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English Passengers: A Novel by Matthew Kneale

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Feb 14, 2009

Leland rated it:

(review of isbn 0385497431)

bookshelves: 2009-reads, australia, historical-fiction, seafaring

Read in March, 2009

recommends it for: Those interested in Australia, or getting read to travel Down Under.

Wonderful reading! A very complex novel, told from many points of view. Characters, their language, experience, and perspective all weave together to portray the voyage of a Manx ship to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) to find Geological evidence of the Garden of Eden. Some of the most vivid descriptions of Tasmania I've ever read (and I've traveled the entire island quite thoroughly). From the prisoners of Port Arthur to the farms on the plain near Launceston, Kneale really captures the rugged, bi...more

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Nov 13, 2008

SF SQRL rated it:

(review of isbn 0140285210)

bookshelves: books-2009

Read in January, 2009

A complicated and sometimes difficult book to follow, "English Passengers" offers numerous first-person accounts by a motley set of characters. The Manxmen versus the Expedition; Tasmanian settlers versus the Indigenes; and, of course, Convicts versus Everybody Else.

The great value of this book for me, quite apart from its rewarding the effort put into reading it and trying to get the most from it, is the way Kneale is not afraid to have his characters hold contemporary (C...more A complicated and sometimes difficult book to follow, "English Passengers" offers numerous first-person accounts by a motley set of characters. The Manxmen versus the Expedition; Tasmanian settlers versus the Indigenes; and, of course, Convicts versus Everybody Else.

The great value of this book for me, quite apart from its rewarding the effort put into reading it and trying to get the most from it, is the way Kneale is not afraid to have his characters hold contemporary (C19th) views. So many writers cop out and ascribe modern opinions and tenets to historical characters--or indeed Fantasy characters--how many times have we seen the doctor or healer who casts aside what was known at the time for suspiciously modern (and successful) medicine? Too many. So kudos for Kneale for having the Reverend who's determined to find the Garden of Eden and prove the "atheist geologists" wrong, and Dr Potter with his opinions of various "Types" (somewhat unflattering to the smuggling and only-unintentionally-sailing-to-Tasmania Manxmen, and indeed anybody who's not a "Saxon Type"). The only aspect I wasn't sure about was the Tasmanian indigines' belief system, and there I'm on uncertain ground myself, so I shan't comment.

Oddly, where Kneale has used actual historical figures, he seems to have changed their names. I'm pretty sure the Governor of Tasmania who'd been an Arctic explorer was Sir John Franklin, not William Frampton. Anyone trying to learn the historical background to the novel is going to be faced with a bit of a poser, there. But that's a minor quibble compared to the scope and achievement of this novel.

Kneale does a stand-out job of keeping the first-person narratives distinct and recognisable. The only place I fell down was trying to remember what year we were in. Yes, it's at the beginning of each new narrator's section. No, I don't have a good memory :). Such a diversity of voices is a major achievement. 10/10 there!

I'm very glad I found this book and decided to pick it up; I'd never heard of it or Kneale before. Serendipity indeed.

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