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Heart of the Grass Tree
When Pearl’s grandmother Nell dies unexpectedly, Pearl and her family – mother Diana, sister Lucy – return to Kangaroo Island to mourn and farewell her. Each of them knew Nell intimately but differently, and each woman must reckon with Nell’s passing in her own way. But Nell had secrets, too. As Pearl, Diana and Lucy interrogate their feelings about the island, Pearl starts to pull together the scraps Nell left behind and unearths a connection to the island’s early history, of the early European sealers and their first contact with the Ngarrindjeri people.Pearl’s deepening connection to their history, the island’s history, grounds her, and will ultimately bring the women back to each other.
236 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 5, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
June 5, 2019
Molly Murn’s debut
Heart of the Grass Tree
deals with love, loss and family secrets in the lives of three generations of women, amongst a wild and rugged landscape. Just writing that sentence gave me déjà vu: as far as plots go this is familiar territory for literary fiction readers. What distinguishes this gentle story is the beauty of its lyrical, luminous prose and its unique setting: stunning Kangaroo Island off Australia’s south coast.
In addition to the present-day family in mourning, there's a historical plotline concerning colonial-era sealers and the Ngarrindjeri women they abducted, as well as the odd folktale and poem - all in just 300 pages. I found the narrative to be a little crowded, with the focus divided into so many parts that I never fully engaged with any of the characters.
On the other hand, the sense of place is consistently powerful, and at a sentence level this is the sort of writing that makes you want to slow down and take in every word. These elements of the book are truly lovely. It’s a restful reading experience, like a nice hot cup of tea sipped slowly. 3.5 stars.
In addition to the present-day family in mourning, there's a historical plotline concerning colonial-era sealers and the Ngarrindjeri women they abducted, as well as the odd folktale and poem - all in just 300 pages. I found the narrative to be a little crowded, with the focus divided into so many parts that I never fully engaged with any of the characters.
On the other hand, the sense of place is consistently powerful, and at a sentence level this is the sort of writing that makes you want to slow down and take in every word. These elements of the book are truly lovely. It’s a restful reading experience, like a nice hot cup of tea sipped slowly. 3.5 stars.
April 8, 2019
*https://mrsbbookreviews.wordpress.com/
‘The grass tree when it burns begins in the heart and burns outwards. The grass tree when it burns sheds its blackened skin and releases its seeds like an offering. The grass tree when it burns sounds like a she-oak moaning in the wind.’
These are the raw and visceral words of Molly Murn, which come from her debut novel, Heart of the Grass Tree. A book that reaches deep into your soul, Heart of the Grass Tree is a resonating tale of family, history, ownership, land connections and belonging. There is an honest and poetic quality to Molly Murn’s writing. I have to say I appreciated the beauty of this novel and the important story it had to tell.
The story begins with Pearl, when she receives the news that her dear grandmother Nell has passed away. The death of a much loved family member brings Pearl, her mother and her sister to Kangaroo Island, where they come to say goodbye to Nell. A study on grief and loss, Murn shows us how each of Nell’s relatives deal with her death. Each connected with Nell in their own special way and they must deal with her death separately. Nell’s death also signals the unveiling of secrets, about their family and the island. It is Pearl who draws together the missing links – compiling Nell’s stories, artwork and musings to help her family to understand Nell’s unique link to the island. This experience, though hard in places, cements the bond between the women. It is also incredibly enlightening, revealing a great deal about the past.
“A brilliant achievement. A strange and compelling story that held me in thrall from the first to the last”. These are wise words spoken by Alex Miller, a well regarded Australian author. Alex Miller provided the back cover quote for Molly Murn’s first novel, Heart of the Grass Tree. An unusual book, Heart of the Grass Tree is completely independent from anything I have read before. It also struck me as an important novel, highlighting points in our nation’s history that we should know. An opportunity to connect with Australia’s history and past in the form of a compelling fiction novel is always a most welcome experience in my eyes.
I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to make of Heart of the Grass Tree. The cover is absolutely stunning, in reminded me so much of The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, one of my top five reads of last year. If you have a weakness for covers and book designs, you will soon fall in love Heart of the Grass Tree. Each chapter opening is accompanied by a native flower design, it is so visually pleasing that I am sure this one will earn a place in my keeps shelf. On the flip side, I did have a sense of trepidation going into reading this novel. One fellow reviewer warned me about the lack of speech marks in the dialogue. However, I do feel for this style of novel it certainly works without the use of speech marks. I honestly didn’t notice it and it didn’t both me. There is a fluid and lyrical style to Murn’s prose. It also made me turn my reading speed down a notch. I completely surrendered myself to Molly Murn’s writing.
