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A review by jaclyn_sixminutesforme
Where the Fruit Falls by Karen Wyld
4.0
If multigenerational family epics are your jam, and you've enjoyed other recently released novels including [b:The Vanishing Half|51791252|The Vanishing Half|Brit Bennett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1577090827l/51791252._SX50_SY75_.jpg|73423787], [b:The Yield|53068123|The Yield|Tara June Winch|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574743767l/53068123._SX50_SY75_.jpg|66994522], [b:Song of the Crocodile|53255180|Song of the Crocodile|Nardi Simpson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1587734436l/53255180._SY75_.jpg|80853194], and [b:The White Girl|45020150|The White Girl|Tony Birch|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554974759l/45020150._SX50_.jpg|69692851], you need to check this novel out! Readers outside Australia, you can buy the ebook directly from the publisher's website.
Set over several generations, the narrative principally follows Brigid and her young twin daughters in 1960s and 1970s Australia. We follow young Brigid as she leaves her family orchard and sets out on her journey (I'm being vague as to specifics to avoid spoilers!), soon with two twin babies in tow. As a "journey narrative" in the truest sense, the characters are on a quest to find family and Country and justice, while simultaneously searching for belonging and identity. In many ways, the novel speaks to the importance of the journey itself as much as does to any sense of feeling "found."
While told in third person perspective, there's a connection maintained between the reader and the various perspectives that I think was powerfully done by leaning into key repeated imagery--for example, birds and photography. It worked in perfect symbiosis with the themes and narrative threads to keep a fluidity to the story, and keep the reader thoroughly captivated and invested in the outcomes for this entire family. It also ensured the detail-heavy parts early in the novel came to fruition and delivered in connecting the various generations. Amidst each personal and family narrative, the novel is set is during a pivotal point in Australian history, a time of key political activism for First Nations peoples. There's a subtlety to how the issue-driven discussions get teased out in the way the characters are written, most notably in the non-identical twins and the complexities explored regarding colorism and racism. The imagery of photography was also really cleverly used in the plot particularly in the way "justice" is interrogated, as well as to tie in with discussions around the white gaze and the agency of the First Nations characters. There are so many layers to this narrative, I think if you've recently read Bennett's novel you'll particularly see the two stories in conversation with one another--while being very distinct and speaking to experiences on different sides of the globe, the twins and time period of the settings and explorations of colorism resonate across any of these literal borders.
I can't recommend this one enough, and hope to see it gracing the lists of many Australian literary prizes going into 2021!
Set over several generations, the narrative principally follows Brigid and her young twin daughters in 1960s and 1970s Australia. We follow young Brigid as she leaves her family orchard and sets out on her journey (I'm being vague as to specifics to avoid spoilers!), soon with two twin babies in tow. As a "journey narrative" in the truest sense, the characters are on a quest to find family and Country and justice, while simultaneously searching for belonging and identity. In many ways, the novel speaks to the importance of the journey itself as much as does to any sense of feeling "found."
While told in third person perspective, there's a connection maintained between the reader and the various perspectives that I think was powerfully done by leaning into key repeated imagery--for example, birds and photography. It worked in perfect symbiosis with the themes and narrative threads to keep a fluidity to the story, and keep the reader thoroughly captivated and invested in the outcomes for this entire family. It also ensured the detail-heavy parts early in the novel came to fruition and delivered in connecting the various generations. Amidst each personal and family narrative, the novel is set is during a pivotal point in Australian history, a time of key political activism for First Nations peoples. There's a subtlety to how the issue-driven discussions get teased out in the way the characters are written, most notably in the non-identical twins and the complexities explored regarding colorism and racism. The imagery of photography was also really cleverly used in the plot particularly in the way "justice" is interrogated, as well as to tie in with discussions around the white gaze and the agency of the First Nations characters. There are so many layers to this narrative, I think if you've recently read Bennett's novel you'll particularly see the two stories in conversation with one another--while being very distinct and speaking to experiences on different sides of the globe, the twins and time period of the settings and explorations of colorism resonate across any of these literal borders.
I can't recommend this one enough, and hope to see it gracing the lists of many Australian literary prizes going into 2021!