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Now jump back 30 years, to 1828, when a revolution of sorts is stirring on the island of Tasmania. Over the years white settlers have been encroaching on aboriginal land and relations have deteriorated into violence. At the heart of the action is Peevay, a young half-breed abandoned by his aborigine mother, who had been kidnapped and raped by a white escaped convict. Now his vengeful mother is leading a war against the whites, and Peevay, desperate to win her love, has joined her. Chapters from the past narrated by Peevay and augmented by letters and dispatches from white settlers alternate with the sections told by Kewley, Wilson, Renshaw and Potter. Eventually, of course, the two timelines intersect with momentous results.
War, mutiny, shipwreck and not a little farce make English Passengers a gripping read, but it is Matthew Kneale's literary ventriloquism that renders it remarkable. In a novel with so many different points of view, the individuality of each voice stands out. There is, for instance, the mutinous Dr Potter, whose descent into paranoia and egomania results in diary entries reminiscent of a 19th-century psychotic Bridget Jones: "Manxmen = treacherous even to v. last. Self heard Brew (lashed to mainmast as per usual) instructing helmsman to steer N.N.W. when self questioned he re. this he claiming we = carried into Bay of Biscay by difficult sea currents + must set course to avoid Breton Peninsular. He pointing to distant point of land to N.N.E. claiming this = Brittany. Self = doubtful".
Perhaps the most compelling voice in English Passengers belongs to Peevay, who paints a vivid picture of aboriginal life in a foreign tongue he nonetheless makes his own:
When we sat so in the dark, after our eating, Tartoyen told us stories--secret stories that I will not say even now--about the moon and sun, and how everyone got made, from men and wallaby to seal and kangaroo rat and so. Also he told who was in those rocks and mountains and stars, and how they went there. Until, by and by, I could hear stories as we walked across the world, and divine how it got so, till I knew the world as if he was some family fellow of mine.By the close of this epic tale, the world Peevay knew has gone forever, and the lives of the Manx sailors and English passengers have been irrevocably changed. Based on real events in Tasmanian history, Matthew Kneale's novel delivers a home truth about Australia's brutal colonial past, even as it conveys the wonder and allure of the age of exploration. --Alix Wilber
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Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 7123472
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. In 1857 when Captain Illiam Quillian Kewley and his band of rum smugglers from the Isle of Man have most of their contraband confiscated by British Customs, they are forced to put their ship up for charter. The only takers are two eccentric Englishmen who want to embark for the other side of the globe. The Reverend Geoffrey Wilson believes the Garden of Eden was on the island of Tasmania. His travelling partner, Dr. Thomas Potter, unbeknownst to Wilson, is developing a sinister thesis about the races of men. Meanwhile, an aboriginal in Tasmania named Peevay recounts his people's struggles against the invading British. Presents a vicar's ludicrous expedition in 1857 to the Garden of Eden in Tasmania. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780140285215
Book Description paperback. Condition: New. Language: ENG. Seller Inventory # 9780140285215
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. BRAND NEW ** SUPER FAST SHIPPING FROM UK WAREHOUSE ** 30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE. Seller Inventory # 9780140285215-GDR
Book Description Soft Cover. Condition: new. Seller Inventory # 9780140285215
Book Description Paperback. Condition: Brand New. 480 pages. 7.64x5.04x1.34 inches. In Stock. Seller Inventory # __0140285210
Book Description Paperback / softback. Condition: New. New copy - Usually dispatched within 4 working days. Presents a vicar's ludicrous expedition in 1857 to the Garden of Eden in Tasmania. Seller Inventory # B9780140285215
Book Description Condition: New. In eng. Seller Inventory # ria9780140285215_new
Book Description Condition: New. Presents a vicar's ludicrous expedition in 1857 to the Garden of Eden in Tasmania. Num Pages: 480 pages. BIC Classification: FA; FV. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 197 x 131 x 32. Weight in Grams: 338. . 2001. First thus. Paperback. . . . . Seller Inventory # V9780140285215
Book Description Condition: New. Presents a vicar's ludicrous expedition in 1857 to the Garden of Eden in Tasmania. Num Pages: 480 pages. BIC Classification: FA; FV. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 197 x 131 x 32. Weight in Grams: 338. . 2001. First thus. Paperback. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland. Seller Inventory # V9780140285215