History is a strong theme of this novel and I appreciated this aspect of Heart of the Grass Tree very much. I do confess to knowing little to nothing about the history of Kangaroo Island and the history of first settlement on the island. This aspect of the novel presented feelings of both insight and regret. It angered me to learn what happened to our first people once the settlers converged on the island. The Ngarrindjeri people suffered immensely. The history and influence of the sealers, really broke the very identity of Kangaroo Island, which Molly Murn outlines in her book. Connected to this was an interesting fable like story, or oral story that had been passed down about the sealers. I was held in Molly Murn’s grip while this aspect of the story revealed itself.
Family is the overreaching theme of Heart of the Grass Tree. Nell’s family go on a voyage of discovery, learning a great deal over the progression of the novel about their treasured but secretive Nell. In the process of returning to the island, Nell’s offspring are afforded with the opportunity to connect with their family history, their roots and transfer this new knowledge to their present day existence. They also learn how each deals with their grief and connection to Nell in contrasted ways. This made for an moving and emotional read.
Kangaroo Island could be seen as a supplementary character in the Heart of the Grass Tree, or the glue that binds this story together. There is such a paralysing sense of place attached to the story in all facets that I felt the force of Kangaroo Island infiltrate my consciousness. Molly Murn definitely enticed me to make a commitment to one day visit Kangaroo Island and do some further reading on its turbulent history.
‘The grass trees that lead crookedly down to our creek – Sol’s and mine, preside like elders over a slowly unfurling landscape. Steadfast and ancient, they know deep time. Bearing witness.’
There is such power to the writing of Molly Murn, it is perceptive, emotional and stirring. It does take some effort on behalf of the reader and it can be meandering, but do invest your time in discovering the hidden history of Kangaroo Island’s tragic past.
A resounding tale of kinship, the bonds of family, the past, memories, secrets, connections and the landscape, Heart of the Grass Tree is a novel I recommend highly.
*I wish to thank Penguin Books Australia for providing me with a free copy of this book for review purposes.
Heart of the Grass Tree is book #45 of the 2019 Australian Women Writers Challenge
‘The grass tree when it burns begins in the heart and burns outwards. The grass tree when it burns sheds its blackened skin and releases its seeds like an offering. The grass tree when it burns sounds like a she-oak moaning in the wind.’
These are the raw and visceral words of Molly Murn, which come from her debut novel, Heart of the Grass Tree. A book that reaches deep into your soul, Heart of the Grass Tree is a resonating tale of family, history, ownership, land connections and belonging. There is an honest and poetic quality to Molly Murn’s writing. I have to say I appreciated the beauty of this novel and the important story it had to tell.
The story begins with Pearl, when she receives the news that her dear grandmother Nell has passed away. The death of a much loved family member brings Pearl, her mother and her sister to Kangaroo Island, where they come to say goodbye to Nell. A study on grief and loss, Murn shows us how each of Nell’s relatives deal with her death. Each connected with Nell in their own special way and they must deal with her death separately. Nell’s death also signals the unveiling of secrets, about their family and the island. It is Pearl who draws together the missing links – compiling Nell’s stories, artwork and musings to help her family to understand Nell’s unique link to the island. This experience, though hard in places, cements the bond between the women. It is also incredibly enlightening, revealing a great deal about the past.
“A brilliant achievement. A strange and compelling story that held me in thrall from the first to the last”. These are wise words spoken by Alex Miller, a well regarded Australian author. Alex Miller provided the back cover quote for Molly Murn’s first novel, Heart of the Grass Tree. An unusual book, Heart of the Grass Tree is completely independent from anything I have read before. It also struck me as an important novel, highlighting points in our nation’s history that we should know. An opportunity to connect with Australia’s history and past in the form of a compelling fiction novel is always a most welcome experience in my eyes.
I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to make of Heart of the Grass Tree. The cover is absolutely stunning, in reminded me so much of The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, one of my top five reads of last year. If you have a weakness for covers and book designs, you will soon fall in love Heart of the Grass Tree. Each chapter opening is accompanied by a native flower design, it is so visually pleasing that I am sure this one will earn a place in my keeps shelf. On the flip side, I did have a sense of trepidation going into reading this novel. One fellow reviewer warned me about the lack of speech marks in the dialogue. However, I do feel for this style of novel it certainly works without the use of speech marks. I honestly didn’t notice it and it didn’t both me. There is a fluid and lyrical style to Murn’s prose. It also made me turn my reading speed down a notch. I completely surrendered myself to Molly Murn’s writing.
History is a strong theme of this novel and I appreciated this aspect of Heart of the Grass Tree very much. I do confess to knowing little to nothing about the history of Kangaroo Island and the history of first settlement on the island. This aspect of the novel presented feelings of both insight and regret. It angered me to learn what happened to our first people once the settlers converged on the island. The Ngarrindjeri people suffered immensely. The history and influence of the sealers, really broke the very identity of Kangaroo Island, which Molly Murn outlines in her book. Connected to this was an interesting fable like story, or oral story that had been passed down about the sealers. I was held in Molly Murn’s grip while this aspect of the story revealed itself.
Family is the overreaching theme of Heart of the Grass Tree. Nell’s family go on a voyage of discovery, learning a great deal over the progression of the novel about their treasured but secretive Nell. In the process of returning to the island, Nell’s offspring are afforded with the opportunity to connect with their family history, their roots and transfer this new knowledge to their present day existence. They also learn how each deals with their grief and connection to Nell in contrasted ways. This made for an moving and emotional read.
Kangaroo Island could be seen as a supplementary character in the Heart of the Grass Tree, or the glue that binds this story together. There is such a paralysing sense of place attached to the story in all facets that I felt the force of Kangaroo Island infiltrate my consciousness. Molly Murn definitely enticed me to make a commitment to one day visit Kangaroo Island and do some further reading on its turbulent history.
‘The grass trees that lead crookedly down to our creek – Sol’s and mine, preside like elders over a slowly unfurling landscape. Steadfast and ancient, they know deep time. Bearing witness.’
There is such power to the writing of Molly Murn, it is perceptive, emotional and stirring. It does take some effort on behalf of the reader and it can be meandering, but do invest your time in discovering the hidden history of Kangaroo Island’s tragic past.
A resounding tale of kinship, the bonds of family, the past, memories, secrets, connections and the landscape, Heart of the Grass Tree is a novel I recommend highly.
*I wish to thank Penguin Books Australia for providing me with a free copy of this book for review purposes.
Heart of the Grass Tree is book #45 of the 2019 Australian Women Writers Challenge
March 21, 2019
Lovely prose but structurally frustrating. I find that authors who write with this lyrical style struggle with narrative voice, and here it flattens characters until they are indistinguishable from each other.
Still, the heart of the book is in its prose, so if you love this style and intergenerational tales then this is one for you.
Still, the heart of the book is in its prose, so if you love this style and intergenerational tales then this is one for you.
April 29, 2019
‘This is where I must go, beyond words.’
Kangaroo Island is both the setting and centre of this multi-layered novel which spans several generations and three centuries. There was a time when European sealers lived here, with Indigenous women they’d often stolen from their own people. There was a time when Kangaroo Island was very isolated. And, in the 21st century, there came a time for three women to try to understand the meaning and impact of Kangaroo Island when a fourth woman died.
Pearl’s grandmother Nell died unexpectedly. Pearl, her sister Lucy and their mother Diana returned to Kangaroo Island to mourn Nell and farewell her. Each of the women had a close but different relationship with Nell. Understanding Nell’s story, one she found difficult to share, requires stepping back into the past, sorting through the paintings, the poems and stories she left behind. It requires each of them to think about their own relationship with Nell, with each other and with Kangaroo Island. It also requires an understanding of history, life and nature.
‘The grass tree when it burns begins in the heart and burns outwards. The grass tree when it burns sheds its blackened skin and releases its seed as an offering. The grass tree when it burns sounds like the she-oak moaning in the wind.’
There are many different characters, perspectives and stories in this novel. The island’s physical isolation is strongest in the nineteenth century, but isolation takes several different forms and has different effects on individuals. In the nineteenth century, the work of the Indigenous women was essential for both the survival and the profits of the sealers. Most of the sealers did not appreciate this. Their actions have repercussions for all whose lives follow.
This novel requires the reader to become fully engaged in the story, to try to understand actions and consequences and make sense of them. Piece by piece, stories can be unearthed and fitted together but never completed. The final pieces are always somewhere in the inaccessible past or, perhaps, in the unknown future. And that’s okay because this is only partly a story about people, it’s more about time and place.
‘Nell’s grief belonged, now, to all of them.’
I found this novel challenging and rewarding. I loved it.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Kangaroo Island is both the setting and centre of this multi-layered novel which spans several generations and three centuries. There was a time when European sealers lived here, with Indigenous women they’d often stolen from their own people. There was a time when Kangaroo Island was very isolated. And, in the 21st century, there came a time for three women to try to understand the meaning and impact of Kangaroo Island when a fourth woman died.
