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odmay's review against another edition
2.0
I did enjoy reading this book, but not as much as i enjoyed the more recent Tiger Men. I felt that Beneath the Southern Cross attempted to cover too many historical events and too many generations. The significance of earlier events were lost amidst the succeeding events, though the more recent events seemed to be more superficially covered. Also on the Kindle it was hard to keep track of the family tree and how the characters were related. Also was disappointed that some of the characters seemed one dimensional - perhaps not enough space for them to develop more fully.
leemac027's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first book I have read by Judy Nunn and I simply loved her writing.
An incredibly well research book about the development of Sydney since the late 1700s focusing on the Kendall / Kendle families.
There is rivalry, intrigue, greed, love, power struggles, wealth, poverty and shame. All of these make for an intriguing tale of how the family split (hence the two spellings). the attitude of those in the early colony to those of convict ancestry, to highlighting the horrific treatment of First Nations peoples and the damning of those who befriended them.
A fascinating part of the story is the comparison of attitudes towards sending people away to World War I versus in World War II - the 'war to end all wars' obviously did not work and the devastation and horror was entrenched in society which started to change mindsets as the country struggled through war in the 1940s. Then came Korea and Vietnam which left those service personnel with huge mental health issues and absolutely no support (actually that goes for all previous conflicts).
The family rivalries carry on over decades and this makes for fascinating reading.
A detailed and informative historical fiction piece.
An incredibly well research book about the development of Sydney since the late 1700s focusing on the Kendall / Kendle families.
There is rivalry, intrigue, greed, love, power struggles, wealth, poverty and shame. All of these make for an intriguing tale of how the family split (hence the two spellings). the attitude of those in the early colony to those of convict ancestry, to highlighting the horrific treatment of First Nations peoples and the damning of those who befriended them.
A fascinating part of the story is the comparison of attitudes towards sending people away to World War I versus in World War II - the 'war to end all wars' obviously did not work and the devastation and horror was entrenched in society which started to change mindsets as the country struggled through war in the 1940s. Then came Korea and Vietnam which left those service personnel with huge mental health issues and absolutely no support (actually that goes for all previous conflicts).
The family rivalries carry on over decades and this makes for fascinating reading.
A detailed and informative historical fiction piece.
kathryn08's review
4.0
I love the alternating stories told down throughout the generations from 1788 until 1999! As I was listening on audiobook, I sometimes found it a bit difficult to keep track of who was who in the family tree, and would have liked to be able to flip back to check things, but overall I enjoyed it as an audiobook. Richard Aspel did a great job with a large cast of characters with varied accents!
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