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Provenance
Provenance is set in and around a fictional Warlpiri community at the western edge of the Tanami desert in central Australia. It is the story of an English doctor, whose love of the red desert country brings him to work in the remote community. When a patient asks him to sell some of her paintings for her, he finds himself engaging with the wheelers and dealers who make their living out of Aboriginal art, and the ethical issues which surround the practice. And later, when he finally gets the trip out on country that he has been longing for, he comes up against the true meaning of 'the middle of nowhere'.
312 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 10, 2019
1 person is currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
Kate Thompson
64 books155 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Kate Thompson is an award-winning writer for children and adults.She has lived in Ireland, where many of her books are set, since 1981. She is the youngest child of the social historians and peace activists E. P. Thompson and Dorothy Towers. She worked with horses and travelled in India before settling in the west of Ireland with her partner Conor. They have two daughters, Cliodhna and Dearbhla. She is an accomplished fiddler with an interest in Irish traditional music, reflected in The New Policeman.
While Kate Thompson's children's fiction is primarily fantasy, several of her books also deal with the consequences of genetic engineering.
She has won the Bisto Children's Book of the Year Award four times, for The Beguilers, The Alchemist's Apprentice, Annan Water and The New Policeman. The New Policeman was also awarded the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, the Whitbread Children's Book Award and the Dublin Airport Authority Children's Book of the Year Award for 2005.
Kate Thompson is an award-winning writer for children and adults.She has lived in Ireland, where many of her books are set, since 1981. She is the youngest child of the social historians and peace activists E. P. Thompson and Dorothy Towers. She worked with horses and travelled in India before settling in the west of Ireland with her partner Conor. They have two daughters, Cliodhna and Dearbhla. She is an accomplished fiddler with an interest in Irish traditional music, reflected in The New Policeman.
While Kate Thompson's children's fiction is primarily fantasy, several of her books also deal with the consequences of genetic engineering.
She has won the Bisto Children's Book of the Year Award four times, for The Beguilers, The Alchemist's Apprentice, Annan Water and The New Policeman. The New Policeman was also awarded the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, the Whitbread Children's Book Award and the Dublin Airport Authority Children's Book of the Year Award for 2005.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 11, 2020
Elliot is a British ex-pat, working as a doctor in Melbourne. But ever since his road trip in Australia’s red centre as a youth, he’s been longing back to the red sand, the vast landscape and connection to country. So he takes on work as a community doctor, and bases himself in Alice Springs.
On community, it’s not exactly what he anticipated, but he makes friends and acquaintances and suddenly finds himself promising to sell some paintings for a patient. That’s easier said than done, even though the paintings are authentic and the patient is a known artist; to Elliot the world of art dealers is as foreign and complicated as the unwritten cultural rules on community. Then, on a trip out bush everything goes wrong and Elliot finds himself in hospital, reflecting back on his adventure.
I admit I was a bit hesitant over this book. I wasn’t sure if Alice Springs and surrounding communities would get a fair representation in this book, written by a UK author. But I did enjoy the book and it was a very balanced story, well written and researched and quite realistic and totally believable. The storytelling and the description of the landscape is very familiar. The story isn’t overly exciting, but it’s interesting and I can relate to my own experiences when I first arrived into the Red Centre.
I believe this is a self published book and I would say that the only thing which could be improved is the cover. It’s a good enough photo to be put up on social media, but personally I think it gives the impression of an amateur writer and that’s not what this author is. With a better cover, this book could be a bestseller. I’ll give this book 4 landcruisers out of 5.
On community, it’s not exactly what he anticipated, but he makes friends and acquaintances and suddenly finds himself promising to sell some paintings for a patient. That’s easier said than done, even though the paintings are authentic and the patient is a known artist; to Elliot the world of art dealers is as foreign and complicated as the unwritten cultural rules on community. Then, on a trip out bush everything goes wrong and Elliot finds himself in hospital, reflecting back on his adventure.
I admit I was a bit hesitant over this book. I wasn’t sure if Alice Springs and surrounding communities would get a fair representation in this book, written by a UK author. But I did enjoy the book and it was a very balanced story, well written and researched and quite realistic and totally believable. The storytelling and the description of the landscape is very familiar. The story isn’t overly exciting, but it’s interesting and I can relate to my own experiences when I first arrived into the Red Centre.
I believe this is a self published book and I would say that the only thing which could be improved is the cover. It’s a good enough photo to be put up on social media, but personally I think it gives the impression of an amateur writer and that’s not what this author is. With a better cover, this book could be a bestseller. I’ll give this book 4 landcruisers out of 5.
February 23, 2020
Kate Thompson has done it again!
Right off the bat, from the first to the last paragraph, I felt I was there, at the other end of the world, right in the middle of the action and inside the head of the main character Elliot. The storytelling, the social and athmospheric descriptions are all so good, that you instantly become one with Elliot.
Kate introduced me to a fascinating world that is unknown to me, where the colour of sand and the social rules are very different from home. When Elliot, a flying doctor in the heartland of Australia, thinks back to some social missteps in the early days after his arrival from abroad, I feel as awkward as if they had been my own. When travelling off-road to sacred places, it feels dry, remote and I'm wiping red dust off my face, even though in my part of the world all is wet and green. In the book's everyday situations, I feel the strong, calm, natural way the Aboriginal people.
"Provenance" is thouroughly enjoyable, I could not stop reading. It provides a unique glance into the current day life of an Aboriginal community and the goings-on in their art world. This book is authentic and kudos to Kate for self-publishing!
I think it is as good as her famous book "The New Policeman", which won several literature awards world-wide - I lost track of the actual number. "Provenance" deserves the same recognition. But more important than that, I think the Aboriginal people can be proud of Kate.
Right off the bat, from the first to the last paragraph, I felt I was there, at the other end of the world, right in the middle of the action and inside the head of the main character Elliot. The storytelling, the social and athmospheric descriptions are all so good, that you instantly become one with Elliot.
Kate introduced me to a fascinating world that is unknown to me, where the colour of sand and the social rules are very different from home. When Elliot, a flying doctor in the heartland of Australia, thinks back to some social missteps in the early days after his arrival from abroad, I feel as awkward as if they had been my own. When travelling off-road to sacred places, it feels dry, remote and I'm wiping red dust off my face, even though in my part of the world all is wet and green. In the book's everyday situations, I feel the strong, calm, natural way the Aboriginal people.
"Provenance" is thouroughly enjoyable, I could not stop reading. It provides a unique glance into the current day life of an Aboriginal community and the goings-on in their art world. This book is authentic and kudos to Kate for self-publishing!
I think it is as good as her famous book "The New Policeman", which won several literature awards world-wide - I lost track of the actual number. "Provenance" deserves the same recognition. But more important than that, I think the Aboriginal people can be proud of Kate.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews