Digger

by Max Anderson

Ever since he was a small boy, Max Anderson has been digging for buried treasure. From excavating his parent's garden, to unearthing a flint arrowhead in the fields nearby, he has always sought hidden riches. And so, years later, it made perfect sense for him to travel to one of the remotest parts of Western Australia to spend a year prospecting for gold. His journey took him to Kookynie, a town of eight buildings that stand in a landscape of rubble, foundations and mining waste — the remains of a town of 3,500 which died before the Great War began. Over a period of a year, Anderson obessively sought gold in the soil and landscape around him, at the same time digging his way to the bedrock of an obsession that threatened his relationships, health and sanity. His search for gold became a search for living history; his story also that of forgotten communities and a dying breed of man: the rugged prospector whose life is inextricably linked to the land he takes from.

356 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Angela Saurine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Max Anderson is a brilliant writer. His descriptions are so detailed and unique. I loved the way he captured Australia's characters, and his hilarious interactions with "The Widow". Definitely made me want to spend more time in the Outback. I knew there was a twist but it was even better than I anticipated. It's more like a twist with a twist.

[BRUCE LINDSAY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unforeseen circumstances may take any of us out of our comfort zones. But sometimes we choose to risk diving to hitherto unreached depths: spend 40 days in a cave; paddle across an ocean; or… live in a tent with a stupidly-named dog outside a ghost town in the Western Australian goldfields.
Driven to find treasure, author Max Anderson leaves his job in London to seek out likely gold prospects in the harsh desert country around Kalgoorlie. He arrives in the remote and tiny settlement of Kookynie -- population just 13 -- in a bid to join a clutch of hard-bitten hopefuls with visions of unearthed wealth.
On the surface, Kookynie seems to offer just two distractions: beer and gold. But Anderson's acute powers of observation and descriptions bring to light a new world -- a place of astonishing natural beauty where human beings are pitted against the bizarre, unearthly business of gold.
I found this account so much more than a quest for buried treasure, indeed one that's very apposite for our times. It's about human values and how they're both tested and reinforced when commercial and social noise is removed. In these days when most of us seek constant diversion via our TV, radio, mobile phone and social media, this is a charming and ultimately illuminating tale about one man’s escape – for a time – from the rat-race. Would that we might all be so fortunate.

[Tony Johnston · Rating 2 out of 5]

Struggled with this book. It's one paced and there's lots of samey stories about the Authors attempts to pan for gold in Western Australia.

[Sally Mattner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading about all the interesting characters and gold fevered situations.

[Ines Norton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Realmente este livro foi uma franca desilusão... Achei que a história tinha potencial mas não o desmonstrou, como disse antes, não passou da crise de meia idade de um trintão a realizar uma fantasia de criança. Pode valer um pouco como uma viagem de auto-descoberta, mas nem essa ideia chega a estar desenvolvida. Não aconselho...

Pontos Altos: as várias menções de Perth , que é onde a minha escritora preferida vive.

Pontos Negativos: ausência de propósito; pouco desenvolvimento da história; personagens pouco desenvolvidas...

---

This really was a waste of reading time... To me the story was shallow, and did not live to show it's true potencial, to me it's nothing more that the middle age crisis of a thrithy year old man that decided to live an adventure of a childhood fantasy. It could had a sense of self-discovery journey, but not even this was used. Not Recomendable...

Hight points: the once in a while the mention of Perth the city where my favourite writer lives... Left me with a smile everytime...

Low points: lack of porpuse, little or none development of the story, characthers badly builted...

[Melissa Kuipers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed it. Hold my side funny at times!