Jesustown

by Paul Daley

From award-winning journalist Paul Daley comes a gripping multi-generational saga about Australian frontier violence and cultural theft, and the myths that stand between us and history's unpalatable truths.

Morally bereft popular historian Patrick Renmark flees London in disgrace after the accidental death of his infant son. With one card left to play, he reluctantly takes a commission to write the biography of his legendary pioneering adventurer-anthropologist grandfather.

With no enthusiasm and even less integrity, Patrick travels to Jesustown, the former mission town in remote Australia where his grandfather infamously brokered 'peace' between the Indigenous custodians of the area and the white constabulary. He hasn't been back there since he was a teenager when a terrible confrontation with his grandfather made him vow never to return.

Of course nothing is as it seems or as Patrick wants it to be. Unable to lay his own son to rest, Patrick must re-examine the legacy of his renowned grandfather and face the repercussions of his actions on subsequent generations. Will what he finds bring him redemption or add to the vault of family secrets and terrible guilt he keeps uncovering?


'This is a story-a great story-with all the tragedy and lies that is colonial Australia. Our circle of tragedy.' Thomas Mayor, author of Finding the Heart of the Nation


'Poignant and powerful; the best book I've read this year.' Chris Hammer, author of Scrublands

'A challenging statement about the mythology of Australian colonial history. It confronts the hard questions with intense sensitivity and a smattering of humour.' Professor Brownyn Carlson, Department of Indigenous Studies, Macquarie University


'At long last, here is a novel that looks Australia's brutal, murky frontier-one that left generations traumatised-straight in the eye.' Mark McKenna, author of Return to Uluru

'An unflinching examination of the truths white Australia refuses to acknowledge.' Jock Serong, author of Preservation


'A searing dissection of the arrogance of white history and generations of moral failure.' Michael Brissenden, author of Dead Letters

'Asks challenging-and important-questions about the stories families tell themselves, and about the myths, lies and half-truths that form the core of Australia's "official history".' Nigel Featherstone, author of Bodies of Men

'Jesustown is nothing less than the story of Australia, but with the distance between its "story-ist" myths and harsh and human reality laid bare. A brilliant novel.' David Whish-Wilson, author of True West

Genres: Fiction, Australia, Contemporary, Historical Fiction

Paperback

First published July 1, 2022

About the author

Author and journalist Paul Daley's books—Canberra, Collingwood: A Love Story, Beersheeba and Armaggedon—have been finalists in major literary awards, including the Nib, the Manning Clark House Cultural Awards and the Prime Minister's History Prize. He is the winner of the Walkley Award for Investigative Journalism and the Paul Lyneham Award for Press Gallery journalism. In 2013 he co-wrote, with Katie Pollock, the acclaimed political play, The Hansard Monologues. He also writes essays and short stories, and about history and national identity for The Guardian and Meanjin. He lives in Canberra with his wife, Lenore Taylor, and their children. This is his first novel.

Reviews

[Jennifer (JC-S) · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘How does it feel to lose the three people you love the most?’

Australian historian Patrick Renmark flees London in disgrace after the accidental death of his infant son. With his marriage destroyed and his career as a self-styled story-ist looking shaky, Patrick reluctantly accepts a commission to write a biography of his legendary grandfather, the adventurer and anthropologist, Nathaniel Renmark.

Patrick travels to Jesustown, a former mission town in a remote (fictional) part of Australia four hours flight from Sydney known as Arcadia.

‘WELCOME TO JESUSTOWN, ART HUB OF THE REMOTE ARCADIAN COAST.’

Patrick has not been to Jesustown since a confrontation with his grandfather as a teenager. Nathaniel Renmark is dead now but is remembered for brokering a ‘peace’ between the Indigenous custodians and the white constabulary. Going back is hard for Patrick, even with the chemical assistance of drugs and alcohol. Patrick is wracked with guilt over the death of his son and the failure of his marriage. And what was the legacy of his grandfather? How is he remembered, and what did he achieve? Revisiting the past is difficult for Patrick, especially with the burden of guilt he carries. Hearing his grandfather’s voice on tape and examining his papers and other possessions takes Patrick to some uncomfortable places. His father Luke is a shadowy presence as well, until a confronting truth emerges.

‘What happened? What happened is a bad movie. Recalling it is like sitting in the front row of a cinema, watching a film about a foolish man who understands the scale of the disaster about to befall him but can’t stop himself from walking into it regardless.’

Being in Jesustown brings Patrick in contact with others from his past, especially the Indigenous twins Tamar and Jericho. Will Patrick be overwhelmed by the past (his own, and that of his family) or can he find a way through the discomfort and his own failings? Can he face the truth?

This is a complex novel, full of remorse. Three generations of Renmark men: Nathaniel, Luke and Patrick have each done things they regret. We observe Patrick’s actions, hear and read about some of Nathaniel’s actions, and learn of Luke’s. Patrick recalls Luke an emotionally distant father, Nathaniel portrays Luke as a failure. And as this narrative gradually unfolds, we eventually learn how Patrick’s affair led to his son’s death. Patrick realises that his grandfather’s story cannot be told in his ‘story-ist’ way: he needs to move beyond popular storytelling, beyond myth and legend into actions and consequences. If Patrick is to address his grandfather’s biography appropriately, he needs to do so as a serious historian. Can Patrick be that honest?

It took me a little while to get into this novel, to move beyond what I perceived to be Patrick’s superficiality, into recognising and thinking about the issues raised. The future beckons.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

[Neale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just received his new book "The Leap" Hope it's as good. :-)



The book opens with historian Patrick Renfield at his son’s funeral. The size of the tiny coffin revealing a premature tragic death. Renfield, shunned by everybody, contempt written on the mourners’ faces, finds it impossible to cry. However, this is all we know, the author leaves us guessing how this tragedy has unfolded, yet there is no doubt that Renfield is responsible.
Renfield is a celebrity in the world of military historical fiction. Criticized by academics and peers, his colourful retellings of historical battles and personalities fly off the shelf. He is not afraid to embellish and exaggerate, negotiating the grey nuances of history to provide the best story and paint Australia in a glowing light.

But this scandal has seen publishers scuttle away. And with his wife kicking him out of her house and life, no options remain, Renfield is forced to write a biography on his famous grandfather Nathaniel.

“Rennie” is a famous anthropologist known as the saviour of Jesustown, an old mission town of indigenous aboriginals. He has spent most of his adult life living with them studying their way of life and fighting for their rights.

The narrative is told in the present by Patrick, but also in the past by Rennie, through a collection of audio tapes that Patrick is transcribing for his book.

Daley uses the insidious behaviour and immoral crimes that the colonists perpetrated on the indigenous population and culture of Australia as a backdrop, shedding light on the theme that history, and indeed people, are not always what they seem.

As Patrick researches the biography, he discovers much more than he bargained for, and is left with the dilemma of how to write Rennie’s story.

A brilliant novel.

[Kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had me hooked from the opening few pages. There were times that I felt it droned on and on, but that is just what the voice of Patrick would have been like. However once Patrick came back to Jesus town and began listening to the tapes of Pa, and he began to disclose what had happened to bring him back, the book picked up pace and readability.
The parallels of Patrick and Pa's lives were very obvious and it was interesting to watch as Patrick began to realise this. Patrick is hardly a likeable person and this doesn't change for me over the course of the book. It is hard to like someone wallowing in self pity who has no ability to reflect back on what bought them to this place.
Patrick's story is secondary to the real story, which is listening to the tapes of Pa and his involvement with the People and the formation of Jesustown. The atrocities and barbarity inflicted on The People made me feel so angry. I know that this is a 'story', but the author has bought together accounts of what was done to our First Nations People and it is truely unpalatable what happened and will continue to haunt us. If anything comes from reading this novel, it is a deeper understanding of how deep and long this pain of Invasion is for the First Nations People.
Without feeling the pain and the hurt we cannot begin to heal. We must acknowledge what was done and is still being done in this country if we are to affect real change.

[Malcolm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conglomeration of ideas, some work better than others. Writing style doesn’t always work. Like sections listening to voice recordings which read like written text. Just took the impact of what could have been a great book away for me.

[Anne Deane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book mostly engaging and quite enjoyed the “earthy” style. It’s a novel that lances stories of colonial oppression in Australia - massacres, mistreatment, abuse and misuse of Indigenous Australians and threads them through the complicated life of the main character, Patrick.

For me the story seemed to slow in the middle and it was a challenge to keep picking it up, hoping for story threads to be revealed - which they eventually were. That may say more about me and modern life and the crazy pace with which we live our lives. 7/10.

