Willowra

by Kadyan

Willowra fait partie de l’histoire de Gabrielle. Le grand domaine familial de l’arrière-pays australien a été son royaume avant que son homosexualité ne la pousse à le fuir, laissant derrière elle son frère et ses parents pour se réfugier à Sydney. Des années plus tard, alors qu’elle vit avec sa compagne Tess, elle se voit obligée d’y retourner. Ce départ coïncide avec les premières difficultés que les deux jeunes femmes rencontrent dans leur couple. Gabrielle craint de ne pouvoir affronter les changements qui vont bientôt affecter leur vie. C’est donc avec réticence qu’elle accepte la dernière volonté de sa grand-mère Victoria, mourante, réclame la présence des siens auprès d’elle. Elle veut leur dévoiler certains secrets qu’elle a jusqu’ici jalousement gardés. Gabrielle va alors découvrir l’histoire surprenante et exceptionnelle de sa famille au fil des vies de Jason, de Maggie et de Victoria, l’histoire de Willowra.

Genres: Lesbian

409 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 14, 2013

Reviews

[Della B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finding a book which holds you deep in its story telling thrall is what every reader searches for and I am elated to have found it in The Secrets of Willowra. Victoria, the feisty grandmother of the McKellig family recounts the family history and reveals the secrets that have long been hidden.
Kadyan brings you to Australia at the beginning of the 1900’s. Jason McKellig arrives from London to seek their fortune in the gold rush. Personal choices waylay their plans and they begin their walking journey across Australia.
There is a wonderful lethargy to the novel that matches the unhurried essence of Jason. They are a contemplative person whose actions speak rather than words. The richness of the novel comes from the juxtaposition of the characters against the backdrop of the heat, dust and barren landscape and the harshness of life. The writing is exceptionally beautiful and will capture your heart and imagination.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for my honest review.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning of this book, the part about Gabriella really didn't work for me. I noticed this book was first published in French a couple of years ago and I feel like the translation shows just that in this first part.
It's not until we get to Willowra that I find a character I like, Gab’s nan Victoria. Victoria lured everyone back to their birth ground to reveal some family secrets when she starts telling the tale of her family we meet wonderful strong characters with a good story. I'm not one for historical fiction, you could argue this is historical fiction and I would agree with you. I think I would have much preferred to have this story be solely about Vic’s parents and/or Vic. Those stories are marvelous, I was hooked on both of them.
Vic’s story is cool and she's a fierce woman, a force to be reckoned with for sure, but her parents Jason and Maggie, their story is just sweet. In a time that must have been extremely challenging their love really did conquer all.

Question, would you be smiling if you heard your parents have sex, or your children? Couple of references to that are made and just no...
Overall I liked the book, it was hard getting into because of the awkward translation (at least that’s how it reads for me) and I just don't care for Gab and Tess. In the end, it's a couple of fascinating fictional tales combined, some of which are harder to believe than others, but I enjoyed most of them. It's just the at times awkward turns of phrases and writing that pulled me out of the story and made me enjoying a bit less, 3.25 stars.

*ARC received in exchange for a voluntary and honest review*

[Jo reece · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! Wow Wow! This book pulled me in and held on tight! Heartwarming, stunning, beautiful story! It's been a while since I read a book that captured me like this story!

I don't want to write a massive review about this story, I believe I might drop a spoiler or two if I did. I think this is Kadyan's first book, and I really am looking forward to any future releases.

[chaos · Rating 3 out of 5]

The "woman dressed/living as a man" theme seems to be a complicated one to tackle, but the author has free rein to choose whatever gender embodiment they want for their gender bending character.

In this book, Jason and Vic's lives as men felt clumsily executed and inconsistent at times, and I would have preferred to know how Vic managed to pass as male and join the front line military forces in a war, and if Jason actually wanted to live as a man for reasons beyond access to male privilege and convenience of marriage etc given his interest in women.

The very beginning and end felt inorganically linked to the meat of the rest of the story. The ties between Gabrielle and her Willowra family were severed because of... perceived homophobia(?) but none of their interactions on the page quite managed to draw Gabrielle and Tess into the main plot.

At the start, the drama between Gab and Tess felt too contrived and it made it difficult to get into the book, but the rest was interesting, if a bit far fetched. NOBODY suspected Jason or Vic was female? Okay.

Despite the need to suspend my suspicious nature for some of these plot points to be plausible, this was an intriguing story and the flow of the middle historical segments kept me engaged and interested.

