Blood in Aussie Readers

Aug 15, 2023 PattyMacDotComma rated it it was amazing

Shelves: aa, australian-author, fiction, award-win-listed, aa-ce, kindle, mystery-crime-thriller, politics-culture-social-war, indigenous-first-nations, favourites-adult

5★
“Gwen had come home with plenty of dodgy-looking men over the years and Jon was scarier-looking than all of them put together. He had a shaved head and scars crisscrossed it like a railway map. He also had a piece missing from one ear and rock-hard muscles under his tattoos. He told me some time later, when I got to know him better, that most of the tattoos had been done in gaol. I thought that maybe they’d been done in the dark as well, but kept the idea to myself. His shoulders and what I co 5★
“Gwen had come home with plenty of dodgy-looking men over the years and Jon was scarier-looking than all of them put together. He had a shaved head and scars crisscrossed it like a railway map. He also had a piece missing from one ear and rock-hard muscles under his tattoos. He told me some time later, when I got to know him better, that most of the tattoos had been done in gaol. I thought that maybe they’d been done in the dark as well, but kept the idea to myself. His shoulders and what I could see of his chest were a mess of initials, names, dots and numbers, and drawings of animals I couldn’t recognise.

Rachel was so frightened of him, that first morning, she ran out of the kitchen into our room, slammed the door behind her and hid under the bed.”

Gwen is Mum to Jesse and Rachel but wants them to use her name, so she doesn’t sound old (or motherly). Jesse thirteen, has been taking care of his little sister since she was born eight years ago. Gwen works in pubs and bars, anywhere that she can lean forward in her tight, low-cut top and attract the attention of a ‘date’ for the night – or longer, if the guy treats her right (drinks, drugs).

Jesse is narrating their story. He and Rachel had been in care but the three of them are together now, with Jesse still looking after Rachel. Jon, the scary-looking chap above had been in prison and was having trouble finding work. But he cooks and is good to the kids while Gwen’s at work. He even teaches them to bake, a prison skill!

“‘I dunno if you’re just a big kid, the way you hang around with these two all day, or if you’re turning into an old woman, with all your mopping and dusting. Dusting? For f*ck’s sake. Jesus, they sure f*cked you up in gaol. Turned you into a robot.’

She teased him over his cooking, which wasn’t fair, seeing as she always finished off the food he left out for her when she got home from work.

‘And all those cakes and biscuits? What’s that about? You’ve gone from being a gunnie to Jamie Oliver.’”

Then she blows up, demands attention, tells Jon to pick up his game – she wants a night out – now! Jealous of her own kids.

One night when Jesse is sitting outside with Jon, watching a storm roll in, Jon reminds him of talks they’ve had.

“‘Will you be ready for it, Jesse? When the storm comes? You remember what I’ve told you. Sometimes you can stay out of trouble and other times you have to step up.’”

As the story moves on, that’s exactly what Jesse tries to do. The children had different fathers, and Jesse gets bullied for his dark Aboriginal skin. He is increasingly frustrated with how slack Gwen is, leaving them alone without help and low on food. Jesse is the resourceful big brother, trying to stay out of trouble, but stepping up if he must.

Gwen blows hot and cold, loves her kids but ignores them. She wants to be free of them but hated being without them. Between the drink and the men (and sometimes the dope), she seems to expect the kids to raise themselves. When she gets mixed up with a really dangerous bunch, Jesse figures it’s time to go. But what about Rachel?

This is an absolutely terrific, nail-biting read, especially when it puts such young children in risky, life-threatening situations. It’s Australian and sounds Australian, as it should. Tony Birch is an acclaimed Aboriginal author, and I’ve enjoyed his other work. This is a favourite! ...more

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Nov 29, 2011 Mish rated it really liked it

Shelves: australian-authors

This story is told by Jessie, a mature and intelligent thirteen year old boy who single-handedly raised his younger sister Rachel from birth.
Jessie has not had a stable life and is often left alone for long periods of time with his sister, while his delusional mum, Gwen, is sleeping off the effects of drugs or alcohol from last night party or hooking up with shady men. There is hardly any food and they are constantly hungry. As a result they resort to stealing and lying to get by.

It is when his ...more

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May 14, 2014 Michael Livingston rated it really liked it

A tense, taut read, set amongst Birch's typically troubled characters, Blood tells the story of Jesse and Rachel, two kids whose lives are transient, loveless and deprived. The first half of the novel paints the bleak story of their lives, while the second ratchets up the tension with some edge-of-the-seat set pieces as the kids' lives completely fall apart around them.

