My Review
“Australia’s leading indigenous storyteller makes his American debut with this immersive and deeply resonant novel, set in the 1960s, that explores the lengths we’ll go to save the people we love—an unforgettable story of one native Australian family and the racist government that threatens to separate them.”
The author writes with an unmatched authenticity of a lifetime of residency in Australia.
The author is not afraid to lay the truth on the line in “The White Girl” . Though fiction, it is based on Australia’s not to distant past when the government had a racist policy of separating Indigenous children from their family. Today we know this as Stolen Generations.
The story focuses on one family, a grandmother who has raised her granddaughter after her mother disappears. We can feel the strength,courage and love these women have.
These characters will inspire us to be strong and remind us a little kindness goes a long way.
Highly recommended!
Pub Date 15 Mar 2022
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.
GoodReads Synopsis
Odette Brown has lived her whole life on the fringes of a small country town. After her daughter disappeared and left her with her granddaughter Sissy to raise on her own, Odette has managed to stay under the radar of the welfare authorities who are removing fair-skinned Aboriginal children from their families. When a new policeman arrives in town, determined to enforce the law, Odette must risk everything to save Sissy and protect everything she loves.
In The White Girl, Miles-Franklin-shortlisted author Tony Birch shines a spotlight on the 1960s and the devastating government policy of taking Indigenous children from their families.
About The Author
Born Australia
Website
Tony Birch is the author of Ghost River, which won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Indigenous Writing and Blood, which was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award. He is also the author of Shadowboxing and three short story collections, Father’s Day, The Promise and Common People. In 2017 he was awarded the Patrick White Literary Award. Tony is a frequent contributor to ABC local and national radio and a regular guest at writers’ festivals. He lives in Melbourne and is a Senior Research Fellow at Victoria University.
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