[Laetitia Maureau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cette histoire... ou devrais-je dire ces histoires, sont captivantes.
La description des personnages et de leurs combats personnels dans cette Australie à différentes époques est très juste.
Les personnages sont très attachants, chacun pour leurs raisons propres.

Vraiment, Willowra fait partie de mon TOP 5 et je prends toujours beaucoup de plaisir à le relire régulièrement.

News - Bold Strokes Books (maison d'édition de Radclyffe) a traduit ce livre en anglais et va le publier d'ici quelques semaines.
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This story ... or should I say these stories, are gripping.
The description of the characters and their personal struggles in this Australia at different times is very accurate.
The characters are very endearing, each for their own reasons.

Really, Willowra is part of my TOP 5 and I always take great pleasure in rereading it regularly.

News - Bold Strokes Books has translated this book into English and will publish it within a few weeks.

[Ashlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book starts out with Gabrielle having worries about becoming a parent and thinking about her own parents. Her relationship with them having deteriorated after an overheard conversation and years of missed opportunities and misunderstanding. Gabrielle and Tess are soon called to her home where her grandmother reveals some family secrets that show how much they all have in common. I loved this story, it was a true family saga spanning generations and continents. The characters were all easy to fall in love with, especially Victoria and Jason. Descriptions of the Outback felt authentic and I could see their home out in the red dirt of Australia. I already want to read this again and am hoping that I see more from this author translated to English. This book definitely captured my attention and I was up half the night reading only to get to the end and be disappointed it was over.

[Henriette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love novels set in Australia. This one gives a tantalizing glimpse into the history of the country and our queer-history. I loved the description of the near desert lands around Willowra, the life of a vagrant worker, the people inhabiting it and all the secrets such a remote place has to offer.
It is sobering to know that only 2 or three generations past - the generation of our grandparents or great-grandparents you would be lynched or worse for found out kissing a girl as a girl. Puts modern grievances very much in perspective. And it shows as well that we made great strides in the liberation of women despite everything that remains: no rights for women and being beaten and raped in marriage used to be normal.
The book spans three generations and adds more perspectives with the unfolding of the story. I would have liked to see a more encompassing wrap-up esp. of the „modern“ generation and e.g. the story of Gabrielle and Tess. Simone‘s bitterness is highlighted several times throughout but not really resolved or properly explained.
The writing (and translation from French) is overall well-done with quite a few historical or local references. The start was a bit bumpy but stay tuned for the real story.

ARC via netgalley received.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book

I recommend this book when I started reading it ! Couldn't put it down. This historical history of a chosen family is very well written. The characters are very well written and you feel like you are part of the journey. This is one of the best books I've read. This book will be in my re-read group of books. Thanks for a truly incredible read. Hope to see more books by this author.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Secrets of Willowra starts out with Gabrielle and Tess. Gabrielle left Willowra many years ago due to perceived homophobia from her family. Gabrielle went to Sydney and remained there until her cherished grandmother, Victoria, was on her death bed. Gabrielle immediately flew to Willowra with her wife Tess. During their stay, Victoria shares her story (and family secrets) as well as her father's. Jason, Victoria's father, arrives in Australia to seek his fortune in the gold rush. Due to many decisions, Jason decides to travel across Australia. You learn about Jason and how Victoria came into his life. Victoria then recounts her tale about how she left and came back to Willowra in her adult life.

I absolutely enjoyed this book! I loved Jason, Victoria, and Maggie as characters. I understand why the author started the story out with Gabrielle, but she wasn't mentioned a lot in the rest of the book. The main focus seemed to be on Jason and Victoria. I loved the historical information that was tied in. I live in the U.S. and never knew about certain aspects of Australia during that time. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I loved that a majority of the main characters were also a part of the LGBTQ+ community.

I highly recommend this novel! You're captivated by Jason's story and then Victoria shows up. You're then thrown into her story, that's just as riveting as Jason's. There are so many similarities between their stories and both characters feel so alone during it. You feel like you're right there with them, experiencing everything. If you haven't yet, read this story! It's written so well.

ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review.

[Emma | emmasbookishself · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️

An incredible read.

This story spans generations and covers topics of love, loss, sacrifice and acceptance. Beautiful, and heartbreaking. I felt so many emotions while reading this.

The women in this book were portrayed so strongly, and truly were the highlight of the book. These women are commendable, and admirable.

[Amina · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.7 ❤️

[bookster · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars