Cover Image: Black Bones, Red Earth

Black Bones, Red Earth

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Member Reviews

I received this from Netgalley.com and I am extremely grateful I did. The summary above says it all about the plot but I was so taken by the details, the turning of the fan on the ceiling, the smells, the dust, the colors, even the cardboard box... Everything feels so real and it makes the painful moments even more horrific and the sweet touches even more fragile. I wondered many times if this was a true story, the acknowledgements mention a number of inspirational characters so I guess some parts happened to someone and just for that reason you should read this book and spread the knowledge it brings about children being shipped across the world to faraway deserts, about indigenous peoples being ripped of their traditional lands, knowledge and culture (this echoes to another book I read recently and highly recommend too, Braided Sweetgrass), about abuse and pain, about love that moves mountains and never dies. This is a very rough yet subtle book, the writing is clear, funny, the characters full of flaws and tenderness... It was beautiful, thank you M. Richie!

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This is a novel but the powerful individual voice means that the tale comes across as a memoir. I was completely convinced, and I was comparing the tale to other outback stories, Reginald Ottley and Mary Pachett especially, also to the work I have been doing with the digitised newspapers from similar times.

Kate and her older brother are orphaned by a buzz bomb and sent to Australia, where it turns out that station folks are only after cheap workers. The youngsters are separated and Kate is stranded in the outback with an uncaring couple, no school or society. When she meets the Aboriginal workers she learns that these people have been treated even worse, both historically and in her present.

Later, as the title hints, a crime is committed and Kate, now a married woman, faces the loss of all she has come to care about in her young life.

The book walks us through the natural disasters which made a sheep station both perilous and unprofitable, and the drawbacks of releasing invasive creatures like the rabbit. As I have read in 'Dark Emu' the worst invasive creature may have been the sheep; these woollies moved around eating the natural botany down to the roots, packing the earth, fouling waterholes and, by causing shepherds to shoot dingoes, removing the naturalised predator of kangaroos, which in turn multiplied.

Social history, nature documentary, agriculture and a tragic romance combine in this strong, emotional novel.
I downloaded an e-ARC from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.

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This was a interesting read, I enjoyed the characters and the environment of the story. I look forward to more from the author.

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As English orphans, Kate and her brother travel to another continent with a group lead by the Catholic church to be placed with new families. These families do not really want children, they want free labor. The two children are separated leaving Kate alone to toughen up and fend for herself. As she learns what is expected of her, she explores the land and begins to appreciate the beauty of the Australian Outback.

We follow Kate throughout her life, so events happen rather quickly and then we are on to the next one. Throughout her adventures, we are exposed to Australian history and the tragedies revolving around the native Aboriginal people. The language used in the book was authentic and helped bring the story to life. I did not always agree with the decisions Kate made, but it was an interesting and enlightening read.

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Love, Heartbreak, and Tragedy

Kate is ten years old when she is sent from an Orphanage in England to live on a sheep ranch called Cutaway Creek in Australia. This story is about the years she spent there, and the events that took place during those years. The sheep ranch was owned by Daisy and Lachlan Stuart.

The book is more about Lou, Ellin and Toby the Aboriginal workers Kate would meet, make friends with and consider family. It is about the Aboriginal way of life, how they were treated by the Australian government and by the white settlers that came to live on the lands they call home.

It is a story of hardship, love, cruelty, and tragedy. It is also a story of endurance, new beginnings, and forgiveness. Of a merging with past and present to bring a happy and bittersweet ending to the lives of the characters in the story.

I like to read about places I have never been and seen, about cultures I have never experienced and about love and courage in the face of adversity.

The author describes the beauty and the ugly side of Australia equally well so the reader can capture a picture of the country in whole. I enjoyed the descriptions and the history. The characters were realistic and true to character.

I would recommend this book, it was a good read.

Thanks to Lee Richie, BooksGoSocial, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of the book for an honest review

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This is a powerful and haunting read about a young girl, Katherine, who is sent out to Australia from England in 1951 after her mother’s death and father’s abandonment. On arrival she is separated from her brother and scared and bewildered is given over to a cold and uncaring couple on an isolated and remote property in the outback. Somehow she must carve out some sort of life for herself and with determination and courage she does just that. Atmospheric and richly evocative of the time and place, well-written and well-paced, it’s a dramatic tale that never becomes melodramatic and a sad tale that never descends into sentimentality. With excellent characterisation and authentic dialogue, always unpredictable and surprising, it’s a compelling novel and one which I very much enjoyed. It’s also historically accurate and a searing indictment of the treatment of the Aboriginal population and the consequent stolen generation, as well as the well-meaning but misguided government scheme to ship out British orphans to this far-away and unknown country. A great read.

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When I first started reading this book, I honestly thought it was going to be a very grim and sad tale. But then I got deeper and deeper into the story to inly discover the true meaning of hope and GOD!! This story follows the tale of Katherine who has lost both her parents in WW2. So when she is taken to a country where anything can happen, she actually finds hope in grim circumstances.

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I enjoyed the descriptions of Australia and the stories they told. The plot and characters were predictable. The story was interesting, though.
Thank you #BlackBones,RedEarth #NetGalley

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I thoroughly enjoyed this well written novel of Australia and the story of Katherine and her life's journey as an unwelcome orphan to the an isolated sheep station in the Outback. Many years later, the life she led as a child leads her to a traumatic turn and ultimate understanding of herself. Recommended reading.

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I received this from Netgalley.com.

Ten year old Katherine is abandoned by her father after her mother is killed in a London air raid.
Katherine finds little sympathy when she is consigned to the care of Lachlan and Daisy Stuart on an isolated property in the Australian outback.

Nice story, good descriptiveness.

3.25☆

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12 pages

4 and 1 / 2 stars

What a wonderful book.

This is Katherine's story. Hers and her brother's mother was killed in an air raid on London during WWII. Orphaned when their father left them in an orphanage, they were shipped to Australia in 1951. Unfortunately, Katherine and Archie were split up and sent to two different families.

So begins Katherine's sojourn from the age of ten and throughout the next sixty-five years. Cruel and uncaring, the couple with which she was housed were harsh. She lived in an old chicken coop complete with bugs and chicken filth.

She was very fortunate, however, when she met some of the kind people who helped to work the farm/ranch. These were the indigenous people who suffered much at the hands of the Australian government themselves. For the most part, they didn't let it get them down though.

This is a wonderfully written book. I knew how the government took the native peoples' children under the auspices of better education and socialization, just as the US and Canadians did to their original citizens. This is heartbreaking to read about. But, so hopeful at the same time So much more so because the book is based on actual events. Katherine's situation turned out to be more fortunate than many. I enjoyed the book and want to read more by Lee Richie.

I want to thank NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for forwarding to me a copy of this wonderful book for me to read, enjoy and review.

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