Author: Kate Grenvil
Publisher: Kastaniotis Series: Writers from around the world, 2008
Translation: Mihalis Makropoulos
ISBN: 978-960-03-4623-7
CASE
William Thornchil, boatman on the Thames in the early 19th century, condemned to hanging because he stole, but given the opportunity he and his family to rebuild their lives in a remote penal colony named Sydney in Australia. There the Thornchil finds an unspoiled paradise, but to make him his own, he must pay the price, which is the destruction of this paradise.
REVIEW
“An excellent study of two cultures in conflict and a chilling detailed description of the evils of colonialism,” wrote the Guardian about this great novel. Considering that culture is primarily a respect for the environment and that the truly civilized Australia were not Englishmen but Aboriginal settlers, Kate Gkrenvil puts a mirror in front of the White Australia and shows the repulsive face of voracious ….. ” (review of the publishing house).