Reviews

Midnite: The Story of a Wild Colonial Boy by Randolph Stow

sarah_123's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

almo's review against another edition

3.0

Humorous and lovely Australian children's book. Trooper O'Grady must be the most annoying person ever though!

mandi_m's review

4.0

A classic Australian tale, Midnite is a humorous tale of a young man who becomes the most famous of bushrangers.
Our Junior Book Club gave it 8.5/10/8.5/8/9.5/7/7/6/7.5/9/9

belle590's review

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

farahmendlesohn's review

3.0

Australian puss in boots, starring a Siamese cat named Khat.

Tho usual warning for historically accurate racism, I was amused by the Poet Laureate’s poem about millionaires.

Money to the right of them
Money to the left of them
Money in front of them
—Borrowed or plundered?
Where did they get the stuff?
Had they played clean or rough?
When would they have enough?
—So we all wondered.

archytas's review

5.0

Re-reading this after many years, it is both of its time and yet startlingly modern: Stow manages a nuanced view of police, law, theft, monarchy and authority all within hilariously simplified/overblown humour. The portrait Aboriginal people (who are treated as mysterious shadowy forces rather than actual people, separate to white society - unknowable is certainly better than stereotypical, but it still depersonalises them in some chapters), and women (who are mostly capricious and silly - although Mrs Chifley, a key exception, is one of the great characters of Australian fiction) doesn't necessarily survive as brilliantly, but inevertheless, this is a wonderfully Australian tale which both celebrates and subverts our key myths.

manxomemia's review

3.0

3.5 Read this for class as a study on children's literature. Very fun and whimsical, though I wonder if it would have been published if it was written today (not because of the quality, but because of it's references to alcohol, glorification of crime, and some of the attitudes that could potentially be considered mildly racist or sexist).