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A review by gfruzsi
On a Barbarous Coast by Craig Cormick, Harold Ludwick
4.0
On a Barbarous Coast by Craig Cormick and Harold Ludwick is a reimagination of Captain James Cook’s arrival to Australia. It's the story of a past and a future that might have been.
In this past, Captain Cook’s Endeavour is shipwrecked off the coast of far north Australia, leaving only a small band of survivors who make it to land.
The storytelling is split into two, the perspective of the survivors on this strange land interwoven with the perspective of the Guugu Yimidhirr people, who are trying to decide whether these strange spirits are friend or foe.
As the fate of all these men unfolds and as both groups struggle with the dangers that lie ahead (often at the hand of the people you consider your own), this book takes you to the heart of what it means to belong.
It’s a meditation on fear of the unknown, on natural curiosity, and on humanity - on both sides of history. On the ugly and the beautiful, on the old and the new. On what it is we consider the natural way of things, and how might that differ for others.
It’s filled with the type of self-awareness each of us would’ve liked to have. It’s a fairytale, in a way, and yet there are unexpected moments of questioning yourself: could things really have turned out this way?
On a Barbarous Coast is hopeful and it isn’t, but it’s precisely this duality that took me on the ride, and I came out on the other end knowing more than before.
I think it’s a must read.
In this past, Captain Cook’s Endeavour is shipwrecked off the coast of far north Australia, leaving only a small band of survivors who make it to land.
The storytelling is split into two, the perspective of the survivors on this strange land interwoven with the perspective of the Guugu Yimidhirr people, who are trying to decide whether these strange spirits are friend or foe.
As the fate of all these men unfolds and as both groups struggle with the dangers that lie ahead (often at the hand of the people you consider your own), this book takes you to the heart of what it means to belong.
It’s a meditation on fear of the unknown, on natural curiosity, and on humanity - on both sides of history. On the ugly and the beautiful, on the old and the new. On what it is we consider the natural way of things, and how might that differ for others.
It’s filled with the type of self-awareness each of us would’ve liked to have. It’s a fairytale, in a way, and yet there are unexpected moments of questioning yourself: could things really have turned out this way?
On a Barbarous Coast is hopeful and it isn’t, but it’s precisely this duality that took me on the ride, and I came out on the other end knowing more than before.
I think it’s a must read.