Pearl’s grandmother Nell died unexpectedly. Pearl, her sister Lucy and their mother Diana returned to Kangaroo Island to mourn Nell and farewell her. Each of the women had a close but different relationship with Nell. Understanding Nell’s story, one she found difficult to share, requires stepping back into the past, sorting through the paintings, the poems and stories she left behind. It requires each of them to think about their own relationship with Nell, with each other and with Kangaroo Island. It also requires an understanding of history, life and nature.
‘The grass tree when it burns begins in the heart and burns outwards. The grass tree when it burns sheds its blackened skin and releases its seed as an offering. The grass tree when it burns sounds like the she-oak moaning in the wind.’
There are many different characters, perspectives and stories in this novel. The island’s physical isolation is strongest in the nineteenth century, but isolation takes several different forms and has different effects on individuals. In the nineteenth century, the work of the Indigenous women was essential for both the survival and the profits of the sealers. Most of the sealers did not appreciate this. Their actions have repercussions for all whose lives follow.
This novel requires the reader to become fully engaged in the story, to try to understand actions and consequences and make sense of them. Piece by piece, stories can be unearthed and fitted together but never completed. The final pieces are always somewhere in the inaccessible past or, perhaps, in the unknown future. And that’s okay because this is only partly a story about people, it’s more about time and place.
‘Nell’s grief belonged, now, to all of them.’
I found this novel challenging and rewarding. I loved it.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
February 21, 2019
This is beyond doubt a beautiful book - both the outside and the writing. I liked the story - but for some inexplicable reason I couldn’t thoroughly enjoy it. Took me a while to get through.
March 30, 2019
Sometimes I love a good lyrical book.
Sometimes they just irritate me immensely.
This one fell in the latter character. Found it hard to keep track of the cast of characters and their relationships to one another. The refusal to use quotation marks was confusing — sometimes unclear if the character was thinking or saying something out loud. Too flowery for me; too repetitive in places.
I was left feeling that this was a book about a bunch of damaged people, who never learned to master themselves or move through their past. Or communicate. It was the lack of communication more than anything else in this book that frustrated me. Wounds passed down through generations because people couldn't look past their pain and see how it was affecting their loved ones.
(Please don't misunderstand me — I am not talking about post-natal depression, or any of the horrific events that are implied or explained in this book. I refer more to Diana's disparagement; or Pearl's behaviour towards Nico. If I didn't know better, I would think I was reading the mind of a 3-year old, not someone in their mid-thirties.)
On the plus side, the author treats the history of the island in question with a careful, respectful and even hand. I'm interested enough in the history of the area to go and read the non-fiction source material referenced in the author's note. There was a lot to give me pause, which is something I really appreciate.
Warning for: rape, kidnapping, slavery, stolen children.
Sometimes they just irritate me immensely.
This one fell in the latter character. Found it hard to keep track of the cast of characters and their relationships to one another. The refusal to use quotation marks was confusing — sometimes unclear if the character was thinking or saying something out loud. Too flowery for me; too repetitive in places.
I was left feeling that this was a book about a bunch of damaged people, who never learned to master themselves or move through their past. Or communicate. It was the lack of communication more than anything else in this book that frustrated me. Wounds passed down through generations because people couldn't look past their pain and see how it was affecting their loved ones.
(Please don't misunderstand me — I am not talking about post-natal depression, or any of the horrific events that are implied or explained in this book. I refer more to Diana's disparagement; or Pearl's behaviour towards Nico. If I didn't know better, I would think I was reading the mind of a 3-year old, not someone in their mid-thirties.)
On the plus side, the author treats the history of the island in question with a careful, respectful and even hand. I'm interested enough in the history of the area to go and read the non-fiction source material referenced in the author's note. There was a lot to give me pause, which is something I really appreciate.
Warning for: rape, kidnapping, slavery, stolen children.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 28, 2019
Grass Trees and Bees
Sand and Sea
Art and Isolation
Writing and Belonging
In the Present and Past
There's many a lyrical moment in this novel
it's a lovely telling.
I'll be looking out for more of Molly Murn.
Sand and Sea
Art and Isolation
Writing and Belonging
In the Present and Past
There's many a lyrical moment in this novel
it's a lovely telling.
I'll be looking out for more of Molly Murn.
July 22, 2019
Two stars because I liked reading the Aboriginal story, sadly I really disliked all the other characters, the way the story was written, and too many details to recount.
This style of prose will work for many but didn't work for me.
This style of prose will work for many but didn't work for me.
