A review by emilyrainsford
The Yield by Tara June Winch

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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