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The Sinkings
In 1882, dismembered human remains were discovered at a lonely campsite called the Sinkings near Albany, Western Australia. The surgeon conducting the autopsy claimed the remains were those of a woman. Why, then, was the victim identified as Little Jock, a sandalwood-cutter and former convict? And why was the murder so brutal, so gruesome?
More than a hundred years later, Willa Samson embarks on a search to find out why in this novel. A recluse after having lost her daughter, Willa is drawn back into the world as she negotiates and researches various archives, communicates with family historians, and journeys to Scotland, Northern Ireland, and England, looking for clues to her questions.
The Sinkings is a story within a story, the portrayal of a figure from the margins of history embedded within a contemporary narrative of a mother's guilt and grief. Beautifully crafted, this novel deals with the dilemma confronting parents of an intersexed child and of coming to terms with gender identification. While the book is a work of fiction, the discovery of Little Jock's remains and the controversy surrounding their identification are actual events.
More than a hundred years later, Willa Samson embarks on a search to find out why in this novel. A recluse after having lost her daughter, Willa is drawn back into the world as she negotiates and researches various archives, communicates with family historians, and journeys to Scotland, Northern Ireland, and England, looking for clues to her questions.
The Sinkings is a story within a story, the portrayal of a figure from the margins of history embedded within a contemporary narrative of a mother's guilt and grief. Beautifully crafted, this novel deals with the dilemma confronting parents of an intersexed child and of coming to terms with gender identification. While the book is a work of fiction, the discovery of Little Jock's remains and the controversy surrounding their identification are actual events.
375 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2008
6 people are currently reading
144 people want to read
About the author
Amanda Curtin
8 books72 followersAmanda Curtin is the author of Six Days (novel, 2026), Kathleen O’Connor of Paris (narrative non-fiction, 2018), Elemental (novel, Australia/NZ 2013, UK 2016), The Sinkings (novel, 2008) and Inherited (short fiction collection, 2011). She lives in suburban Perth, Western Australia—traditional lands of the Whadjuk people of the Noongar nation—and works in a backyard studio among magpies, doves and old trees.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
September 1, 2018
The importance of a book such as The Sinkings cannot be overstated. Amanda Curtin has brought history to life for the modern reader. Curtin has reimagined the history of the newly formed Swan Colony and skilfully interwoven the past with the future.
The Sinkings tells the story of Little Jock, a person brutally murdered in 1882. Curtin seeks to answer the questions that arise from such a gruesome crime and leaves the reader with a sense of triumph despite the tragic circumstances. Issues of sexuality. criminality, freedom and poverty are explored throughout the book.
Beautiful prose, two stories (one from the past and one from the present) twist around each other, and the questions that arose for me (who are we and what makes us) made The Sinkings a wonderful read.
If you are interested in history (Western Australian and Irish), enjoy reading about familial relationships and evocative landscapes, then The Sinkings is the book for you. Highly recommended.
The Sinkings tells the story of Little Jock, a person brutally murdered in 1882. Curtin seeks to answer the questions that arise from such a gruesome crime and leaves the reader with a sense of triumph despite the tragic circumstances. Issues of sexuality. criminality, freedom and poverty are explored throughout the book.
Beautiful prose, two stories (one from the past and one from the present) twist around each other, and the questions that arose for me (who are we and what makes us) made The Sinkings a wonderful read.
If you are interested in history (Western Australian and Irish), enjoy reading about familial relationships and evocative landscapes, then The Sinkings is the book for you. Highly recommended.
March 3, 2012
As you will have seen from the Sensational Snippet I posted from The Sinkings, debut author Amanda Curtin has a gift with words. I was completely seduced by this book and even broke a long held rule of mine to finish it: I never take library books away with me on any trip in case QANTAS loses my luggage again, but The Sinkings went with me to Canberra this weekend because I could not bear to leave it behind. It is that good.
