Having escaped from Australia's Adelaide Zoo, an orphaned platypus named Albert embarks on a journey through the outback in search of "Old Australia," a rumored land of liberty, promise, and peace. What he will find there, however, away from the safe confinement of his enclosure for the first time since his earliest memories, proves to be a good deal more than he anticipated. Alone in the outback, with an empty soft drink bottle as his sole possession, Albert stumbles upon pyromaniacal wombat Jack, and together they spend a night drinking and gambling in Ponsby Station, a rough-and-tumble mining town. Accused of burning down the local mercantile, the duo flees into menacing dingo territory and quickly go their separate ways-Albert to pursue his destiny in the wastelands, Jack to reconcile his past. Encountering a motley assortment of characters along the way-a pair of invariably drunk bandicoots, a militia of kangaroos, hordes of the mercurial dingoes, and a former prize-fighting Tasmanian devil-our unlikely hero will discover a strength and skill for survival he never suspected he possessed. Told with equal parts wit and compassion, ALBERT OF ADELAIDE shows how it is often the unexpected route, and the most improbable companions, that lead us on the path to who we really are.

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In this anthropomorphic work --- Howard Anderson's debut novel --- we meet Albert, an orphaned duck-billed platypus living in Australia's Adelaide Zoo. One day Albert makes the bold decision to escape the zoo, starting an adventure that will take him across the Outback in search of Old Australia, a fabled place rumored to be a land of liberty, promise, and peace.

On his travels, the only property to Albert's name is an empty soda bottle. Before long, he meets Jack, a pyromaniac wombat with a handlebar moustache & drover's coat. They join up, traveling together to (on Jack's suggestion) Ponsby Station, a rough mining town filled with crews of bandicoots and wallabies.  After a long night of drinking, Jack ends up getting Albert into quite a bit of trouble. What starts as an innocent trek for Albert quickly progresses into more of a life on the run.

Right from the start, this novel brings on the social commentary, in regards to humans and their irresponsible behavior towards the planet. There's also something of the immigrant experience story, what with each character having their own various reasons for traveling / moving in hopes for a better life, things they're looking to escape... but Anderson brings a twist to that theme. Anderson also touches upon the topic of racism. In one notable scene, platypus Albert approaches a business only to find a sign that says "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone who isn't a marsupial."

Though there is something of a childlike vibe to the story --- touches of Wind in the Willows, maybe even a little Watership Down --- READERS, TAKE NOTE: THIS IS NOT A CHILDREN'S NOVEL. It has very definite adult themes as far as the levels of alcoholism, crime, violence, depression, etc. There are scenes of animals cutting the throats of their foes, these moments informing Albert that this land he finds himself in is no fairytale, one WILL die out here if not careful! 

Though Jack is not always the most likeable character in his actions, you can count on him to bring the comic relief in the heavier scenes. Take the early meeting between Jack & Albert, for instance: Albert has been traveling long and hard, he's out of food and water, scared of his surroundings, bumps into Jack who asks, "What brings you out this way?" Albert replies, "Adelaide" to which Jack answers back, "Mmmm... always a woman." 

There's also a cake joke in here where ... well, I couldn't help it, it made me think of the ongoing cake joke that runs through the videogame Portal.

While on the surface, I would say this story would be a good recommendation for lovers of Westerns, I would argue that it could, at least on some level, also be interpreted as allegorical, a parable for the need to earnestly pursue one's dreams in a world suffocating under the weight of sheep mentality.  The happiest moments come when Albert finds the confidence to shake off societal expectations and embrace who / what he is on the most basic, organic level. He learns to stop getting caught up in the why or why not of a scenario and just embrace the experience itself, as is. 

All the characters are fun, but what really kept me reading was wanting to know more about this mysterious Muldoon character. Throughout the novel, he seems this terribly important and powerful figure, but is only spoken of in the vaguest terms. 

Praised for its mesmerizing intensity and taut, quick-witted prose, SNAKE tells the mesmerizing story of a mismatched couple -- Irene, ambitious and man-crazy, and her quiet, adoring, responsible husband, Rex -- who tumble into marriage and settle as newlyweds on a remote Australian farm. It is amid this unforgiving landscape that Irene and Rex raise their two children. It is here that, as Rex bears silent witness, Irene tends her garden and wrestles with what seems to be her fate. And it is here that their marriage unravels -- inexorably, bitterly, spectacularly.

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*POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNING: This novella incorporates themes of abortion and suicide.

Australian housewife Irene has for some time grown to feel that she's become uncomfortably locked into a seriously stifled domestic existence. Though she can't deny her husband has proven to be a good and faithful man, she misses the more wild, carefree side of her spirit that got consumed somewhere along the path of marriage and motherhood.

Irene makes it clear she likes her son but seems to be easily annoyed by her daughter. "Boy" is often light-hearted about life, enamored with American country music, while "Girlie" has a very serious nature, a writer spirit who tends to interpret things in their most literal sense. She's not much appreciated by either adults or fellow children.

Irene and Rex have a pretty good bond in the early years, but begin to show signs of slowly drifting apart over time as the children grow up. Along with decreased affections, tensions steadily rise between them. Whispers of infidelity begin to surface. Irene's coldness towards her daughter also increases while parent-child boundaries between her and her son become uncomfortably blurred. (WHY are they having tub time together in his teenage years?!!)

 

"Like many women of her class, Irene's mother maintained a separate bedroom from her husband; he could make his own arrangements. On the rare occassions she thought about sex, it was to envisage the gully at the bottom of the hill near her house --- gloomy, vine-tangled, rank with the smell of still water and furtive animals."

 

Well, if that's the example Irene had to grow up with.... 

 

Finally hitting her limit with everything one day, Irene rather heartlessly decides to leave a letter confessional addressed to husband Rex out in the open --- where anyone might stumble upon it --- in which she admits that the son he helped raise all these years was actually fathered by her ex! The unraveling of the relationship from that point of confession continues to drive the narrative to its headshaker of an ending.

Snake is a quick novella read with alternating POVS: Part 1 is presented in second person voice, observing Rex; Parts 2 & 3 are in third person observing both Irene and Rex as a couple, while also offering perspective from Billie, an Army friend of Irene's who also served as one of her bridesmaids. Billie gives the reader details on Irene's pre-Rex promiscuous years, history that might play into why she was the way she was with Rex years later; Part 4 goes back to second person voice, but with the voice now focusing on Irene. 

I won't lie, this one was a weird little read. It's gritty and stark, the descriptions of bleak Australian landscape often serving as an extra character to enhance the dark mood between our human players. The plot is grim but the writing itself is fascinating, bringing the reader into full-on rubbernecker mode til the very end. I didn't always entirely understand how some scenes connected to the plot as a whole and in the later bits of the story there seemed to be a strange fixation on bugs and mice that also left me scratching my head a bit. 

In some ways, Snake reminds me of my reading of Nabokov's Lolita. Maybe not a story you'd return to often because it's so cozy and good... both books will undoubtedly induce a good skin crawl or two .... but you stay with the pages because THAT WRITING THO. Though an author might lead you down some dark, sketchy paths, a reader can't but be taken with a finely woven sentence (or hundreds of pages of them!). This is one such book. Take it for a spin at least once just for the sheer experience of quality "less is more" writing craft.

The Shiralee tells the story of the itinerant rural worker Macauley - sometimes described as a 'swagman' or 'swaggie' - who suddenly finds himself taking responsibility for his child. Having returned from 'walkabout', he finds his wife entwined in the arms of another, and so he takes his four-year-old daughter, Buster, with him. The child is the 'shiralee', an Aboriginal word meaning 'burden'. In their time together, father and daughter explore new depths of understanding and bonding. The barren landscapes of the outback are central to the swagman's love for his country and provide a backdrop to the richness of his developing relationship with Buster.

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Macauley has always had a reputation for being a bit of a ramblin' man, the rough & tumble drifter type, traveling all over New South Wales, going wherever the jobs are. Now 35, he still struggles to stay in one place any serious length of time but now has the added complication of having his daughter with him, his "shiralee". Shiralee being an Aboriginal word translating to "burden", Macauley's 5 year old daughter, who just goes by the name of Buster, is the result of a brief marriage that ended the night Macauley came home to find his wife in bed with another man. This moment, combined with numerous scenes hinting at maternal neglect, Macauley decides Buster is better off on the road with him than being left with a flighty, disinterested mother.

Macauley takes Buster through some sketchy areas, providing for her the best he can. He tries to clean up his act as well but still finds himself in the occasional scrap in the pubs. Macauley can also sometimes come off as harsh in the way he talks to Buster, but through his inner thoughts the reader sees he really does care about her deeply, and his decisions are always with her best interests in mind... even when that means sacrificing some of his own needs or interests. This becomes especially evident whenever Macauley (through his inner monologues, nothing said aloud in front of his daughter) mentions his dire need for sexual release. Yes, our protagonist is quite hard up for some lady friend interactions. Like, REALLY pent up. But he does his best to push that carnal business back, because how's that going to work with a 5 year old as your shadow and no immediate babysitter handy most nights? Besides, Macauley wants to be a gentleman about it whenever a good opportunity DOES come along. 

I liked Macauley for this :-) He has a wanderer's spirit, he may curse and drink more than some might like..  but he's also a gentleman when it comes to right and wrong. He may have not ever planned on being a father, but he accepts that whatever he thought his plans were, the reality is that he IS a father. He slept with a woman, she got pregnant, and he takes full responsibility for that and does his best to give his daughter a good life with his meager resources. He has moments of doubts about his fathering but reasons that at least he loves her, and that has to count for something when put up against the alternative (giving her up to someone else who may not). 

A man like you, said Tommy Goorianawa, he either dies quick with a knife in his gizzard or he lives to be a hundred.

 

Macauley was startled only for a moment. 

 

Which is it for me?

 

I don't know. I'd tell you if I did. But I'll say this. You're a man, every inch of you, and there's a lot of good in you, but it's buried deep and it's twisted. It's like a wild animal that needs to be coaxed into the light and tamed; an animal that does not come willingly because it is frightened for itself. It will have its challengers and will rise in you like a secret. Try and not smother it. It's the stars and wild wind for you, and the roads that tie the towns together, all right, but I'll say this -- watch out for big trouble. Don't lead two lives or both will be unhappy; lead one and lead it well. And don't be too hard on them weaker than you. That's all I can tell you.

Niland is honestly not a bad writer. The guy could definitely turn a phrase when he was feeling inspired. I like the usage of "from head to hocks" instead of "from head to toe" or the use of "koala headed bastard" when Macaulay is referencing the guy who slept with his wife LOL. The one knock I would give this story, as far as the actual writing, is Niland's tendency to write a number of his female in a rather caricature-like way. There were some likeable female characters who had a believability and realness to their personalities, but the majority of the ladies Macauley interacts with seem to either be described with emphasis put on their physical attributes or sexual nature OR they were ridiculously, highly emotional -- either raging or crying, appearing to be incapable of just normal speech in a situation-appropriate tone of voice. 

The other knocks I gave this one had to do with the plot itself. While I liked the bond between Macauley and Buster, and there are some pretty comedic moments throughout the novel, I felt myself getting periodically bored with the pace. I felt like too much of the story ended up being in Macauley's head. Some readers love that sort of thing but it made me restless, just wanting the story to get on with things already! I was also bothered by the subtle racism that sometimes peeked through Macaulay's thoughts and dialogue, especially against black women. One of the most bothersome scenes for me was after he has a dalliance with a black prostitute but once the deed is done he is quick to kick her out, even as it's clear his behavior is visibly hurting her feelings. I was disappointed that this -- when he had shown signs of being a gentleman so many times earlier in the story -- THIS moment is when Macauley decides to go cold, even thinking the thought, "had to settle for black velvet when I couldn't get white satin." OMG MACAULEY! WTF!

I understand this is considered an Australian classic, but it had its problematic points for me. Still, I wouldn't turn my nose up at trying some of Niland's other works in the future, because the man did something nice about the way he put words together.

** I originally became interested in reading this book a few years back when I happened to see the film adaptation of this book starring Bryan Brown -- yeah, just now getting to the book, I know. Personally, I would recommend the film over the book. It stays pretty true to the book and keeps in the heartwarming bits while editing out the more unsavory or boring parts. 

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EXTRAS

D'Arcy (pronounced DUH AR SEE) Niland (his birth name Darcy Francis Niland) was an Australian author born in 1917, the eldest of six children. Niland had dreams of a professional writing career from an early age. His first job was that of a copy-boy for an Australian newspaper, with the hopes of one day being bumped up to a reporter position. When that job didn't pan out, he spent some years traveling about from job to job as he found them, his employment being as varied as opal miner, sheep shearer, railway porter and circus employee. It wasn't until 1942, after marrying New Zealand journalist Rosina Park, that he took up his writing aspirations again. With the encouragement and support of his wife, Niland once again dedicated himself to the written word and in time began to win awards for some of his short story collections. He achieved international success in 1955 with the publication of The Shiralee and went on to write more novels, short stories and radio productions before passing away in 1966 at the age of 49 from a chronic heart condition. Niland's twin daughters, Kilmeny & Deborah, grew up to become successful book illustrators. Kilmeny passed away in 2009 from non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. 

You can read an interview done with Deborah discussing the works of her parents here.

Ruby Yarrow is 14 and she's the good girl who helps her mum. She cooks, she looks after the little ones and she would rather do all the work herself than make her brother Max help as he's meant to. That's okay with Ruby because she knows her mum loves her and relies on her. But it's not okay with Ruby's best friend Tia. 'You know what, Ruby Yarrow,' Tia yells, 'I'm not talking to you until you stop being a doormat.' That gets to Ruby. But how do you stop being a doormat? How do you get some backbone and start standing up for yourself? She can't even get her own bedroom, so why does she think she could get accepted for the school trip to Brazil? But Tia has made her start thinking - and things will never be the same again for Ruby. Or her family. 

~Random House New Zealand

This YA work from New Zealand author Fleur Beale tells the story of 14 year old Ruby Yarrow who takes being "the good kid" in her family to such a level that her family tends to take advantage of her helpfulness, treating her more like a doormat who will do all the dirty work for them. Ruby doesn't see what they're doing to her until her best friend gives her some tough love to get her to snap out of it. It's also during this time that Ruby, for the first time in her life, discovers something she wants just for herself. Her New Zealand school is planning a student exchange program with a school in Brazil and Ruby wants to be one of the students chosen to go. Problem is, Ruby struggles with a reading disability that hinders quite a few areas of her life. It's so bad, in fact, that she's nearly illiterate. Still, determined to make this trip happen one way or another, Ruby sets out to get an after-school job, ready to pay her own way if she has to, as well as surprising her family when she reveals she's taking Portuguese lessons. 

Once Ruby finds a job and starts earning her own money, that small step begins to give her the confidence in herself she needs to tackle other problem areas in her life. She finds ways to confront her family about the ways she's bullied and taken advantage of; she develops more confidence in school; she starts to see that she has a brave enough spirit to tackle any roadblock she comes up against. Ruby even has a few special people come into her life who teach her that she is not her disability, but in fact inform her "you are a clever and confident person."

I found this quick little read to be such an inspiring story for readers of any age, a story that shows that there are ways to make dreams happen no matter the setbacks, if you just have enough belief in yourself and your abilities. It also stresses the importance of finding and holding onto self-respect, and how it's not a weakness to vocalize "I deserve better" from anyone taking advantage of you -- even if that person is blood. This book is geared towards the middle-grade / early YA market, but that's a message that I can see resonating with people of all ages. 

I also really enjoyed all of the cultural aspects of New Zealand that are written into the storyline. I will say, works from New Zealand and Australian authors can be tricky to get physical copies of in the US, but if you do happen to come across this one for a good price sometime, I'd definitely recommend giving it a go! 

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EXTRAS:

Definitions of some of the New Zealand terminology used in this book --- 

Kapa Haka -- a form of Maori dancing

Wharenui -- a type of communal house (aka meeting house) used by the Maori people

Marae -- a sacred, communal place for important religious or social gatherings, ceremonies; commonly a plot of land that has been cleared of brush / trees and then enclosed with a border of stones or wooden posts

Tangata -- Maori term meaning "human being" / "man"

Whenua -- Maori term for "land", can also mean "placenta"

*** when used together, the words Tangata Whenua is the Maori term for when they are referencing their indigenous people / culture; literally translates to "people of the land"

Isla is a lonely girl who moves to Hobart with her mother and brother to try to better their lives. It’s not really working until they meet Bo, a crewman on an Antarctic supply ship, the Nella Dan, who shares stories about his adventures with them—his travels, bird watching, his home in Denmark, and life on board the ship. Isla is struggling to learn what truly matters and who to trust, while this modern Viking is searching to understand his past and to find a place in this world for himself. Though their time together is short, it is enough to change the course of both their lives.

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It's the late 1980s. Isla and her younger brother, Peter, are with their mother traveling to Hobart, a major city within the Australian state of Tasmania. It's there that they hope to start a new life, one that might help the mother overcome her crippling depression. Also coming into port is the eye-catching red scientific research ship Nella Dan. On board is Bo, the ship's cook. The ship's crew is on temporary leave, taking a break from their researching trip around Antarctica. Bo befriends Isla's mother, who quickly offers to take him on as a house guest while he's in town. In the weeks he stays with them all, Bo quietly becomes a sort of solid father figure to the lonely Isla, He tells stories of his adventures on the ship and of his childhood in his native Denmark and phrases them in such a way that they subtlety help to soothe Isla's constant anxiety about life's persistent uncertainties and upheavals. 

When not talking of the relationship Bo has with this family in Tasmania, the story continues to follow him whenever he returns to the Nella Dan. On one winter trip, the ship gets stuck in ice and the crew is forced to wait it out for 2 months before a Japanese ice breaker ship is able to come by and dig them out. In the meantime, the reader gets an intimate look at life on a ship and the comraderie that builds from the close quarters. Once freed, looking back on the hardships of those months ends up making the crew deeply, eternally grateful and humbled for all of life's "little things" from then on. As Bo repeatedly finds himself thinking, "Never thought I'd be so happy for an apple!" Later on, the story also illustrates how a crew can get so attached to a ship as to actually feel / attach an almost human spirit to the metal. Pavett does this so well that I felt myself getting a little choked up over the fate of the ship! 

above: the real-life Nella Dan, prior to the Australian govt. making

the controversial decision to scuttle it. 

Pavett was inspired to craft this novel after hearing the story of the real-life ship Nella Dan, built in Denmark but used by the Australian government from 1953-1987. It sailed longer and farther than any other Antarctic expedition ship in history. Pavett's tale is poetically, quietly told in a pace that I found similar to Annie Proulx's The Shipping News. If you were a fan of that book, I personally found this story even better. I really liked the character of Bo, the quiet solidness he had about him, and the sort of surrogate father-daughter relationship that grew between him and Isla. I also liked the descriptions of life on the ship and the friendships that developed between the crew. I found myself picking out my favorites in the crew and being bummed when one of the guys didn't make it to the end of the story :-( Parrett's writing felt pretty cinematic itself, but I could definitely see this, with the right cinematographer brought on, being made into a pretty stunning movie!