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BIRTH OF A COLONY
BOOkS reviewed by Nicola Worsley
by Nicola Worsley
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I KNOW we all tend to do it - but
don't judge this book by its cover!
"THE GENTLEMEN SETTLERS," by
Pamela Blaxland (Angus & Robertson, for
a recommended $6.95), is not well served by
its dust-jacket, which displays perhaps the
most grotesque figures, supposedly early
settlers in Australia, that I've ever seen.
Ignore that nonsense and you'll discover a
novel which is well worth reading.
Pamela Blaxland is married to a
descendant of the Blaxland brothers who
came from quiet Kent to the bustling, brash
colony in New South Wales, where they
were to make their names in pastoral
holdings and exploration. Following the
fortunes of John and Gregory is an
interesting exercise in Australian history,
painlessly presented with fine research.
Mrs Blaxland has the gift of making
historical figures flesh and blood - her
Captain Bligh, then Governor, is masterly,
as is John Macarthur - as well as bein^
able to write conversation as fresh in
context as though it were simply being
overheard.
The total result is a most satisfying
historical novel, with excitement, romance,
adventure, intrigue and cruelty nicely
balanced with a sense of heritage and
history. But, oh, that cover!
A NEW Australian writer, Penelope Rowe,
graduated from Sydney University in 1967,
majoring in English. She is now married,
with three small daughters.
These facts also apply to her fictional
heroine in her first book, "DANCE FOR
THE DUCKS," a publication from
Methuen, at a recommended $4.95, a price
n ade possible through the assistance of the
Literature Board of the Australia Council.
lhere is a ring of truth about the novel,
possibly arising from the re-creation ol
some of the author's own background.
Eric? comes nervously to the university,
determined to become part of the scene
despite a "strict, enclosed boarding-school
adolescence." She hides her nerves, and
thus gains a reputation for pride and
confidence. Her own true character is
hidden behind this veneer, until Ambrose
ships it away.
After their marriage Erica teaches for a
t'me, and then has two daughters, born less
than two years apart. She is now trapped in
suburbia. She no longer feels herself,
.hough she tries, she is no longer a
Willied human being, and is aghast at her
own reactions to friends, to Ambrose, and
to the babies.
Unfortunately, those young women who
would identify completely with Erica will
not want to read "DANCE FOR THE
DUCKS." It is too close to the bone. They
will want romance to take them away from
their mundane existence - not bitter truth.
Penelope Rowe is a name to remember
for the future in the world of Australian
literature.
THOMAS KENEALLY is a prolific
writer, lt seems no time at all since "Gossip
from the Forest'" was released, yet here he is
with another book to his credit.
And credit it is: "MOSES, THE
LAWGIVER," from Collins at a
recommended figure of $12.95. The book is
based on an ATV serial production of thc
same name, with Burt Lancaster in the title
role, and is illustrated with many
beautifully reproduced photographs from
the films.
Moses was a strange leader, and one
destined never to see the Promised Land.
All the contradictions, all the surging
energy, all the immovable faith in Yahweh
(He Who Is), all the turbulence of the
founding of a nation, are captured in this
one lavish book by a master craftsman.
The original plot and the sub-plots are
handled with cunning insight. See.how he
treats the parting of the waters of the Reed
Sea (not Red Sea, according to the book).
"There was a sand-bar. He walked a
long way with the water up to his knees. By
the time he got back to shore the water had
dropped even more. Soon after dawn a
muddy bank of reddish sand stood before
them, stretching across the desert, the lake
waters divided on either side of it.
"Across in Sinai a great whirlwind, high
as the sky, funnelled the desert sand up. A
wind blew from that direction, suppressing
the tide, baring the sand-bank more and
more."
I will admit to being beguiled by the
whole publication. Thomas Keneally, with
a novelist's imagination and insight, has
taken familiar and unfamiliar aspects of
Moses' life to bring to interesting reality
this dramatic tale.
No sermon this one, but human beings
faced with life or death in Egypt and
equally life or death under Moses'
controversial leadership as they painfully
crossed the harsh land to seek that which
both Yahweh and Moses promised would bc
their earthly haven.
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