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A review by nina_reads_books
One Hundred Years of Dirt by Rick Morton
4.0
I first came across Rick Morton when he was writing for Mamamia many years ago. I found his writing hilarious and insightful and I have more recently also enjoyed the work he has done for the newspaper The Australian. So I was pretty happy to get hold of a copy of his first book, a memoir called One Hundred Years of Dirt.
Morton comes from several generations of harsh farming families where violence and trauma were a common thread. His early life was marked by poverty and for much of his childhood he was raised by his mother as a single parent on the poverty line. He is also gay and these dual perspectives of growing up in a low socio-economic environment and identifying as gay has provided him with a really unique perspective and voice.
This memoir is not a “tell all” of his life but rather it is structured as a series of essays which touch on different aspects of his life and how his upbringing has affected him as an adult. He also uses research and lots of facts and information to round out the essays with commentary on how the voices of people on low incomes is so often ignored in mainstream Australia.
This was an insightful piece of non-fiction with themes of generational trauma, poverty, class and privilege. The stories Morton tells from his childhood are raw and heartbreaking but there is also moments of humour. In some parts I wished he had written more about himself and his past. Towards the end the balance tipped more into the research and facts side of his writing and the final chapter in particular felt a little dry and harder to get into.
Overall though I really enjoyed finding out more about what makes Rick Morton tick and his writing style is definitely one I enjoy reading.
Morton comes from several generations of harsh farming families where violence and trauma were a common thread. His early life was marked by poverty and for much of his childhood he was raised by his mother as a single parent on the poverty line. He is also gay and these dual perspectives of growing up in a low socio-economic environment and identifying as gay has provided him with a really unique perspective and voice.
This memoir is not a “tell all” of his life but rather it is structured as a series of essays which touch on different aspects of his life and how his upbringing has affected him as an adult. He also uses research and lots of facts and information to round out the essays with commentary on how the voices of people on low incomes is so often ignored in mainstream Australia.
This was an insightful piece of non-fiction with themes of generational trauma, poverty, class and privilege. The stories Morton tells from his childhood are raw and heartbreaking but there is also moments of humour. In some parts I wished he had written more about himself and his past. Towards the end the balance tipped more into the research and facts side of his writing and the final chapter in particular felt a little dry and harder to get into.
Overall though I really enjoyed finding out more about what makes Rick Morton tick and his writing style is definitely one I enjoy reading.