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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It's all together a different type of a story then I have read. I couldn't connect with it at the beginning but after 100 to 150 pages I started to love it. It was kind of depressing to read. All that suffering and living in a place full of god knows what ?? Sometimes the suffering was so overwhelming I began to cry. I love to read historical fiction novels. It was great to read about 1840's. I have no words to explain how I feel about this book. It was so cruel at that time. Sending 7 years out of the country for stealing a spoon is just cruel. I didn't like the way it ended for matianna. She's just a little girl who was separated from her people and then left to suffer in an unknown place. She didn't deserve an end like this. I most-liked the character of Evangeline and after that particular event happened. I didn't have the heart to continue the story. But I am happy to have completed it.
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Colonisation
Moderate: Animal death, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Blood, Abortion, Alcohol
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
informative
sad
medium-paced
✨content warning:✨
I found this book extremely triggering. It has: wrongful imprisonment, unexpected pregnancy, terrible prison conditions, murder, death of a child, stillborn birth, sudden death, attempted rape, rape, child abuse, horrific orphanage situation, racism, mistreatment and abuse of Aboriginal people, and honestly so much more.
If I hadn’t been reading this for book club I 100% would have DNFd this one. All of that is true to the time period, history, and the storyline- its still so hard to read.
Aside from that though I had some issues with the book as well. I found the characters to be lost in the history of this book, so to me they weren’t fully developed. Because this was a character driven novel I had a difficult time pushing through from one point to the next as the characters were so poorly constructed.
Also- I was extremely disappointed in the storyline of Mathinna, the Aboriginal girl. I feel like Kline had the opportunity to shed light on the mistreatment and horrific acts done to her and her people. Instead she allowed her story to fall away, stopped giving her a voice, and ultimately summed up her story through the eyes of a white woman. It didn’t sit well at all.
Ultimately, I wasn’t a fan. Some of the characters barely crossed paths with others and the way they did was unimaginative. There were some really great parts but not enough to sway the issues for me!
I found this book extremely triggering. It has: wrongful imprisonment, unexpected pregnancy, terrible prison conditions, murder, death of a child, stillborn birth, sudden death, attempted rape, rape, child abuse, horrific orphanage situation, racism, mistreatment and abuse of Aboriginal people, and honestly so much more.
If I hadn’t been reading this for book club I 100% would have DNFd this one. All of that is true to the time period, history, and the storyline- its still so hard to read.
Aside from that though I had some issues with the book as well. I found the characters to be lost in the history of this book, so to me they weren’t fully developed. Because this was a character driven novel I had a difficult time pushing through from one point to the next as the characters were so poorly constructed.
Also- I was extremely disappointed in the storyline of Mathinna, the Aboriginal girl. I feel like Kline had the opportunity to shed light on the mistreatment and horrific acts done to her and her people. Instead she allowed her story to fall away, stopped giving her a voice, and ultimately summed up her story through the eyes of a white woman. It didn’t sit well at all.
Ultimately, I wasn’t a fan. Some of the characters barely crossed paths with others and the way they did was unimaginative. There were some really great parts but not enough to sway the issues for me!
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Almost two centuries ago the British Isles needed to do something about their overpopulation of male convicts. They had already invaded the continent of Australia and taken over the native tribes of Aboriginal people. To create space in the northern mother lands, prisoners were sent to live in this new land. Soon after the government realized they would need women on this island if they were to create a "true English" colony.
Enter Christine Baker Kline's novel, The Exiles. This novel follows an English "literate" woman as she is wrongfully accused and convicted of a crime, and an Aboriginal Princess as she is "collected" by the new Governor and his wife. Although these young women are completely different, their treatment is eerily similar. How will they fare among this higher class that looks down on them?
This was my first book from Kline. The subject material interested me as I do not recall ever learning about this in school. Kline's characters, although, fiction told the story of the Exiles' extraordinarily but with a heartbreak that any excellent novel makes you feel. Highly recommend this book for history lovers!
Enter Christine Baker Kline's novel, The Exiles. This novel follows an English "literate" woman as she is wrongfully accused and convicted of a crime, and an Aboriginal Princess as she is "collected" by the new Governor and his wife. Although these young women are completely different, their treatment is eerily similar. How will they fare among this higher class that looks down on them?
This was my first book from Kline. The subject material interested me as I do not recall ever learning about this in school. Kline's characters, although, fiction told the story of the Exiles' extraordinarily but with a heartbreak that any excellent novel makes you feel. Highly recommend this book for history lovers!