Reviews with content warning for Racial slurs - The Yield

It's a really captivating plot and is written across multiple perspectives and timelines. At first, I found this a little jarring, switching between modern-day August & the 1900s; but the perspective switching really adds to the pacing of the story and sort of helps to gradually feed the reader the right emotions and information at the right points in the main narrative.

This book deals with some painful themes, but Tara June Winch's writing is beautiful and emotive. I'd definitely classify this as an #OwnVoices read, and I really loved the inclusion of Wiradjuri language as central to the book. I also really enjoyed the connection to the land and the environment that was so central to the plot.

The only, singular reason this was not a five-star book for me was the way it ends. I would have liked it to go on just a little longer, but I loved it regardless.

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abbie_'s review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

I know shockingly little about Indigenous Australians, and while this is fiction you can of course learn a lot from fiction. It also provides a good jumping-off point for learning more, and Winch provides a reading list in the author’s note which I was frantically scribbling down!

The Yield is split into three narrative strands, one of which is the Wiradjuri dictionary compiled by Albert ‘Poppy’ Gondiwindi, the grandfather of another main narrator, August. It was such a unique and clever way of telling a story, and being able to hear the Wiradjuri words out loud was wonderful. I also read that Winch is donating some of the profits of this book to Indigenous language classes in Australia. Sadly Australia’s Indigenous languages are among some of the most at risk in the world of disappearing.

Honestly this book takes on so much, from colonialism and intent versus impact to big corps stealing land for profit and child abuse. Winch handles it all deftly and sensitively.

Like with The Mountains Sing, another brilliant audiobook, I really want to reread this one in print too. I feel like there’s so much more to uncover and unpack on a second reading in a different format.

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emilyrainsford's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"I asked her, 'Who do I tell?' and she said, 'Just tell the truth and someone will hear it eventually.' I guess that is what I'm doing, finally."

August Gondiwindi returns from Europe to Prosperous House (a former mission, now farm) to mourn the death of her Poppy, Albert Gondiwindi. Her story, as she grapples to make peace with the parts of her personal past she's run from and ignored, is interspersed with two other perspectives and formats - the language dictionary that Albert was writing before he died, and a letter from the German Reverend who started Prosperous Mission around the turn of the century in a misguided attempt to "save" the local Aborigines.

The way these three formats intertwine to tell both August's journey and also a story that is so much bigger, is the absolute gentle genius of this novel. Although the narrative is more a slow moving river than a raging rapid, I found the short chapters and different formats meant it never felt boring or lost its impact. I suppose you would call this story "powerful", but it's not *punch in the face* powerful, but rather the *seep under your skin* kind. It never becomes preachy or heavy handed, but rather tells its truth with a calm sincerity that sinks deep.

In a way, I think August's journey - of facing her difficult past and coming to terms with it, of things lost and things found, of realising what has to be let go of and what needs to be held on to - is a parallel to the journey of her family and on a wider scale, her people. I found a lot of August's feelings and inner journey very relatable and I think that is part of the elegance of this book too - to bring the pain of a people to a personal level... which, as Mandy says at the end, makes it personal to all of us. Not a "them" story, but an "us" story, a human story.

Reading a dictionary may not sound exciting, but Albert's sections were my favourite parts of this novel. The way his story is slowly revealed through his dictionary entries and connection to his language is masterful. The inclusion of the perspective of the German missionary I found really interesting and helped illuminate the complexity of the issue - illustrating how sometimes bad things can be perpetuated by people who think they're doing the right thing.

This is a book that will be with me for a long time - an impactful read very deserving of all its awards, honestly flawless and nothing less than 5 stars would do it justice.

** I acknowledge the traditional owners of the Wadjak boodjar (Perth land) I live on, and honour the Elders, past and present. **

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graceesix's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book needs to be the next book you read, especially for Australians. It discusses the loss of connection to culture by Australia's Indigenous people after the invasion by British colonists. The devastating impact of the stolen generations and how it contributed to the loss of language, practices, traditions and people throughout Australia's terrible and bloody history. Winch finishes the book with a dictionary from the Wiradjuri language, and provides resources for how readers can further learn about Australia's Indigenous land and cultures.

This land was stolen and never ceded. Always was, always will be.

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