October 11, 2019
Heart of the Grass Tree (Vintage Penguin Random House 2019), by Molly Murn, is a novel that combines the historical reimagining of early Australian history on Kangaroo Island in South Australia with a contemporary family saga. Written in beautiful prose that celebrates the natural environment and evokes feelings of love and loss, the book is structured in a clever and easy-to-read way that carries the reader along with the narrative and punctuates the beauty with authentic and visceral accounts of the violence of that earlier period.
The modern story centres on the death of Nell, and the uniting of her family in various states of grief in Nell’s home on Kangaroo Island. Her granddaughter Pearl was especially close to Nell, and they share more of a mother/daughter bond than Nell’s daughter Diana, or even her sister Lucy. Nell has left behind paintings, stories, poems and collections of objects, all of which lead to connections with the island’s early history: the Ngarrindjeri people and their first contact with European sealers. And this historical setting is the twin narrative running through the book – the story of William and Maringari. Nell has left behind secrets that have their genesis in that colonisation period, and her life is intrinsically connected with the people that have gone before her.
This is an engaging story about mothers and daughters, relationships and the complications of family. It is a tale about Australia’s dark history, and the sections about violence enacted on Aboriginal people are particularly shocking, authentic and raw. This is balanced by the lovely nature writing which celebrates the local flora and fauna. The author has clearly undertaken much research into the history of both Aboriginal culture and the impact of early white settlers, particularly the sealers who made their fortune on the island. And there is some nuanced symmetry between those early relationships, and romances, and Nell’s reminiscences of her own doomed love affair.
Sections of this book are written from the point of view of Indigenous characters, both a female and a male, and I found this didn’t quite sit well with me. While I can’t vouch for the author’s research, it certainly reads as if she has done the necessary work and obtained all the right permissions, and yet the question of appropriation of course rears its head. Fiction writers necessarily write from the perspectives of others different to themselves, but I wonder if it is too soon in our own country’s troubled past for this to be comfortable; white people have been here for a speck in time compared to Aboriginal culture and perhaps we should encourage space for the First Peoples to tell their own stories, in their own time and in their own way. But that is a hotly debated and polarising question about which various readers will no doubt have various opinions. And putting that aside, this is nevertheless a beautifully written tale, a love story on many levels, and a tender meditation about family relationships. Readers who enjoyed The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland or Beneath the Mother Tree by Donna Cameron will enjoy Heart of the Grass Tree.
The modern story centres on the death of Nell, and the uniting of her family in various states of grief in Nell’s home on Kangaroo Island. Her granddaughter Pearl was especially close to Nell, and they share more of a mother/daughter bond than Nell’s daughter Diana, or even her sister Lucy. Nell has left behind paintings, stories, poems and collections of objects, all of which lead to connections with the island’s early history: the Ngarrindjeri people and their first contact with European sealers. And this historical setting is the twin narrative running through the book – the story of William and Maringari. Nell has left behind secrets that have their genesis in that colonisation period, and her life is intrinsically connected with the people that have gone before her.
This is an engaging story about mothers and daughters, relationships and the complications of family. It is a tale about Australia’s dark history, and the sections about violence enacted on Aboriginal people are particularly shocking, authentic and raw. This is balanced by the lovely nature writing which celebrates the local flora and fauna. The author has clearly undertaken much research into the history of both Aboriginal culture and the impact of early white settlers, particularly the sealers who made their fortune on the island. And there is some nuanced symmetry between those early relationships, and romances, and Nell’s reminiscences of her own doomed love affair.
Sections of this book are written from the point of view of Indigenous characters, both a female and a male, and I found this didn’t quite sit well with me. While I can’t vouch for the author’s research, it certainly reads as if she has done the necessary work and obtained all the right permissions, and yet the question of appropriation of course rears its head. Fiction writers necessarily write from the perspectives of others different to themselves, but I wonder if it is too soon in our own country’s troubled past for this to be comfortable; white people have been here for a speck in time compared to Aboriginal culture and perhaps we should encourage space for the First Peoples to tell their own stories, in their own time and in their own way. But that is a hotly debated and polarising question about which various readers will no doubt have various opinions. And putting that aside, this is nevertheless a beautifully written tale, a love story on many levels, and a tender meditation about family relationships. Readers who enjoyed The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland or Beneath the Mother Tree by Donna Cameron will enjoy Heart of the Grass Tree.
November 8, 2019
In Heart of the Grass Tree, Murn has crafted a complex, tangled debut novel, entwining multiple generations of both settlers and indigenous people on Kangaroo Island. It is very much a reflection on motherhood, colonialism and grief, set against a harsh but spectacular natural environment. Readers should note triggers for rape, domestic violence/battery, kidnapping and involuntary child removal.