There is a dual plot. Willa Samson is disabled by guilt and grief, and has withdrawn from life. But a small snippet of a story from a book she was copy-editing twelve years ago has niggled away in her memory and she decides to fill her empty days with some idle research to see if she can solve a rather strange mystery…
The book she had worked on was an historical journal called Past Lives, and the article that caught her attention was the tale of an ex-transportee called Little Jock, whose dismembered remains had been found in 1882, at a deserted campsite called The Sinkings. The ferocity of the attack was odd enough, but stranger still was that at the autopsy, the remains of this man were identified as female.
To read the rest of my review, please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2012/03/07/th...
There is a dual plot. Willa Samson is disabled by guilt and grief, and has withdrawn from life. But a small snippet of a story from a book she was copy-editing twelve years ago has niggled away in her memory and she decides to fill her empty days with some idle research to see if she can solve a rather strange mystery…
The book she had worked on was an historical journal called Past Lives, and the article that caught her attention was the tale of an ex-transportee called Little Jock, whose dismembered remains had been found in 1882, at a deserted campsite called The Sinkings. The ferocity of the attack was odd enough, but stranger still was that at the autopsy, the remains of this man were identified as female.
To read the rest of my review, please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2012/03/07/th...
February 5, 2016
Although the beginning chapters of The Sinkings are a little confusing and seemingly disjointed, I soon settled into the rhythm of this compelling novel and by the end I really enjoyed the way the two threads of the story (past and present) inched together and gradually met.
Willa lives in Western Australia and is just starting to function again after dealing with the loss of her daughter. Drawn into the homicide of a convict turned free settler over a century before at a place known as The Sinkings, Willa is determined to unravel just what happened to the man known as Little Jock. Not much notice was taken of the brutal manner of the murder at the time, but knowing that Jock suffered the same rare medical condition as her daughter Imogen, Willa believes that she owes it to him to find an answer.
Burying herself in mountains of documents, microfiche records and genealogical searches gives Willa a purpose she has not known for a long time and forces her out of her self-imposed exile. So involved in the search for truth is she, Willa goes so far as to take a trip to the UK to personally search scant records and visit the places Little Jock lived, was incarcerated in and eventually transported from as a convict.
Superbly written with a lovely, flowing prose, The Sinkings also conveyed a lot of historical fact in a seamless manner. It was definitely interesting to read of just how difficult life was for the poor in those days of the late 19th Century and the reality of life in the new settlement of Western Australia. The story also explored a cruel medical condition in a sensitive way, giving a balanced and realistic view of both sides of the topic.
Overall a moving and poignant story with an element of suspense that had me captivated right until the last page.
Willa lives in Western Australia and is just starting to function again after dealing with the loss of her daughter. Drawn into the homicide of a convict turned free settler over a century before at a place known as The Sinkings, Willa is determined to unravel just what happened to the man known as Little Jock. Not much notice was taken of the brutal manner of the murder at the time, but knowing that Jock suffered the same rare medical condition as her daughter Imogen, Willa believes that she owes it to him to find an answer.
Burying herself in mountains of documents, microfiche records and genealogical searches gives Willa a purpose she has not known for a long time and forces her out of her self-imposed exile. So involved in the search for truth is she, Willa goes so far as to take a trip to the UK to personally search scant records and visit the places Little Jock lived, was incarcerated in and eventually transported from as a convict.
Superbly written with a lovely, flowing prose, The Sinkings also conveyed a lot of historical fact in a seamless manner. It was definitely interesting to read of just how difficult life was for the poor in those days of the late 19th Century and the reality of life in the new settlement of Western Australia. The story also explored a cruel medical condition in a sensitive way, giving a balanced and realistic view of both sides of the topic.
Overall a moving and poignant story with an element of suspense that had me captivated right until the last page.
