Welcome to Litsy!

Written by a Goorie (Aboriginal) author this covers two timeframes.

In 1854 Mulanyin tries to build a life and a marriage against the backdrop of colonial violence. I found this part of the book fascinating, learning about how the different tribes lived and worked together, and how they were treated by the incomers.

The more modern story was of less interest to me, perhaps because the historical fiction was SO good it drew me away from it.

A dual timeline narrative confronting the legacy of colonization from an Indigenous perspective.

In the 1850s, Mulanyin leaves his coastal home to come of age in a colonial town, where tensions between the local Indigenous community, newly arrived colonists, and ex-convicts are always simmering. He dreams of returning home with Nita, and believes that someday soon the white people will return across the sea and leave their land to heal.

cont'd

The Wild and crazy trio are back to school today! So I'm savouring some quiet on the porch with my book and my tea 😁👍❤️

(My middle kid is incapable of taking a serious picture, he's a natural born ham!)

New in! I'm super excited about these. Edenglassie, I've had on order since January. It's from @CarolynM's #AuldLangSpine list, and I'm pumped to finally get a chance to read it (and that cover! 😍 BOTH these covers are fabulous 👌)

Thank you so much for this book @CarolynM It was such an eye-opening read. Told through the story of Mulanyin in 1855, when his saltwater people are not yet outnumbered by the British, and the story of Winona & Grandma Eddie in 2024. It both confronts the reader with the injustices and atrocities of colonialism while teaching a lot about the culture and beliefs of some of the First Nations Australians. I learnt a lot and enjoyed it a lot too!

Thank you Carolyn 😘 the birthday that keeps on giving. Thank you so much for thinking about me. This looks fab- just been reading the reviews.

Thank you so much for the birthday present @CarolynM 💕 I am very excited about this book after loving Too Much Lip. (Possibly the most memorable book ive read in the past 5 years!) And i am a big, big fan of raspberry with chocolate! Thank you for a lovely surprise on a gray wintery day💕

#BookReport for May.

Edenglassie and Caledonian Road are my favourites for the month, and possibly for the year so far.

Dual timelines, mirroring stories, truth telling, cultural learning, tragedy & humour feature in this brilliant book about early & modern Brisbane. I‘ve just come home from seeing Melissa Lucashenko at the Melbourne Writers Festival (I was too engrossed to take a photo) She spoke about humanising the statistics, reminding us that the atrocities were suffered by real people, with families, hopes & cares of their own. #ozfiction at its finest.

Stories like this one, told by a Goorie author about our colonial history are so important. I was deeply moved by the end. 🖤💛❤️ #Ozfiction
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Lucashenko is a Goorie (Aboriginal) author who has become a #mustreadauthor for me. Her #ozfiction is punchy, raw and very entertaining. Her novels explore the true history of Australia and I highly recommend them to anyone wanting to better understand what went on here in an accessible way. Having just read a non-fiction book about the Native Police in Queensland I appreciated reading a fictional account here. Bravo 👏
❤️💛🖤

Explain to me indeed. Another day in the colony.

I remember as a child being taught about the “settlement” of Australia in the 1800s, stories of Aboriginal people stealing sheep and cows from the white farmers. At the time it did not occur to me that Aboriginal people may have felt they had a right to take, when everything was being taken from them 😞.

Traditionally, Australian Aboriginal people were given a totem plant or animal at birth, that they were expected to nurture & could not eat. My son, whose middle name is Kulbardi (magpie) after his dad‘s totem, was talking about this the other day, asking me to imagine if your totem was the kangaroo (yonga), because that would mean that you couldn‘t eat it. To this day his dad‘s family hunt & eat yongas, an abundantly available food source.

12-14 Mar 24 (audiobook)
One of my favourite free audiobooks of the month! I had already flagged reading this when it was longlisted for the Stella.
Lukashenko weaves together two indigenous stories, two centuries apart. Both tell of the impact white men brought to Queensland‘s indigenous nations but also highlights their traditions and cultures.
Despite this seriousness, the author‘s voice is both and irreverent, and intentionally provocative.

#currentlyreading #ozfiction ❤️🖤💛

“…eating the decisions of his ancestors…”

Sustainability in its purest form. We can learn so much…

Melissa Lucashenko putting us liberal minded whitefellas in our place😆👏

#ISpyBingo #TitleInAllCaps
 @Clwojick @TheAromaofBooks

Blurb.

Lucashenko has called Edenglassie her “big book”, and I can see why. I have no doubt that another Miles Franklin nomination (and probable win) is in her future. Blak joy, tragedy, and righteous rage all play out in these pages, with the same wisecrack cheek that punctuated her previous book Too Much Lip. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/edenglassie-melissa-lucashenko/

My life is getting back on track - new release #bookhaul 😀