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More copies of this ISBN:The Secret Riverby Kate Grenville
Review-a-Day (What is Review-a-Day?)"The most remarkable quality of Kate Grenville's new novel is the way it conveys the enormous tragedy of Australia's founding through the moral compromises of a single ordinary man....Grenville's powerful telling of this story is so moving, so exciting, that you're barely aware of how heavy and profound its meaning is until you reach the end in a moment of stunned sadness." Ron Charles, The Washington Post Book World (read the entire Washington Post Book World review) Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:The Orange Prize-winning author Kate Grenville recalls her family's history in an astounding novel about the pioneers of New South Wales. Already a best seller in Australia, The Secret River is the story of Grenville's ancestors, who wrested a new life from the alien terrain of Australia and its native people. London, 1806. William Thornhill, a Thames bargeman, is deported to the New South Wales colony in what would become Australia. In this new world of convicts and charlatans, Thornhill tries to pull his family into a position of power and comfort. When he rounds a bend in the Hawkesbury River and sees a gentle slope of land, he becomes determined to make the place his own. But, as uninhabited as the island appears, Australia is full of native people, and they do not take kindly to Thornhill's theft of their home.
The Secret River is the tale of Thornhill's deep love for his small corner of the new world, and his slow realization that if he wants to settle there, he must ally himself with the most despicable of the white settlers, and to keep his family safe, he must permit terrifying cruelty to come to innocent people. Review:"Grenville's Australian bestseller, which won the Orange Prize, is an eye-opening tale of the settlement of New South Wales by a population of exiled British criminals. Research into her own ancestry informs Grenville's work, the chronicle of fictional husband, father and petty thief William Thornhill and his path from poverty to prison, then freedom. Crime is a way of life for Thornhill growing up in the slums of London at the turn of the 19th century — until he's caught stealing lumber. Luckily for him, a life sentence in the penal colony of New South Wales saves him from the gallows. With his wife, Sal, and a growing flock of children, Thornhill journeys to the colony and a convict's life of servitude. Gradually working his way through the system, Thornhill becomes a free man with his own claim to the savage land. But as he transforms himself into a trader on the river, Thornhill realizes that the British are not the first to make New South Wales their home. A delicate coexistence with the native population dissolves into violence, and here Grenville earns her praise, presenting the settler — aboriginal conflict with equanimity and understanding. Grenville's story illuminates a lesser-known part of history — at least to American readers — with sharp prose and a vivid frontier family." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Review:"A riveting narrative unfolds into a chilling allegory...[a] rich historical novel....Grenville's best, and a giant leap forward." Kirkus Reviews Review:"Grenville writes lyrically, especially in her description of the Australian landscape, while her gift for the telling phrase...enlivens an essentially dark narrative." Booklist Review:"The narrative offers a fascinating look at the uneasy coexistence between the settlers and the aborigines, as well as at the internal pressures of a marriage where husband and wife nurture contradictory dreams." Library Journal Review:"The Secret River is a vivid and moving portrayal of poverty, struggle and the search for peace."
The Independent About the AuthorKate Grenville was born in Sydney, Australia. Her novel The Idea of Perfection won the Orange Prize, Britain's most valuable literary award. Her other works of fiction have been published to acclaim in Australia and overseas and have won state and national awards. She lives in Sydney with her family. What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!
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