July 19, 2014
This novel runs parallel stories of the difficulties faced by people born intersexed. One set in modern times features a mother, guilt ridden by the choices she made for her now estranged intersexed child, the other a story set in the mid 1800s based on the true story of a convict turned free man brutally murdered near Albany. Curtin weaves the two stories gracefully with a well researched and philosophical perspective of both the modern day and historical issues surrounding this uncommon genetic difference. It was thought provoking and with elements of the beautiful prose seen in her most recent novel Elemental. A great read!
June 24, 2018
I really enjoyed this book. Very detailed covering 19th century and 21st century. From Ireland to Scotland then to S England and finally W Australia. Subjects covered includes potato famine, undefined genders, law and order and punishment in 19 th century, and convict transportation to Australia and subsequent lives of prisoners once released, and all brought together by genealogy studies. Two main characters, one in present day and the other in late 19th century. Both born with undefined genders and both lives were blighted by the way their problems were dealt with by others and themselves.
November 2, 2008
Superb piece of work.
Read it.
This sustained me all the way to the end
Read it.
This sustained me all the way to the end
February 19, 2009
Not a bad story - interesting view on a historical point and place. I dreaded the end because I thought it was going to be horrid, but not what I expected. (Can't say more without giving it away).
December 15, 2009
Fantastic parallel journey into the past and intimate present.
June 22, 2018
I really enjoyed this historically based novel with it's thoughtful examination of the human condition and the early Western Australian landscape during the convict period. Well-researched and a very interesting and engaging read that I wished I had read earlier when encouraged to but now feel the need to add it to my personal library.
June 2, 2021
This book is perfection. A quiet dual narrative that unfurls delicately and with superb research. In the late 19th century Little Jock navigates the world of poverty and convicts as an intersex person - and Willa, more than 100 years later, seeks connection to her daughter through researching Jock's life.
February 15, 2026
It took me a while to get into this book. The first few chapters were pretty hard to get through, but then it got better and you could start to see the link between the two stories. Wasn't blown away by it, but a fine read. Please note, the content is focused around intersex people, in case that will impact you in any way.
August 29, 2018
Enjoyed this book. It's quite a grim story of the 19th century in Ireland, Scotland and the Swan River settlement.
November 8, 2015
"Could the imprint of a single life be discernible among the communal parings, peelings, scrapings wrought by history?"
Reeling with grief from the loss of her daughter Imogen - an intersex child born 46XX/46XY - to the truth of her beginnings, Willa Samson embarks on a quest to pull together all the scant detail she can glean from historical records in Ireland, Scotland, England and Western Australia regarding the life and death of "Little Jock King", a hermaphrodite who survived the Irish Famine and multiple prison sentences in Glasgow and England before being shipped aboard the convict ship Clara to Western Australia in the 1800s as a man. In 1882, savagely dismembered human remains were discovered near a lonely well in Albany, Western Australia. The autopsy concluded they were female: the courts that the remains belonged to "Little Jock".
Expertly fusing exhaustive transborder research with dual narratives (Willa in modern times, "Little Jock" from his beginnings as a girl to his death as a man), "The Sinkings" is the best kind of historical fiction - hugely engrossing, steeped in mystery that keeps you reading, pell mell, to the finish. The novel is at once literary and accessible, with every voice (Irish, Scots, Australian, convict, settler, freed man) authentic and nuanced.
At the heart of "The Sinkings" is the idea that all of us "wounded storytellers" can transcend our own history and make a life for ourselves and be happy regardless of the things that have damaged us, or made us less, or held us back.
"John King was not his name, but perhaps, she thought, the name that matters is not the one we are born to but the one we choose for ourselves. And walking back across the field of bones, [Willa] smiled to think that the good people of Albany had buried an Irish Roman Catholic woman as a Scot they knew as Jock in the Church of England cemetery."