[Anna Murray · Rating 2 out of 5]

Patrick is escaping his life which has imploded in London and returns to the fictional Jesustown to write the history of his legendary, Pa, who saved The People of Arcadia. The book attempts to tell something of the rich culture of Australia's first people but it doesn't work. The characters are unbelievable and the story somewhat drab and predictable.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brave

[Anne Fenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tells story of three generations of men, with the focus on role of Pa, white man living with indigenous Australians in 1940s remote inner country. His grandson is the narrator. It’s a long book, which takes its time to reveal the wrongs committed by both these men. The novel is partly based on real events, US scientific study groups in the area, and what they did. I found it disappointing, too long, not much depth to the characters. It was reviewed very favourably, and does bring a little known episode of indigenous mistreatment to light.

[Ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first thing to note is that this book, making both factual and fictional statements about Aboriginal culture and lore, is written by someone who is not Aboriginal. That is not an inherent issue, however it does lead to question what consultation was done with Aboriginal people - which was not made clear.

In terms of the book itself, it was a difficult read. While a protagonist does not have to be likeable for a book to be enjoyable, the protagonist here was particularly abhorrent. I found myself remaining invested to follow the storylines of other characters. The book did lead way to consider how the "do-gooding" of white Australians can have enormously detrimental impacts to Aboriginal communities, and also highlighted the effects of racist anthropologists.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daley is a journalist who specialised in how the aborigine people were raped, mutilated, tortured and killed in the hundreds of thousands by settlers, missionaries, miners, fisherman, the militia . His epiphanic moment was in the S. Australian museum in a room in which was stored in cardboard boxes piled up containing the remains of 4,600 aborigines. He was shocked into writing something about this, how it happened. Some anthropologists were impelled by a desire to get to know and help surviving People; others wanted to collect their bodies, measures their crania, in short use them for ‘scientific’ purposes. Hence this book. It is written in the first person by an unpleasant character, Patrick Renman, who is grandson of a well meaning anthropologist, ‘Renny’, or ‘Pa’ to the family. Patrick as a child spent holidays with Pa in the fictional Jesustown, way north of Brisbane, which is typical of a missionary ravaged black community, now a reasonably happy aboriginal settlement but with a fraught history of white exploitation and savagery. The book starts with Patrick in London, married with a beautiful son who died in a way that tears Patrick apart with grief and guilt (we find out that story much later in the book). He returns to Australia and on request goes to Jesustown to write about his Pa, or Renny as the adoring blacks called him, who has left a jumbled collection of photos, journal entries, tape recordings, papers and souvenirs, including a Turk’s head in a hatbox. So the storyline swings from Patrick’s miserable existence as a narcissistic ‘story-ist’, ie a story teller who uses history to as a framework for highly salable stories, to Pa’s story much of which Pa narrates on tapes when near death. But Pa was equally enigmatic about what was true and what wasn’t. Also in Jesustown are Tamar a mixed blood aborigine and her twin Jericho (who took part in that mixing is an interesting question ...) and their mother figure Amelia, with strange powers. Patrick and Tamar as adolescents would have had it off had not Pa intervened with a whip. Patrick and Tamar have two quite different takes on that event, which affects how Patrick interprets the jumble of Pa’s stuff, relying heavily on tapes he recorded on the point of death. These tapes tell the real story of aboriginal dispossession, many utterly appalling: this is the story Daley wants to tell, with a touch of magic realism based on aboriginal beliefs and legends, which makes Patrick’s sordid story rather unnecessary. The aborigines come across as cheerful and resourceful people in spite of what has been done to them. Daley has been criticised for writing the aboriginal side when he is a white man, but I think deep research and skillful writing make up for that. However I’m not quite sure why Daley uses Patrick as a foil because it complicates and confuses matters. It is however an enlightening and interesting read, very well written apart from what I think is this split narrative.

[Ann Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Patrick returns to the Aboriginal mission where his grandfather, Renny, lived on and off for many years. Generations of family histories, both black and white, are revealed through the archives left by Renny. The use of the first person as Renny narrates what happened gives the reader a clear view of the events of the past, and Patrick’s story interwoven throughout gives another perspective on the story.

[James · Rating 1 out of 5]

Is it okay to list a "save your reading for something else" review?

If so... I was persuaded by two well written reviews to break my personal rules and read Paul Daley's new book, "Jesustown".

In a nutshell, the novel's chief protagonist is a narcisistic (with a side dressing of toxic masculinity) middle aged white bloke who returns to Australia after sabotaging his marriage (yeah, how many red flags for a protagonist can there be?) and he then fronts up to his father's estate (physical and moral) ... at which point I was hoping that this would be a "flawed character learns life lessons and becomes a less shitty human" story.

Nope. I felt like I was having a looong lunch with someone who lost his seat at the last federal election (any of them) and I am contaminated by association.

