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davastewart's review against another edition
3.0
If I could, I’d give this one 3.5 stars. It’s not a bad story, but it felt…off, somehow. I can’t quite figure out what isn’t sitting right. It almost feels moralistic, but it’s not really. I think it’s supposed to build empathy and compassion for people in bad circumstances, but there’s also some “be good, do good and things will work out” energy.
I’m not sure. If you like historical fiction with a female POV, you might like this one.
I’m not sure. If you like historical fiction with a female POV, you might like this one.
tball333's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
sad
medium-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? No
4.5
lilbon's review against another edition
4.0
I found this book to be very predictable at times and wildly unpredictable at others. I spend a lot of time with history in a non-fiction way—a genre that is almost never women-centered and where stories of specific women serve to show how that woman was consequential in the story of a specific, powerful man. In light of that, I found this novel both refreshing and personally familiar for being completely women-centered. As I read seemingly innocuous passages, I’d start crying without really knowing why. I recently finished a series on Myth in Human History and in his discussion about female heroes, Grant Voth notes that they frequently achieve their transformation through connectedness, solidarity, and virtues that are less individualistic—while male heroes frequently go on a solitary and individualistic journey that hinges on their need for autonomy. However I think the myths he discussed and this book demonstrate to me that women—and maybe more generally, people facing oppression—can find autonomy through connectedness. The women in this book give the gift of recognizing each others autonomy in the scope that’s available to them, which builds that connection and is what allows the next generations of women to widen the scope for which they can assert their own autonomy. The series on myth also speaks to how women heroes often demonstrate how attachment is necessary for the human life cycle, and sometimes for all life cycles which also perfectly mirrors this book. I feel conflicted about this concept, because part of me wonders how much of it is derived from the assignment of motherhood as role. Is this arrival by women to finding wisdom in connection and to the service to the larger scope of humanity necessarily derived from something innate or is it an artifact of limited roles and oppression? Near the end, one character traces the thread of women who’d been necessary in her survival and I think it shows that the interconnectedness of human life cycles is contingent on more than just mother-daughter relationships, but I don’t think that’s anything conclusive. I think Mathinna demonstrates this the most profoundly, but I’m unsure if that’s by virtue of her culture and her representation of the end of a culture and a people.
This feels like less of a review and more of a synthesis of the novel and myth series. In a more review focused element, I felt like we needed more from Mathinna’s story, particularly because she’s based on a real person. Everyone else gets their story wrapped up in a bow and it feels like such an incongruous juxtaposition to have Mathinna be a loose thread. I don’t envy the careful awareness necessary to write thoughtfully and faithfully about the stories of indigenous people as a white author and overall felt like Kline did that, but the ending feels off in this regard.
Overall, the book was moving and clearly thought provoking and fostered a lot of self-reflection for me.
This feels like less of a review and more of a synthesis of the novel and myth series. In a more review focused element, I felt like we needed more from Mathinna’s story, particularly because she’s based on a real person. Everyone else gets their story wrapped up in a bow and it feels like such an incongruous juxtaposition to have Mathinna be a loose thread. I don’t envy the careful awareness necessary to write thoughtfully and faithfully about the stories of indigenous people as a white author and overall felt like Kline did that, but the ending feels off in this regard.
Overall, the book was moving and clearly thought provoking and fostered a lot of self-reflection for me.
debrabrinckley's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent book. The timeline felt off to me though, and the end was rushed. I do enjoy this author’s ability to tell a story that pulls you in fully.
nessieread's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
inkwitchery's review against another edition
4.0
THE EXILES by Christina Baker Kline
This kind of reminded me of the show Orange is the New Black, but set in 19th century Australia. Though, it’s much more raw, traumatic and heart wrenching than funny.
The story moves quickly as you’re introduced to the three main characters. Evangeline and Hazel are female convicts who meet on board a ship bound for Australia. Mathinna is a young, orphaned Aboriginal girl forced to leave her people and land to live with the Governor & his wife as they try to convert/change her into a “civilized lady” (
This kind of reminded me of the show Orange is the New Black, but set in 19th century Australia. Though, it’s much more raw, traumatic and heart wrenching than funny.
The story moves quickly as you’re introduced to the three main characters. Evangeline and Hazel are female convicts who meet on board a ship bound for Australia. Mathinna is a young, orphaned Aboriginal girl forced to leave her people and land to live with the Governor & his wife as they try to convert/change her into a “civilized lady” (
laurah44's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
jennyjjs's review against another edition
5.0
This was so interesting, but a little depressing in parts for 2020 and the holidays. I still had to give it 5 stars because Ms Kline writes historical fiction so good that I want to go find more about the subject when I'm done reading it.
colleenoakes's review against another edition
5.0
While historical fiction is not normally my jam, a lack of a library while moving made me look towards donated books from my mother-in-law, who suggested this gem. I loved it!
The Exiles is the story of three women who are banished from their land - one Aboriginal child, and two female convicts - and sent to the new wild of Australia. The cruelty that we submitted humans to in that day and age for minor offenses is mind-blowing. This book does a great job of illuminating the hell that women prisoners lived through during that time - and the abuses of society that raised them to end up there.
Without giving away too much of the story, I have to mention the fantastic twist in the middle of the book that is SO unexpected and so well done.
The Exiles is the story of three women who are banished from their land - one Aboriginal child, and two female convicts - and sent to the new wild of Australia. The cruelty that we submitted humans to in that day and age for minor offenses is mind-blowing. This book does a great job of illuminating the hell that women prisoners lived through during that time - and the abuses of society that raised them to end up there.
Without giving away too much of the story, I have to mention the fantastic twist in the middle of the book that is SO unexpected and so well done.