Reeling with grief from the loss of her daughter Imogen - an intersex child born 46XX/46XY - to the truth of her beginnings, Willa Samson embarks on a quest to pull together all the scant detail she can glean from historical records in Ireland, Scotland, England and Western Australia regarding the life and death of "Little Jock King", a hermaphrodite who survived the Irish Famine and multiple prison sentences in Glasgow and England before being shipped aboard the convict ship Clara to Western Australia in the 1800s as a man. In 1882, savagely dismembered human remains were discovered near a lonely well in Albany, Western Australia. The autopsy concluded they were female: the courts that the remains belonged to "Little Jock".
Expertly fusing exhaustive transborder research with dual narratives (Willa in modern times, "Little Jock" from his beginnings as a girl to his death as a man), "The Sinkings" is the best kind of historical fiction - hugely engrossing, steeped in mystery that keeps you reading, pell mell, to the finish. The novel is at once literary and accessible, with every voice (Irish, Scots, Australian, convict, settler, freed man) authentic and nuanced.
At the heart of "The Sinkings" is the idea that all of us "wounded storytellers" can transcend our own history and make a life for ourselves and be happy regardless of the things that have damaged us, or made us less, or held us back.
"John King was not his name, but perhaps, she thought, the name that matters is not the one we are born to but the one we choose for ourselves. And walking back across the field of bones, [Willa] smiled to think that the good people of Albany had buried an Irish Roman Catholic woman as a Scot they knew as Jock in the Church of England cemetery."
April 12, 2020
You can also read this review on my blog at: http://oddfeather.co/2015/11/27/revie...
I had very high hopes of this book, and I was not disappointed. Curtin applies her trademark historical research skills lavishly, and although at times her in-depth details of research process are a little overbearing, it is not a detriment to the story overall.
The Sinkings is the story of Willa, a woman living in present-day Perth, who is researching the story of Little Jock, a convict sent to Western Australia in the 1800s. The story intertwines between modern-day Perth and 19th-century Britain, following Willa's search for information about Little Jock's life and family, with his story unfolding along the way. Her connection to Little Jock begins as a hunch: that he was intersexed, like Willa's estranged daughter Imogen. Willa researches his life at times obsessively, even flying to England, then Scotland and Ireland to search census and birth records for the convict and his family. Although parts of Little Jock's story are clearly historical fiction, Willa, and thus the author, draws threads between gaps in the hard facts of birth-incarceration-transportation-death, to create a rich tapestry of famine, prison, family, travel, hardship and secrets.
Although it is at times harrowing to read, I highly recommend this book, if not least of all to educate oneself in research methods, and at best to examine the way the world reacts to those who do not fit into a neat binary of 'male' or 'female'.
I had very high hopes of this book, and I was not disappointed. Curtin applies her trademark historical research skills lavishly, and although at times her in-depth details of research process are a little overbearing, it is not a detriment to the story overall.
The Sinkings is the story of Willa, a woman living in present-day Perth, who is researching the story of Little Jock, a convict sent to Western Australia in the 1800s. The story intertwines between modern-day Perth and 19th-century Britain, following Willa's search for information about Little Jock's life and family, with his story unfolding along the way. Her connection to Little Jock begins as a hunch: that he was intersexed, like Willa's estranged daughter Imogen. Willa researches his life at times obsessively, even flying to England, then Scotland and Ireland to search census and birth records for the convict and his family. Although parts of Little Jock's story are clearly historical fiction, Willa, and thus the author, draws threads between gaps in the hard facts of birth-incarceration-transportation-death, to create a rich tapestry of famine, prison, family, travel, hardship and secrets.
Although it is at times harrowing to read, I highly recommend this book, if not least of all to educate oneself in research methods, and at best to examine the way the world reacts to those who do not fit into a neat binary of 'male' or 'female'.
April 19, 2012
Maybe it is the climate of my current surroundings?? For some reason I didn't love this as much as I felt I should.
Two stories are concurrently followed - the development of the leadup to the murder of a ex-convict at The Sinkings, and the narrator's journey of discovery and her personal journey.
