhere, there is that instant attraction or attachment to the story. There is a lot of quotable wisdom in this little book. And though its about the Australian Aboriginal community, and the struggle of one boy to make sense of his world, his hopelessness and struggle to overcome it,that universal quality found in the specifics of the human condition made it possible for me to identify with the story.

[Michelle Ham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was beautiful in its simplicity, it's symbolism - it felt so authentic. I felt such empathy for the 16 year old aboriginal boy. (I'm not quite sure what his whitefulla name was, but I'm thinking it was purposefully never mentioned? I may be wrong on this point.) I felt everything he felt. I felt his sense of confusion, of being misplaced, of not knowing where he belonged. Then when he found the home within I couldn't be happier for him. I cried tears of joy for him. Call that a spoiler, but it was too powerful not to mention. Magical in its brevity, honest in its execution, I am impressed. This is why I never grew away from the young adult genre.

[ZackReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

McDonald's representation of a young Aboriginal boy in Australia and their journey in understanding how Indigenous Australian cultures can still be maintained in modern Australian society. His use of descriptive and emotional language to make it easier for the reader to engage and feel what our protagonist feels was done really well in this novel. This is the first text that I have read by McDonald, and I'll be sure to keep my eye out for more if they are similar to this.

[David Haberlah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Meme McDonald's and Boori Pryor's third sequel to My Girragundji and Binna-Binna Man. In My Girragundji a young Aboriginal boy from east of Cairns (Gunggandji nation) faces growing up in a dysfunctional community marred by violence, alcohol and bullying - all taking the form of the Hairyman haunting his house at night. The account is narrated in first-person, with a 'deadly' humor and no trace of bitterness despite the hard reality faced. It is written in Aboriginal slang and illustrated with lots of large b/w photos. The boy finds his strength through an ancestor spirit in the form of a green tree frog (girragundji) and he overcomes all adversity.

In Njunjul The Sun, the same authors write a sequel on the sixteen year old boy that has now lost his inner Girragunji. This time, it is a full-length young adult novel written in similar style with small b/w photos inserted. When the boy runs into trouble with the police in their new ghetto (Happy Valley) they had to relocated to, he is put on a bus to Sydney to live with his uncle and aunt. Njunjul's perception of the city, school, girls, and anything else is fresh, honest, sometimes sad but always with good humor and gentle self irony. Through basketball, traditional dances and yoga Njunjul finally discovers his inner strength and finds a firm hold between the two worlds; the saltwater country of his childhood and dreams, and the big city.

I greatly enjoyed parts of the book, the fresh perspectives on contemporary Australia, the insights and 'deadly' humor. However, a lot about Njunjul's modern-day initiation read superficial. The transformation from a very authentically described confused, disillusioned teenager to a young man seeking the initiative to step into life was quite abrupt. As a reader, I could not follow this transition the same way that the transformation from fear to confidence and trust took place in the young boy in My Girragundji.

[Pam Bartholomew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story about a young boy and his struggles with wanting to be a modern guy in Sydney and learning about his aboriginal customs.