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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Praiseworthy is an epic novel, one of the more challenging and provocative books I’ve read recently. It often reads like a fable, albeit one heavy with dystopian overtones, but it’s also part satire, part tragedy, part farce, part … well the list goes on. And it’s definitely part good-old-fashioned yarn.
Praiseworthy is set in a small northern Aboriginal community beleaguered by a haze cloud and explores the continuing impacts of colonisation and of the climate crisis. The somewhat convoluted plot revolves around the Steel family. Father Cause is fixated on herds of feral donkeys as the solution to the climate crisis and his community ‘s economic dependence, while mother Dance communes with butterflies and moths and wants to return to her ancestral home in China. Their youngest son Tommyhawk spends too much time online, fears he is no longer safe in his own community thanks to the government and media fixating on paedophilia, and is determined to become white and powerful. It does get a bit messy and confusing at times especially when Tommyhawk unintentionally triggers a crisis in his family and community.
What makes this book so unforgettable is its use of language in ways which are both playful and powerful, plus its heavy use of metaphor and allegory. It’s heavily political and not always subtle. Proof in point is the name of the Steel’s oldest son - Aboriginal Sovereignty. At one stage he is pursued by the government and may want to take his own life. Towards the end there is a line which reads “Aboriginal Sovereignty never dies, for you cannot destroy what was infinitely existing in the law of country that always is, and always will be governing itself.” Like I said political, allegorical and not at all subtle.
This certainly won’t be a book for everyone but I do recommend it to readers who are ready to be challenged by the storytelling and by the story being told, a story which unflinchingly highlights the impacts of colonisation, abuse and neglect on contemporary Aboriginal society but also highlights the varied and unceasing resistance.
Praiseworthy is set in a small northern Aboriginal community beleaguered by a haze cloud and explores the continuing impacts of colonisation and of the climate crisis. The somewhat convoluted plot revolves around the Steel family. Father Cause is fixated on herds of feral donkeys as the solution to the climate crisis and his community ‘s economic dependence, while mother Dance communes with butterflies and moths and wants to return to her ancestral home in China. Their youngest son Tommyhawk spends too much time online, fears he is no longer safe in his own community thanks to the government and media fixating on paedophilia, and is determined to become white and powerful. It does get a bit messy and confusing at times especially when Tommyhawk unintentionally triggers a crisis in his family and community.
What makes this book so unforgettable is its use of language in ways which are both playful and powerful, plus its heavy use of metaphor and allegory. It’s heavily political and not always subtle. Proof in point is the name of the Steel’s oldest son - Aboriginal Sovereignty. At one stage he is pursued by the government and may want to take his own life. Towards the end there is a line which reads “Aboriginal Sovereignty never dies, for you cannot destroy what was infinitely existing in the law of country that always is, and always will be governing itself.” Like I said political, allegorical and not at all subtle.
This certainly won’t be a book for everyone but I do recommend it to readers who are ready to be challenged by the storytelling and by the story being told, a story which unflinchingly highlights the impacts of colonisation, abuse and neglect on contemporary Aboriginal society but also highlights the varied and unceasing resistance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Suicide, and Death
emziesreads's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book gave my brain a workout in the best possible way. A deep dive into a family, an Aboriginal community, and the challenges of living as such when faced with the consequences of years of well-meaning, racist government policy. Throw in climate change and the pandemic, this novel is well worth the effort.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Racism, and Suicide
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