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A review by gilliananderson
The Earth Cries Out by Bonnie Etherington
5.0
At its heart, this is a deeply human story of grief and witness and family (blood and chosen), these themes are profoundly treated by Etherington in a masterful merging of history and fiction.
Etherington makes incredibly successful use of a blend of narrative frames from traditional first person narration to letters from the narrator Ruth to her grandfather to segments describing natural and political histories of the novels disparate settings across time. I learned a great deal about the history of West Papúa (and its airplanes and flora and fauna) while also finding myself powerfully invested in the story of the family who uprooted their lives in movements both towards and away from something.
The novel’s pace quickens and slows at precisely the right moments in the story - I found myself pausing to reflect on moments and passages just as they lilted themselves into the next. Etherington’s use of language manages to both transport her reader to Irian Jaya and put us in airborne elevation above it - I was especially moved (to laughter and to tears) by her use of metaphor and simile.
I was captivated by this book’s settings, language, and characters - the latter especially for their honest portrayal of a family who finds themselves in and out of place. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
Etherington makes incredibly successful use of a blend of narrative frames from traditional first person narration to letters from the narrator Ruth to her grandfather to segments describing natural and political histories of the novels disparate settings across time. I learned a great deal about the history of West Papúa (and its airplanes and flora and fauna) while also finding myself powerfully invested in the story of the family who uprooted their lives in movements both towards and away from something.
The novel’s pace quickens and slows at precisely the right moments in the story - I found myself pausing to reflect on moments and passages just as they lilted themselves into the next. Etherington’s use of language manages to both transport her reader to Irian Jaya and put us in airborne elevation above it - I was especially moved (to laughter and to tears) by her use of metaphor and simile.
I was captivated by this book’s settings, language, and characters - the latter especially for their honest portrayal of a family who finds themselves in and out of place. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.