Off to buy antiseptic solution for my eyes.

[The Honest Book Reviewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paul Daley is a journalist, and this book does read more like newspaper print than a novel. The writing style is rigid, and feels more akin to non-fiction than fiction, if that makes sense. It's a style that didn't work for me, and I did find myself struggling to remain engaged with parts of this story.

However, there are certainly sections of this book that gripped me, and they were primarily the audio accounts from Patrick's grandfather, and the interactions between Patrick and the people of Jesustown. I disengaged from the story of Patrick and his family, the tragedy that led him to flee London and move back to Australia. I thought it an odd choice to link personal tragedy such as what occurred in Patrick's life to the tragedies and devastating events from the history of first Australians that were described in this book. There is no correlation between the two. It would be like hearing about the murder of an extended family and saying, "Look I broke me toe". Sure, Patrick's story line is traumatic for him. No denying that. But, please don't write a book and blend that tragedy with what befell first Australians.

What this book explores well is the creation of history. The rewriting of history to fit a purpose, if you will. It's not a new revelation. Unless you've lived under a rock for the past three decades or so, you will know that all over the world the "taught" history is constantly being challenged, more successfully in some countries that others. It will be an ongoing battle, I fear. Maybe if more books challenged the notion of "taught" history it would make more impact. So, we possibly should thank Paul Daley for crafting a novel based around that concept.

Still, I do think this book will not have wide appeal. I think there will be readers who drop off part way through because of the writing style, as it does seem to shift after the first few chapters. Am I glad I read this? Honestly, I am. Even though I can't say it's a wonderful book, I think it's a worthwhile book, and I'm glad that Paul Daley challenged the concept of "taught" history. If nothing else, it may encourage people to seek out more truths about Australia's history, which can't be a bad thing.

[Jim KABLE · Rating 5 out of 5]

For All My Reading Hitherto…I Give Thanks

It’s not a true story, says writer Paul Daley, but a form of truth shouts out from every character, from every incident, from every historical era the tale encompasses. The frontiers, the wars and massacres, the government, the invader pastoralists and the police and then the missionaries - the slavery and (s)exploitation - the mixing of degrees of family connectedness - the contemporary world. One of my students from 50 years ago - a Ngiyampaa woman - Gayle Kennedy - of far west NSW - wrote the stories in a Streetwize Comic titled “Reconciliation” some 25 years ago - already making plain in a print run of half-a-million copies some of the aspects covered in Jesustown. A couple of years ago Ted Egan permitted me access to his MA thesis which underlies something of the central tragedy of this book. And so the title I give to this review. GK and TE - and much much more - as the private tutorial I received to the night skies from Gomeroi elder Len Waters - one winter night three+ years ago north of Tamworth. And earlier this year another private tutorial to the Myall Creek Massacre Memorial (June 10, 1838) from Kelvin/Giilbin Brown, a descendant via a paternal ancestor and massacre survivor - of the Wirrayaraay clan of the Gamilaraay people. Or being shown the site at Soldiers Point in Port Stephens where a massacre took place. Hearing the story of the Copper Mine Massacres of the early 1880s of the Wulwulam people of the Burrundie area - and then Minister Nigel Scullion about a decade ago officially opening a memorial to those terrible times for descendants. And being in the South Australian Museum in Adelaide and now understanding why so many traditional “artefacts” are held within its dimly lit galleries. This is an outstanding piece of writing. I highly recommend it.

[Jim Rimmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a great story in here and a not so great one. First the great one ...

Others have spoken of the irredeemable central character and of their inability to connect with him. Maybe it says more about me, but his very detestability is what kept me reading. Ultimately Patrick becomes the yardstick for how we measure and relate to most of the other characters. While I don't read fiction nearly as as I should, I did enjoy this.

The not so great story is the bit about me picking this book up in a bookshop. While I'll totally acknowledge I can always learn more, I'm very familiar with the themes Jesustown explores so it felt a bit like preaching to the choir. How to reach those less engaged is a much bigger challenge.

Taking the above into account this isn't something I say often nor lightly, but perhaps Jesustown could function better as a movie.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exceptionally well written Australian book. The ending was slightly weird and mystical but I guess that was in keeping with some of the subject matter. The author effectively exposes the racist and brutal history of colonisation in this country. He is especially skilled at writing dialogue, really capturing the personality of each character through their language. At times confronting, with some dark subject matter but moments of wry humour and levity balanced this.

