I loved this so much. Brilliant story telling. Grappling with very serious themes but with so much humour and humanity. Characters that will stay with you for a long time after reading.

Not much Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander literature is avaiable on the UK market, so any time an Aboriginal/First Nations book is published, it is worth checking out. Despite Melissa Lucashenko's decades-long career, she came to international prominence with the multi-generational Too Much Lip, first published in 2018, and her most recent novel, the historical Edenglassie, was much-anticipated. In Edenglassie, Lucashenko, an author of Bundjalung and Ukrainian descent, offers a meditation on history, memory, First Nations identity and cultural resilience.

The narrative is set across two time periods - 1855 and modern day. They are quite different in tone, as the longer historical storyline is written much more sombrely, whereas the modern-day plot is livelier and easier to get into. The historical narration mixes real, fictional and heavily fictionalised versions of real First Nations individuals, whereas the modern storyline focuses on their entirely fictional descendants. In the modern story, we follow Grandma Eddie, an elderly First Nations woman who suffers a fall in the novel's opening, prompting a prolonged stay in a local hospital.

The crux of the narrative is the relationship between Eddie's fiery granddaughter Winona, and the local doctor, Johnny, a man of First Nations descent who only recently discovered his heritage. These three are used by Lucashenko as mouthpieces for discussions of what makes a First Nations person authentically Indigenous, with Winona spending most of the novel denying Johnny's claims to Indigeneity, and Eddie promoting a more peaceful and inclusive idea of belonging. These dialogues, informative as they are, felt a bit clunky and exposition-heavy, but they also made the characterisation of the three protagonists very clear and easy to follow.

The same cannot really be said about the historical storyline, at least not initially, as it is not immediately apparent who the protagonists of the ensemble cast are. Eventually we settle into following Mulanyin, a Yugambeh man during traditional travelling to find a wife from a different location. Instead of marrying his intended, he falls for Nita, a baptised First Nations woman in the service of the Petrie family, often hailed as the 'Fathers of Brisbane'. Despite spending more than 70% of the narrative in the past storyline, Mulanyin and Nita never quite come alive in the same way Eddie or Johnny do, often remaining archetypes of their specific circumstances, rather than portrayals of complex human beings.

The much more serious in tone historical storyline gives the reader a bit more freedom to interpret the narrative, as we are introduced to the complexities and nuances of the relationships between First Nations people and the colonisers. First of all, the narrative unapologetically shows that there is no such thing as a 'good imperialist' or a 'good enslaver', as even the most respectful and willing to learn White characters are still clearly the invaders taking advantage of Indigenous people in a myriad of ways. Additionally, some of the most nuanced scenes don't shy away from the poverty and misery of some of the White convicts. In a memorable scene, Mulanyin gives some of his fish to a homeless White woman who immediately eats it raw. It is in moments like this Lucashenko's talent for presenting a three dimensional picture really shines.

This novel is at its best when Lucashenko trusts the reader to come to their own conclusions and inspires them to think for themselves. I found the ideas about global Blackness, from First Nations characters thinking about enslaved people in North America in the 19th century storyline to discussions of specifically Blak identity in modern Australia, interesting and stimulating.

Overall, this novel can come across as a bit clunky at times, but it is still worth reading.

two powerful stories span across five generations, connected by a violent colonial past. Mulanyin and Nita’s love story unfolds during colonial unrest, while two centuries later, Winona and Dr. Johnny navigate their own struggles, shaped by the legacies of the past. Melissa Lucashenko’s epic novel explores the impact of history on modern lives, questioning what could have been and what might still be.

Winner of the Queensland Premier Award for a novel of state significance, the novel category in the Victorian Prize for literature, the ARA Historical Novel Society Australasia’s adult novel prize and the Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary award.

It was also longlisted (but not shortlisted) for the Stella Prize and the Miles Franklin award which the author (a Goorie of Bundjalung and European heritage) won in 2019 with her previous novel.

Now I think a string contender for the Booker Prize and Women’s Prize given its very welcome UK publication by OneWorld.

The novel is set in what is now Brisbane and in an area which has briefly been given the titular colonial name and is told over two timelines:

In 2024 – Eddie Blanket, a vociferous and fiercely defiant centenarian ends up in hospital after a fall. There a white journalist is fascinated by her stories (not just of her life but of what she recounts as having been passed down to her) and makes plans for her as “Queensland’s Oldest Aboriginal” to take centre stage in the celebrations of the Cities bicentennial – Eddie largely telling the stories for the pleasure of company and having someone to listen to. Her activist granddaughter Winona is rather horrified that Eddie is making her stories sanitised for a white audience – in particular saying that relationships between the Aboriginal inhabitants and white colonisers (and particularly the pioneer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Petrie) were not entirely bad. Eddie’s Doctor – Dr Johnny – a white but who has recently discovered some aboriginal ancestors and who identifies as Goomeroi – falls heavily for Winona – but the two bicker repeatedly and particularly over what Winona sees as Dr Johnny’s completely unfounded claims to be black. Meanwhile Eddie is haunted literally by the presence of an ancestor whose identity and purpose in visiting her she cannot work out.

In 1854-55 (with a brief 1840 prologue) we get the story of the (fictionalised) Mulanyin – from a saltwater Goorie group but who travels to Brisbane and falls in love with Nita who works as a servant in the household of Tom Petrie’s parents. While Mulanyin and Nita are courting and dealing with the traditions and expectations of both of their peoples (and of the Petries) Mulanyin gets involved with a number of historical figures and incidents including Petrie’s founding of his own farm, the botched execution of the Aboriginal lawman Dundali (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dundalli) and the mass flour poisonings of his people – becoming increasingly radicalised by the latter.

Overall I found this a fascinating novel.

The historical sections are immersive – not always easy to follow given their unapologetically extensive use of Aboriginal words, customs and spiritual views, but ultimately very rewarding for the very strong sense they give of mid 1850s Queensland in all its complexity as the Goorie and other tribes realise that the colonial settlers/invaders (themselves dealing with the troubled convict post founding of their City) are here to stay.

The present day sections sometimes function more as light relief as despite their heavy themes there is a sense the characters are all a little exaggerated/cariactures, perhaps not helped by the modern sections being less frequent which means there is less time for character development.

Overall, a powerful rewriting of colonial myths.