The story begins with Nell, a young women whose love for an indigenous boy is thwarted in cruel ways. From there, as that story slowly unravels, we watch the impact flow to her daughter, Diana, and her daughter, Pearl. At the same time, we see sealers brutally kidnapping indigenous women and building their own community on the Island in the 1800s. This is a hard story to summarise, as Murn is telling an ambitious, vast tale, but it is an emotionally rewarding one to read.
I have read other reviews, where readers have felt disconnected from the characters, given there are so many we are asked to care about, and the narrative switches frequently between those perspectives. Personally I liked the multiple voices and felt quite emotionally invested in the characters - although I would have liked a bit more time with adult Diana (to allow her evolution to mean more).
Murn's writing has the same languid eloquence of Kristina Olssen's Shell - we, as readers, are caught up in the feeling of it. Australian readers will find deep familiarity in her words, particularly in her descriptions of the landscape. I also very much enjoyed reading the scenes set in Adelaide - it is so rare to read a novel that includes my hometown as a setting, and the descriptions of the tram and Art Gallery were spot on.
Murn also weaves subtle messages about environmental sustainability into the story, particularly during the 1800s timeline, where the colonial men kill both adult and baby seals, and natural grass burnoffs - necessary for the landscape's health - are discouraged by property boundaries.
But her overarching message is one against racism, illustrating how communities can come together across these imagined barriers, and despite awful tragedies.
This is a heartfelt debut, strongly grounded in a sense of place and shared grief. I look forward to seeing what Murn does next - definitely a writer to watch.
Recommended if you liked: Shell
The story begins with Nell, a young women whose love for an indigenous boy is thwarted in cruel ways. From there, as that story slowly unravels, we watch the impact flow to her daughter, Diana, and her daughter, Pearl. At the same time, we see sealers brutally kidnapping indigenous women and building their own community on the Island in the 1800s. This is a hard story to summarise, as Murn is telling an ambitious, vast tale, but it is an emotionally rewarding one to read.
I have read other reviews, where readers have felt disconnected from the characters, given there are so many we are asked to care about, and the narrative switches frequently between those perspectives. Personally I liked the multiple voices and felt quite emotionally invested in the characters - although I would have liked a bit more time with adult Diana (to allow her evolution to mean more).
Murn's writing has the same languid eloquence of Kristina Olssen's Shell - we, as readers, are caught up in the feeling of it. Australian readers will find deep familiarity in her words, particularly in her descriptions of the landscape. I also very much enjoyed reading the scenes set in Adelaide - it is so rare to read a novel that includes my hometown as a setting, and the descriptions of the tram and Art Gallery were spot on.
Murn also weaves subtle messages about environmental sustainability into the story, particularly during the 1800s timeline, where the colonial men kill both adult and baby seals, and natural grass burnoffs - necessary for the landscape's health - are discouraged by property boundaries.
But her overarching message is one against racism, illustrating how communities can come together across these imagined barriers, and despite awful tragedies.
This is a heartfelt debut, strongly grounded in a sense of place and shared grief. I look forward to seeing what Murn does next - definitely a writer to watch.
Recommended if you liked: Shell
December 11, 2019
I loved this book. Such a lyrical, moving story across three generations yet linked so seamlessly that you're hardly aware of the time changes. I found it beautiful, sad, and poetic. I learned so much about the strength and resilience of the Aboriginal women who were cruelly separated from their home but whose grace and dignity remained intact. This is very much a book about mothers and daughters and the life-long connection between mothers and their new-born children even if that child is cruelly ripped from them. And it's a celebration of the natural beauty of Kangaroo Island, and of art, and the bonds of family. It's such a sad and moving book. There were many tears.
September 1, 2019
The opposite of plot-driven, this book operates as a reflection on the significance of place (KI) to the lives of its Indigenous characters. It is place which draws together the various threads of the book, which is narrated from multiple perspectives. At times poignant and confronting; often frustrating structurally (too many narrators) the characters and their entanglements were, for me, uninteresting. The most successful parts of this book were its historical fiction aspects--the sealers and their relationships with the Indigenous women--though I can't recall how these historical elements had any bearing on the present (up to the reader's interpretation, I suppose)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 17, 2019
Very lyrical prose but the writing style made it hard to get into and differentiate between the characters.
March 5, 2019
I really loved this beautiful, lyrical book. Full of grief, family ties and history.
March 3, 2019
I bought this book, firstly because of the gorgeous cover and then because I loved the sound of the story. After I bought it a friend gave it a bad review and I so hoped that we just had a differing of opinions on this book. I'm happy to say we did!
