false 347698 16 <div>The Orange Prize winning author Kate Grenville recalls her families history in an astounding novel about the pioneers of New South Wales. Already a best seller in Australia, <i>The Secret River</i> is the story of Grenville's ancestors, who wrested a new life from the alien terrain of Australia and its native people. William Thornhill, a Thames bargeman, is deported to the New South Wales colony in what would become Australia in 1806. 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. <i>The Secret River</i> 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.</div> 1374275 book 2005 The Secret River total:655|5:117|4:259|3:207|2:60|1:12| 655 2374 1056 165 0 7 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Sep 15 10:04:08 -0700 2007 Sat Sep 15 10:04:08 -0700 2007 The Secret River explores human instinct on a level that is visceral, honest... and depressing.

Or perhaps it is just Western instinct, rather than human instinct--and that is even more depressing.

The novel tracks a family of Brits at the turn of the 19th century as the fami...more...]]> 5 2 false false Tue Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sat Aug 11 19:56:49 -0700 2007 Sat Aug 11 19:58:52 -0700 2007
The Secret River by Kate Grenville is historical fiction at it’s finest. It starts off as a quiet pondering story of the toils in poverty-stricken 19th century England where most must resor...more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Jan 18 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 10 20:10:04 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 19 19:02:21 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Sep 09 22:50:59 -0700 2007 Sun Oct 14 21:55:33 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 1 true false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Nov 26 11:46:20 -0800 2007 Mon Nov 26 12:10:27 -0800 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Mar 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 13 10:00:27 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 13 10:09:38 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jul 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 16 11:41:14 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 22 09:58:30 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed May 27 05:08:16 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 01 06:21:54 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Dec 02 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 26 10:49:13 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 04 10:45:55 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 14:58:37 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 15:27:13 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Mar 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 25 09:00:52 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 25 16:06:04 -0700 2009 The story covers an aspect of history which I'm unfamilar with; the founding of Australia.
At the start of the book I found the chara...more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri May 29 11:42:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 11 14:16:34 -0700 2009
I would have given this 4 stars, but I found some things to be...more...]]> 5 1 false true Mon Jun 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 29 07:04:09 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 29 07:32:05 -0700 2009
This book forced me to face the bloody secr...more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Jan 15 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 25 11:29:20 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 25 11:44:34 -0800 2009 1 more...]]> 0 1 false false Sat Oct 04 00:06:51 -0700 2008 Sat Oct 04 00:07:32 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 11 02:43:44 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 11 02:44:22 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri May 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon May 18 09:07:36 -0700 2009 Sun May 24 13:56:03 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Apr 27 12:41:46 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 27 12:46:45 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 true false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Nov 08 19:19:40 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 08 19:23:59 -0800 2008 1
Initially, I was not impressed on beginning my reading of The Secret River. I found it predictable and boring; the events, characters, and places seemed formulaic for an Aust...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jul 26 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 10 23:06:50 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 26 13:28:47 -0700 2008 more...]]>