The writing is punchy and minimalist, with not a wasted word and the characters (particularly of the kids) are solidly drawn. Th ...more

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Jul 06, 2020 Bree T rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: australian, cultural, indigenous, indigenous-culture

Young Jesse is only 5 when his sister Rachel is born. Before her, it was just him and his mother Gwen, living from hand to mouth, moving from one place to another. When Rachel arrives, Jesse, although young, already knows that he will be responsible for much of her care. Gwen……Gwen isn’t good at things like nurturing and taking care of people. She’s always on the lookout for the next place to go, someone she knows that they might be able to crash with for a while…the next man that might take car Young Jesse is only 5 when his sister Rachel is born. Before her, it was just him and his mother Gwen, living from hand to mouth, moving from one place to another. When Rachel arrives, Jesse, although young, already knows that he will be responsible for much of her care. Gwen……Gwen isn’t good at things like nurturing and taking care of people. She’s always on the lookout for the next place to go, someone she knows that they might be able to crash with for a while…the next man that might take care of them. Unfortunately, Gwen’s taste in men often runs to the type that are too free with their fists.

Sometimes, things work out. A man Gwen brings home seems scary at first, with his prison tattoos and anger when he can’t get a job. But he treats Jesse and Rachel with kindness, cooking them meals, walking Rachel to school, teaching Jesse about things. For the first time in his life, Jesse feels like he has a father-figure (Jesse is half-Aboriginal through his father, although his mother makes no secret of the fact that’s a no good thing, just as his father was no good and from a young age he learns about slurs toward his heritage) as he and Rachel bond with the man. But it doesn’t last – it never does. And one morning he’s gone and Gwen is forcing them to pack a suitcase again, moving on. And then there’s Pop, Gwen’s father, who takes Jesse and Rachel in when Gwen is out of options. He’s a man of few words, who has faced demons and won, and been estranged from his daughter for a long time. Jesse and Rachel worm their way into Pop’s heart and he to theirs but all too soon Gwen is back, demanding her kids, saying it’s time to go. But when she drives them to Adelaide after yet another thing goes wrong, it puts them in the path of Ray Crow…..and this time, the danger is real.

The book opens with Jesse separated from his sister Rachel, at a police station but gives no indication of why he is there. It establishes the bond he has with his younger sister and his desire to protect her at all costs by saying nothing. It then takes you back in time, firstly to before Rachel and then the arrival of Rachel and then how their lives evolve as the two grow up. At the time of the police station, Jesse is around 13 and Rachel about 8 and the journey from Adelaide, fleeing their mother’s latest violent boyfriend, to the police station is long, traumatic and dangerous every step of the way. Despite his youth, Jesse is incredibly resourceful and he’s very protective of his younger sister. He has a goal of keeping her safe (in many ways, including from Ray when they were still in Adelaide) but he’s also just a kid and sometimes things go wrong and he has to make a new plan.

From their birth, Jesse and Rachel had very few times of stability in their lives. Briefly, when the ex-prisoner moved in, provided a father figure and also the time she sent them to her father. The way in which the two children bonded with their Pop, who was a man of few words and not seemingly at ease with the caretaker role thrust upon him, was incredibly tender and well done. It’s subtle and it goes both ways. Pop becomes attached to the children too and although he seems to have little, he does things to make occasions special for them, to the best of his ability. He sees them fed and clothed and cared for in ways that they have not experienced and it’s almost like they have a home for the first time in their lives. Perhaps the kindest thing Gwen could’ve done for them was leave them there but she’s back all too soon, dragging them away, hurting everyone and not seeing what she’s doing. She is their mother but she’s also incapable of making decisions that put them first or take them into consideration at all. She bounces from one man to the next, most of them trouble and the time with Pop gives a bit of an indication how and why she ended up in that life and that once, long ago, she’d been a very different person.

This is extreme poverty and desperation, leading to neglect and danger. Gwen makes a lot of her choices based on the fact that she doesn’t have a lot of choice but she does also seem to sabotage some of the few good scenarios she finds herself in, so it does make me wonder how much she would choose a stable life, should one be an option. The children have had little in the way of schooling which she’s incredibly unconcerned about and she seems to always fall back on the journey of moving from one place to another and rarely settling down. She’s clinging to a her that no longer exists: a younger, prettier, thinner version before drinking, babies, an unsustainable lifestyle and bad choices took their toll. And her children are paying the price.

This was a powerful and gripping read and I’d definitely like to try some of Tony Birch’s other books. ...more

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Jan 03, 2013 Bri rated it really liked it

Shelves: australian-writers, fiction, 2013

A gritty yet somewhat bleak coming-of-age story, Birch manages to capture the basic nature of the teenage boy while still creating a likeable hero. Though I do wish my 15 year old was as good to his little sister as Jesse is to Rachel!

A little predictable, Blood remains an entertaining read that draws the reader into the desperate existence led by Jesse, Rachel and their mother Gwen.

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Sep 16, 2020 Karen rated it really liked it

Could not put this down, absolutely loved it. The story is told by Jesse a mature 13 year old boy who takes on the responsibility of looking after his younger sister Rachel as their mother Gwen is constantly moving them around, never having any money and hooking up with the wrong men. They have to escape from Adelaide as Ray Crow, their mother’s new bloke has started hitting her and is a dangerous guy. Jesse finds a bag with $50,000 and a gun, but Gwen does not know about it. Their car breaks do ...more

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