This is a beautifully written book, the writing is almost poetic and I found myself reading slower than normal to absorb it. It took a while to get used to the writing and the way the author has decided to forgo using speech marks around the dialogue. By the end of the book though, I barely noticed.
This story consists of three timelines, three very different times, all connected through generations. I knew nothing of Kangaroo Island before reading this book, and certainly nothing of the sealers and the way they stole aboriginal women from their families. Interestingly one of the next books to read on my pile is also about the sealers.
It's not a book in which a great deal of action happens, but a book about feeling, belonging and emotions, about loss and life and death, about family. Its a beautiful but sad story, leaving us with hope and greater understanding at the end.
I had so much empathy for Nell, my heart broke as I read her story, the secrets she's held close all her life, finally being freed through her writing. Through Nell we learn of the people generations before who have formed the foundation of the island and are part of the land and Nell's past. Decisions made outside of Nell's control many years before have had a waterfall effect on her daughter and her granddaughters.
Pearl, one of her granddaughters, I also felt a connection to, she was the closest person to to Nell and when we meet her she is struggling to deal with Nell's passing as well as inner struggles of her own. So much inner turmoil is conveyed I could physically feel her heart breaking.
Such descriptive language is used throughout this story, that I could see myself there on Kangaroo Island through the ages, I could smell the air and feel the wind and see the plants. I was the women, all the women of the different times.
I am glad I took a chance on this unknown book and debut author and will be looking for Molly Murn's next book.
This is a beautifully written book, the writing is almost poetic and I found myself reading slower than normal to absorb it. It took a while to get used to the writing and the way the author has decided to forgo using speech marks around the dialogue. By the end of the book though, I barely noticed.
This story consists of three timelines, three very different times, all connected through generations. I knew nothing of Kangaroo Island before reading this book, and certainly nothing of the sealers and the way they stole aboriginal women from their families. Interestingly one of the next books to read on my pile is also about the sealers.
It's not a book in which a great deal of action happens, but a book about feeling, belonging and emotions, about loss and life and death, about family. Its a beautiful but sad story, leaving us with hope and greater understanding at the end.
I had so much empathy for Nell, my heart broke as I read her story, the secrets she's held close all her life, finally being freed through her writing. Through Nell we learn of the people generations before who have formed the foundation of the island and are part of the land and Nell's past. Decisions made outside of Nell's control many years before have had a waterfall effect on her daughter and her granddaughters.
Pearl, one of her granddaughters, I also felt a connection to, she was the closest person to to Nell and when we meet her she is struggling to deal with Nell's passing as well as inner struggles of her own. So much inner turmoil is conveyed I could physically feel her heart breaking.
Such descriptive language is used throughout this story, that I could see myself there on Kangaroo Island through the ages, I could smell the air and feel the wind and see the plants. I was the women, all the women of the different times.
I am glad I took a chance on this unknown book and debut author and will be looking for Molly Murn's next book.
December 17, 2021
Every bit as poignant, lyrical and beautiful as the first time I'd read this ❤️
Re-review to come.
Re-review to come.
July 10, 2022
I wanted some Australian novels that weren’t heart breaking or dark, and this was one of those. The narrative is a bit back and forth in time, and the theme of birth and pregnancy and mothering was a bit in my face, but I was really taken with the story. I love the way the complicated integration of white colonizers with the life and ways of the land was modeled —while not minimizing the trauma to both the humans and the land/animals that came with European invasion. The relationships and characters were super realistic and no one in the present was heroic. I liked it that hardly anyone’s job/profession/way of making a living was highlighted and that it focused on our crazy and complicated families. And the land and how we can become better connected to it.
December 2, 2019
Beautiful and moving x
April 19, 2022
3.5 Stars
December 2, 2025
being homesick and missing the ocean, this book was the exact book i needed right now. this book was obviously so well researched and the flitting back and forth of stories was perfect.
February 17, 2019
This book is pure magic! Enjoyed every page.
Set on Kangaroo Island in South Australia, this story encompasses multiple generations and their lives on the island. Lyrical language sets the scene that totally enraptures the reader. To try to explain it further would be a grave injustice!
Can not recommend this book highly enough.
Set on Kangaroo Island in South Australia, this story encompasses multiple generations and their lives on the island. Lyrical language sets the scene that totally enraptures the reader. To try to explain it further would be a grave injustice!
Can not recommend this book highly enough.
November 19, 2019
When old Nell dies her daughter, two granddaughters and their families gather at Nell’s home on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. Three stories are interwoven, the present day relationships between the women, Nell’s secrets and her connection to Aboriginal women who were brought to the island by sealers in the early 1800s.