The main theme here is - society's response to genetic sexual abnormalities. And I enjoyed that aspect; I enjoyed Jock King's life narrative; but it took me till the last 50 pages to like Willa's personal journey. For much of the book, I didn't care how she researched Jock's life thru prison records etc and how meagre they are. Really?? Do people not realise that the personal information overload is coupled with the development of the internet??
So, I thought, why did you bother telling us your personal journey, I much wanted to read the King narrative, but towards the end, I thought - would I have been contented with just this & would I have wanted to know how the information was compiled? So a conundrum developed.
Overall, both narratives are powerful ones, and the subject matter is enjoyable.
One last gripe - also personal - is the style. I call it generic Australian writing style & is quite common today. Rosie Hamm also writes in just the same voice. Our "great" Australian novelists don't; their's are individual and powerful, so that I can tell a Tim Winton, from a Patrick White from a David Malouf. Shame on writing schools for creating and encouraging this bland style.
Two stories are concurrently followed - the development of the leadup to the murder of a ex-convict at The Sinkings, and the narrator's journey of discovery and her personal journey.
The main theme here is - society's response to genetic sexual abnormalities. And I enjoyed that aspect; I enjoyed Jock King's life narrative; but it took me till the last 50 pages to like Willa's personal journey. For much of the book, I didn't care how she researched Jock's life thru prison records etc and how meagre they are. Really?? Do people not realise that the personal information overload is coupled with the development of the internet??
So, I thought, why did you bother telling us your personal journey, I much wanted to read the King narrative, but towards the end, I thought - would I have been contented with just this & would I have wanted to know how the information was compiled? So a conundrum developed.
Overall, both narratives are powerful ones, and the subject matter is enjoyable.
One last gripe - also personal - is the style. I call it generic Australian writing style & is quite common today. Rosie Hamm also writes in just the same voice. Our "great" Australian novelists don't; their's are individual and powerful, so that I can tell a Tim Winton, from a Patrick White from a David Malouf. Shame on writing schools for creating and encouraging this bland style.
May 7, 2012
The first few chapters were a bit confusing but once I cottoned on to all the name changes I really got into both stories and found the subject matter really intersting as I have never read anything about this before.
It was kinda weird sitting in New York City or Portland and reading a book about home - it is usually the other way around!!
I thought her writing style was just magic - almost like poetry in some places. It really kept
me interested and was one of those books you cant wait to pick up again to continue on.
Thought it might have ended a bit abruptly but maybe I just wanted more!
I gave it a 9.
The cover was a bit boring for me but I really couldnt suggest an alternate cover unless maybe an old fashioned prison gate.
It was kinda weird sitting in New York City or Portland and reading a book about home - it is usually the other way around!!
I thought her writing style was just magic - almost like poetry in some places. It really kept
me interested and was one of those books you cant wait to pick up again to continue on.
Thought it might have ended a bit abruptly but maybe I just wanted more!
I gave it a 9.
The cover was a bit boring for me but I really couldnt suggest an alternate cover unless maybe an old fashioned prison gate.
Currently reading
August 11, 2012I desperatly want to get hold of a copy of this book as I am meeting Amanda Curtin next month but my local library and book stores do not sell it. Grrrr...
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This book arrived yesterday and I've just started it. I'm about 30 pages in and so far I'm liking it - Very thought provoking and it has a very melancholy feel to it. Writing is good but the style itself took a few pages to get used to, although I think that's more to do with the easy reads I've been inhaling lately. Meeting Amanda Curtin in 5 days so I best get reading!!
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This book arrived yesterday and I've just started it. I'm about 30 pages in and so far I'm liking it - Very thought provoking and it has a very melancholy feel to it. Writing is good but the style itself took a few pages to get used to, although I think that's more to do with the easy reads I've been inhaling lately. Meeting Amanda Curtin in 5 days so I best get reading!!
