Reviews

Walkabout by James Vance Marshall

posies23's review against another edition

3.0

There's a lot of craft in this simple story. The author uses lots of imagery and symbolism to highlight the difference between Western "civilization" and the Aboriginal "savages." Ultimately, the "savages" are more civilized, as a young Aboriginal boy (on the titular "walkabout") discovers a pair of European siblings lost in the outback after a plane crash.

This would be a good book for a lower-level literature class, simply for an examination of the use of setting, character, and figurative language.

miguelito_juanito's review against another edition

Too much racism

mouwuol's review

adventurous dark hopeful informative reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

chillcox15's review against another edition

3.0

This is an interesting book that has a lot going on under the surface about white Americans' conception of race as it clashes with an Australian world, infused into what is basically a young adult survivalist adventure story. I liked the fantasia of Australian wildlife that Marshall presents here too, maybe because I always liked platypuses and such. It'll be interesting to compare this to the movie, which I hear goes in some, ahem, different directions.

sophiefrn's review against another edition

adventurous sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book was sweet but Mary was annoying and I got a bit bored. It was short and I read it for Sissi’s English homework.

pearloz's review against another edition

4.0

It’s a harrowing narrative as you’d expect but the real treasure of the book is the descriptions of Australia and the wildlife—evocative and casually precise, you’d think he’d get repetitive talking about how hot it was in the outback but nope! It was a beautiful portrait of a harsh but vibrant landscape.

lexybear's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

dolly_daydream's review

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

felinity's review against another edition

4.0

I think it's unlikely such a book would be written today.

Spoiler

It's a snippet of their story - there's no official "beginning", with the airplane crash, nor "end" when they get home - with very short chapters, and yet it had a strange power.

It's obvious the author knew Australia very well, and amazing how much description he managed to cram into such a short book, without it feeling intrusive. Instead, it's almost as if the children themselves are turning their heads, taking everything in, from the strange dances of water birds to the differences between the forest and the desert. The Aboriginal boy's thoughts are well blended, without being a stark contrast or feeling like there's more of a divide between the children, and the author sensitive to cultural differences.

My edition also contained pictures and some captions from the movie. I haven't seen it, but as you might expect it seems much more dramatized, more extreme, than the book. I enjoyed the gentle, unobtrusive writing and and matter-of-fact way in which these 2 American children just decide to walk south to Adelaide.

Spoiler

It also looks like the movie made the boy much older, and made the sexual connotations more apparent.

I probably won't watch it.

romaneslibrary's review

adventurous informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25