The author portrays some of the complex relationships between the sealers and the Aboriginal women. They were enslaved or stolen and brought to the island, raped and treated brutally and there was also a co-dependency brought about by their isolation and quest for survival. There were children and ultimately love and lifelong companionship. The grass trees, so big and plentiful on Kangaroo Island, are used as a symbol of survival, grasses woven in spirals, their hearts that can be eaten and the renewal and cleansing that is brought about by fire.
I enjoyed the story more towards the end so I guess it was a slow burn for me. I’d just finished reading a couple of fast paced detective thrillers so I’ve tried not to compare how I feel because this book is so different, nuanced and poetic.
The author portrays some of the complex relationships between the sealers and the Aboriginal women. They were enslaved or stolen and brought to the island, raped and treated brutally and there was also a co-dependency brought about by their isolation and quest for survival. There were children and ultimately love and lifelong companionship. The grass trees, so big and plentiful on Kangaroo Island, are used as a symbol of survival, grasses woven in spirals, their hearts that can be eaten and the renewal and cleansing that is brought about by fire.
I enjoyed the story more towards the end so I guess it was a slow burn for me. I’d just finished reading a couple of fast paced detective thrillers so I’ve tried not to compare how I feel because this book is so different, nuanced and poetic.
April 13, 2019
Overall this is an historical novel of events that happened over many years on Kangaroo Island, Australia's third largest island and a 2 hour drive and 45 minute ferry crossing south of Adelaide. The story is told as a family history, with viewpoints from four different women in the current age, and several voices from the past. When the family matriarch, Nell passes away unexpectedly, her daughters Diana and Lucy, and granddaughter Pearl, along with partners return to KI for the funeral and closing of Nell's affairs. It is Pearl who is most interested in Nell's history and pieces it together from Nell's paintings stories and poems. Pearl discovers the story of the Aboriginal women captured and taken as 'wives' by sealers and traders. It is a wonderfully woven story and attempt to understand the first European contact with the Ngarrindjeri people. It is a story of grief, and also of hope.
November 27, 2019
This was a good but not great read. The writing was lovely if a little too flowery and over the top at times. But the main issue was that I struggled to follow the chopping and changing of timelines. I love a story that weaves between different time periods but this was too disjointed to follow easily.
While this story focussed on the relationships between women - grandmothers, mother's and daughters I found that I was just not that engaged with any of the characters. Some of their behaviour was just strange and hard to relate to.
However, the Aboriginal history and storytelling about Kangaroo Island was a redeeming feature. This aspect of the book gave me insights into our early history as unpalatable as they may be.
While this story focussed on the relationships between women - grandmothers, mother's and daughters I found that I was just not that engaged with any of the characters. Some of their behaviour was just strange and hard to relate to.
However, the Aboriginal history and storytelling about Kangaroo Island was a redeeming feature. This aspect of the book gave me insights into our early history as unpalatable as they may be.
March 8, 2021
This was a hard book to get into. It is set on Kangaroo Island, where members of a family go back when a family member dies. They reflect on their relationship with her, and we are shown generations of family history way back to when the European settlers arrived, and how this shaped the people of this family.
Very flowery writing and the switching between not only characters in the present, but back to those in the past made it a little hard to keep up with. I was not a big fan of the vivid description of the historical killing of seals for their skin.
It was interesting, just not really my thing.
Very flowery writing and the switching between not only characters in the present, but back to those in the past made it a little hard to keep up with. I was not a big fan of the vivid description of the historical killing of seals for their skin.
It was interesting, just not really my thing.
May 17, 2021
A story of family, history, love, turmoil, life and death. Pearl, her mother, Diana, and sister Lucy return to Kangaroo Island after the death of her grandmother Nell. They are all dealing with their emotions in regard to their relationship with Nell, and the island, and they find her treasure box, and a story she has written. Even though there was some beautiful writing I found the structure of the book a bit disjointed and it was frustrating at times.
June 8, 2020
This was nice prose, lyrical and stirring. I loved the sense of place across time. The indigenous history woven through was thoughtful and well expressed. There wasn’t enough character development for me though, and although I know it was a fictional story, I would have liked more solid/truth links to the non-fiction historical aspects of people, place and the way of life. A good read though.
May 21, 2020
I got half way through this book and gave up. I found it difficult to work out which character was talking and to follow the plot.
July 14, 2021
I absolutely hated this book. It was disjointed, it had characters all over the place and the storyline was difficult to follow. I only finished it because I had paid for it. Worst read EVER!!!!
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