Review by Andrea Martin
This is a powerful, absorbing tale set in what is now Brisbane in two time periods – the middle/end of the nineteenth century and 2024.
Edenglassie (the first European name for the region now known as Brisbane) is being settled by a race of people perceived by the people who were there first as having uncertain values, poor morals, little understanding of their environment, and powerful weapons.
In this superb re imagining of how the first peoples grappled with these very real problems, Melissa Lukaschenko presents Aboriginal characters of intellect, passions, and a love of learning, living in a society with its own economy, rules, values, and deep understanding of the natural world. But they are not free of human faults and frailties. Melissa's skill in avoiding stereotyping either Aboriginal or British characters make them real, rounded and interesting.
In a nation coming slowly around to the idea of truth-telling, Melissa's interweaving of historical facts about massacres and murders, land stealing and violence, into this beautifully written novel leave the reader not just better informed but emotionally engaged in this part of our past.
The author is at her penetrating, witty best in the sections written in the future. Its not so far away as to have resolved today's problems, but it gives a small window of opportunity for imagining what could be. The sharp-tongued grandmother moves between the spirit world and her hospital bed, intermingling truths and imaginings from both into a razor-sharp, often hilarious analysis of what is going on around her.
You can purchase Edenglassie here >>>>