August 14, 2014
Amanda Curtin's breath-taking debut novel is not for the faint hearted.
Part historic fiction and part contemporary fiction, the story of the murder of 'Little Jock' at the Sinkings near Albany, W.A., in 1882 is compelling, dense, and at times genuinely shocking.
Curtin, an editor of significant experience, doesn't sheer away the horror of poverty and starvation in the Glasgow of the 19th century. Nor does she pretty-up her topic: hermaphroditism...in history and in contemporary Australia.
I've never read anything quite like The Sinkings, and I recommend it heartily.
Part historic fiction and part contemporary fiction, the story of the murder of 'Little Jock' at the Sinkings near Albany, W.A., in 1882 is compelling, dense, and at times genuinely shocking.
Curtin, an editor of significant experience, doesn't sheer away the horror of poverty and starvation in the Glasgow of the 19th century. Nor does she pretty-up her topic: hermaphroditism...in history and in contemporary Australia.
I've never read anything quite like The Sinkings, and I recommend it heartily.
January 6, 2016
This is an unusual story, combining a historically accurate account of the brutal murder of an ex-convict in the 1880s in Western Australia and an exploration of those who are born ‘intersexual’ – that is with sexual organs of both genders. Willa’s child has been brought up as a woman but has left home to explore her sexual identity. Willa suspects that the murdered convict, Little Jock, may also have been an ‘intersexual’. Curtin balances past and present stories in an intelligent and convincing first novel.
March 22, 2016
A well researched book that covers genealogy, early WA history, the Irish famine, impact of the industrial revolution, the convict system, loss and hermaphrodites.
There is a lot in this book, with the parallel stories of modern-day genealogy with scenes covering Little Jock's life in the 1800s working well. Willa's interest for investigating Jock's life allows her to examine how she treated her child Imogen - Jock and Imogen both being hermaphrodite.
There is a lot in this book, with the parallel stories of modern-day genealogy with scenes covering Little Jock's life in the 1800s working well. Willa's interest for investigating Jock's life allows her to examine how she treated her child Imogen - Jock and Imogen both being hermaphrodite.
April 30, 2012
A Very sad story and easily believable! Fact of the convicts and their punishment interesting!
There was even curruption in the courts and political field, which of course has not stopped yet!!
I found it more interesting I suppose as it is set in Albany! I had to make myself read 50 pages a day to complete the reading or I may have weakened and stopped continuing but I am so glad I did not!
There was even curruption in the courts and political field, which of course has not stopped yet!!
I found it more interesting I suppose as it is set in Albany! I had to make myself read 50 pages a day to complete the reading or I may have weakened and stopped continuing but I am so glad I did not!
September 21, 2014
The plot is given elsewhere, interesting and engaging. Amanda writes so so well, never a spare word but rich in emotion and detail. A clever book weaving between characters but not losing the reader. Highly recommended
January 14, 2017
A most unusual but fascinating book set in Western Australia. A meld of family history research and family dynamics with a twist - I can recommend this as a well written novel which casts interesting perspectives on mother - daughter relationships. 4.5 stars.
March 26, 2010
A superb novel by a gifted storyteller. The lives of Little Jock, a 19th century convict, & Willa's child Imogen, are bound by Willa's grief & guilt for her part in an unspeakable secret.
February 24, 2017
A surprising find, and i would recommend this interesting read to anyone keen on history and relationships.
I shall be looking out for more from this local writer :)
I shall be looking out for more from this local writer :)
September 7, 2014
A haunting tale; it depicts hardship, cruelty and loneliness unforgettably; and in my mind its most remarkable quality is the way it combines its unblinking realism with a deep compassion.
November 28, 2015
An unusual book. Very well written. An intriguing idea. But not quite enough character detail to really hook me in.
June 20, 2016
An interesting book. I enjoyed how it would go from past to present.
July 12, 2016
Fantastic book.
January 7, 2010
Based around Albany - interesting.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews