Benang covers a section of Australian history from the Aboriginal perspective. Benang was deliberately written as an exploration of the cross cultural rip-tides. I found it to be variously enlighting, shaming and distrubing. I was simply ignorant of a large part of what had happened before I read it. In some places the concepts are hard to understand, simply because the author to his obvious frustration has to use english to explain concepts for which no written word exists.


"I tell you that this story of my own is part of a much older story... one of a perpetual billowing form the sea, with its rythm of return, return, remain... I offer these words, especially to those of you I embarrass, and who turn away from the shame of seeing me... We are still here, Benang."

This book was sent to Noira as part of a book trade on 6/3/07.

Arrived in the mail today. Thanks for trading books with me, Pipi! I'll comment as soon as I've read this.

Harley, a young Australian brought up mostly by his white, now paralyzed grandfather Ern, starts to find out about the history of his part-Aboriginal, part-white family, and the roles of various local authorities and big shots in it, through his grandfather's papers and the stories of two elderly relatives. This history concerns decade after decade of blatant racial discrimination, abuse and humiliation in practically all its forms, particularly after the Aboriginal Act from 1905, which destroyed families and made it impossible for even educated and hard-working people to live and make a living in their own country with any sort of dignity.

That's a simple way to put it, though. This is a story that requires patience from the reader (which the author is obviously aware of) as it is told in a highly nonchronological and splintered manner, the point of view constantly changing. Approximately, it starts with Grandfather Ern's bizarre breeding project which was intended to turn Harley's family - eventually - into white people, and ends up telling the story from the opposite point of view. A family tree at the end of the book would not have been out of order, as I never really caught up with who actually was whose brother, half-brother, uncle, nephew, etc.

The story was sickening on so many levels and had me in silent rage a lot of the time; this is just plain not any way to treat people, any people. And it always infuriates me when human beings are cheerfully driven into corners and then blamed for their own problems, including those concerned with making a very basic livelihood in the place where they have always lived. But I guess that Australian Aborigines and many other indigenous peoples were not really considered people, or anything but very inferior people, for a long time. :-(

Reserved for and will shortly be mailed out to onniManni.

Mailed today to onniManni in Pori, Finland as a part of the Finnish book relay. Happy reading and happy trails!

The book is here safely. Thank you Niora!

I'm sorry! I tried to read this, but just couldn't focus enough to read it to the end.