Some inconsistencies bothered me regarding timelines - eg how was Patrick's father Luke old enough to have fought in WW2? If the main story is set in the present day (which it seemed to be, mobile phones etc), then it just doesn't add up, given that Luke dies at the end an elderly man- if he was 80 then, say in 2022 when the book was published, then he was only born in 1942.

[Cathryn Wellner · Rating 4 out of 5]

The road from first contact, through exploitation and the need for reconciliation is strewn with reports, treatises, misinformation, misunderstanding, and disappointment. That's even before taking into consideration the violence, rape, theft, and cultural appropriation that are part of any colonial venture. So, if we are ever to reach reconciliation, we need the storytellers to sift through the historical records, the evidence of land degradation, and the accounts of those who have suffered and are still suffering from the impacts of colonization. We need them to ignite our imaginations and pose the hard questions. Daley's sense of moral outrage at Australia's treatment of its first peoples is palpable. His skills as a storyteller kept me thoroughly engaged from start to finish.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful story, which tells the reader a great deal about the injustices and racism meted out by whites to Australia’s indigenous people.
It does so with an intriguing storyline centred on a conceited Australian writer, Patrick, whose life is in turmoil, due to his selfishness and pompous disregard for the people in his life.
His return to the remote area where his famous grandfather lived and worked exposes him to some very unpalatable truths about himself and his family history. Patrick is, like his grandfather, a thoroughly unlikeable character, although by the end of the story there are signs of redemption.

[Lizzie Roche · Rating 3 out of 5]

An inter-generational exploration of frontier violence between Australia's First Nation's Peoples and a young Sovereign nation.
The subject matter is interesting and important however it is delivered via the most awful and shallow protagonist figure in the first person. A protagonist doesn't have to be liked but it's at times hard to read. I feel this character and his storyline detracts from the more important issues of governement approved massacres and Australia's insistence on destroying indigenous cultures.

[Prue Mansfield · Rating 1 out of 5]

The previous book, one reviewer said 'the author does not allow you to look away, it is so well written". 13% through this book, I could not keep reading. I know horrific things were done to Aboriginal people as white British people like me colonized them. But I could not read this. It was well written, vivid visual imagery, compelling plot that drove forward, characters that were well described, if single dimensioned. But 1 star as not finished

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rounded up to 3! Um, not really sure what to write. It started ok and then became a jungle of too many plot lines. Didn't like the main character. Some parts of the plot felt thrown in and think they took away from the main point of the story. Liked the premise of what was trying to be achieved just not sure the writing worked. Way too much detail which was completely superfluous to what was going on made me speed read bits.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best bit is the stunning cover.
Confronting and uncomfortable contact-history wrapped up in a novel of deeply flawed, unlikeable main characters and lame plot twists.
Truth-telling (and truth-listening) is a process we need to work through towards reconciliation and I do applaud this brave effort to bring the awful truths to notice.
The other brave aspect is the ugliness of intergenerational trauma.

[Rachel Bullock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bookclub book for November. I enjoyed this - story of popular historian Patrick Renmark - who revisits the township of Jesustown after a personal tragedy to write the story of his grandfather, Renny, and his interactions with the Aboriginal families of the area and wider afield. The backstory of three generations of Renmark men, good and bad, is revealed over the course of the novel.

[Caroline Poole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a story and “a great” story but so much more. It’s sad, happy, funny, tragic, educational, dramatic, shocking, criminal and more. We all have so much to learn and understand and reconcile about our history and this novel takes that on with full force.

[Alex Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the premise and the setting, and the book is competently written. But I found the main character deeply unsympathetic, and I really struggle with books where I don't like the main character - they have to have some other very compelling aspect, which this book lacked.

[Kylan · Rating 2 out of 5]

If a main character becomes so unlikable, does that mean the author has done a good job of inflicting a feeling in oneself? Short answer maybe. In this case, I just couldn’t connect to anything in this book. The writing, the characters, the plot. Just wasn’t for me.

[Hunter Marston · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping read and a fascinating look at Australia's fraught historical legacy of racial subjugation and colonization, with a gritty contemporary narrative that hooks the reader with the compelling voice of its deeply flawed protagonist

[Eilagh · Rating 2 out of 5]

The start of this book held great promise but I felt it ended very disappointingly. Several mentions of a tragedy took too long to resolve and a girlfriend returning from the 'dead' were just some of the devices clouding the message of the book.

[Luke · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this, given the importance of the subject matter and the tragedy in our national history that it is about, but I just couldn’t get into the story or the characters. I found the Author’s Note at the end more confronting and significant than the story he wrote around it.