Book Review - Conflict on Kangaroo Island
This story isn't only about the tumultuous strife between city scientists, who want to preserve the pristine indigenous flora and fauna of Kangaroo Island, and the farmers and laborers who depend on the crops, especially, the Australian yacca plant, for their living, but also the victims of prejudice and social injustice.
The story takes place on Kangaroo Island, off the coast of south Australia and the capital city of Adelaide. The year is 1913 and although Australia is thousands of miles from England and Europe, tensions are growing because of the inevitable approach of World War I. This affects the lives of everyone in South Australia and Kangaroo Island, for the country is still part of the British commonwealth and loyal to the Crown. They know one day their men will have to do their duty for King and country.
However, this serves only as a backdrop. Most of the drama is seen through the eyes of Pamela Pearce, aka, Pansy. This tall, athletic and highly intelligent twenty-three-year-old woman, who is far ahead of her time (she was a suffragette and didn't know it) has no qualms about aiding others who she feels have been wronged by the rigid Victorian norms of the period. It is her brashness that leads her into trouble, a weakness that she is aware of. Nonetheless, it doesn't stop her from doing what she believes to be right. As a result, she is accused of interfering with the "private affairs" of others. E.G. She had the audacity to help an unwed mother find a job, so she would not lose her child to a state orphanage; assisted a budding young female artist on the brink of a successful career, but is almost destroyed by her cruel, psychotic father; and aided a young, brash scientist who is wrongfully accused of murder.
The characters of the story are slowly and carefully developed. They intertwine with one another leading to a logical and satisfying conclusion.
Through the author's vivid descriptions the reader gets an excellent feel of what it was like to live on Kangaroo Island: the customs, culture, the flora and fauna. As an outsider from the USA, I have learned more about Australia, albeit the southern part, from this story and Stephen Crabbe's other novel, The Song of Australia, than from any other source. Well-done, Stephen Crabbe!
The story takes place on Kangaroo Island, off the coast of south Australia and the capital city of Adelaide. The year is 1913 and although Australia is thousands of miles from England and Europe, tensions are growing because of the inevitable approach of World War I. This affects the lives of everyone in South Australia and Kangaroo Island, for the country is still part of the British commonwealth and loyal to the Crown. They know one day their men will have to do their duty for King and country.
However, this serves only as a backdrop. Most of the drama is seen through the eyes of Pamela Pearce, aka, Pansy. This tall, athletic and highly intelligent twenty-three-year-old woman, who is far ahead of her time (she was a suffragette and didn't know it) has no qualms about aiding others who she feels have been wronged by the rigid Victorian norms of the period. It is her brashness that leads her into trouble, a weakness that she is aware of. Nonetheless, it doesn't stop her from doing what she believes to be right. As a result, she is accused of interfering with the "private affairs" of others. E.G. She had the audacity to help an unwed mother find a job, so she would not lose her child to a state orphanage; assisted a budding young female artist on the brink of a successful career, but is almost destroyed by her cruel, psychotic father; and aided a young, brash scientist who is wrongfully accused of murder.
The characters of the story are slowly and carefully developed. They intertwine with one another leading to a logical and satisfying conclusion.
Through the author's vivid descriptions the reader gets an excellent feel of what it was like to live on Kangaroo Island: the customs, culture, the flora and fauna. As an outsider from the USA, I have learned more about Australia, albeit the southern part, from this story and Stephen Crabbe's other novel, The Song of Australia, than from any other source. Well-done, Stephen Crabbe!
No comments have been added yet.
