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annikastanisch's review against another edition
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
renee_conoulty's review against another edition
5.0
I was wandering through my library the other day and noticed a brochure that said Judy Nunn would be visiting during her book tour to promote Spirits of the Ghan. I had read her book called Territory just before I moved to the Northern Territory and was excited to hear she had another book about the Northern territory coming out. I had a sneaky peek in NetGalley and got myself a copy.
Spirits of the Ghan is fantastic Australian fiction, spanning the generations and melding historical fiction with contemporary fiction. It gave a wonderful insight into aboriginal life, both in the outback and in the city. The spirituality of the aboriginal people gave the book a magical realism feel. The severe racism against the aboriginal people in the 1800's and the stolen generation of the 1960's were explored.
I was excited to see the town I live in mentioned early on in the book. I'm looking forward to meeting Judy in that particular town next week.
I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Spirits of the Ghan is fantastic Australian fiction, spanning the generations and melding historical fiction with contemporary fiction. It gave a wonderful insight into aboriginal life, both in the outback and in the city. The spirituality of the aboriginal people gave the book a magical realism feel. The severe racism against the aboriginal people in the 1800's and the stolen generation of the 1960's were explored.
I was excited to see the town I live in mentioned early on in the book. I'm looking forward to meeting Judy in that particular town next week.
I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
kathryn08's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this, and learnt some things along the way! I hadn’t realised that the full Ghan railway hadn’t run all the way through from Adelaide to Darwin until the 21st century! I also hadn’t thought about what was involved in bringing the project about - the blasting through rock, the negotiations with Aboriginal elders, the remoteness from major centres…
Like my first Judy Nunn (Elianne), this was an interesting read. I read a Q&A with Judy Nunn on her website where she said that taking a train journey on the Ghan piqued her interest in writing about it, but I’m not sure how she got the idea to include the spirits of Aboriginal ancestors. In her Q&A she said that she wanted to make people think about what they believe about an afterlife. As a Christian, I definitely believe in an afterlife, but I’ve never had the experiences that Jess or Matt encounter. But perhaps as a product of Western civilisation (even growing up in a Christian environment), I am just less attuned to the spirit world than our Indigenous people, or even than people working in the outback environment.
ETA: I'm going to bump this one up to 4.5★, since I'm still thinking about it!
Like my first Judy Nunn (Elianne), this was an interesting read. I read a Q&A with Judy Nunn on her website where she said that taking a train journey on the Ghan piqued her interest in writing about it, but I’m not sure how she got the idea to include the spirits of Aboriginal ancestors. In her Q&A she said that she wanted to make people think about what they believe about an afterlife. As a Christian, I definitely believe in an afterlife, but I’ve never had the experiences that Jess or Matt encounter. But perhaps as a product of Western civilisation (even growing up in a Christian environment), I am just less attuned to the spirit world than our Indigenous people, or even than people working in the outback environment.
ETA: I'm going to bump this one up to 4.5★, since I'm still thinking about it!
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