The Yield | 
I know this is a beautifully written novel, which means I have to get it in print. Despite the fact the narration is fabulous, it deserves undivided attention. I will though be missing out on hearing spoken Aboriginal language (Wiradjuri), which is simply gorgeous.
I think this will be my reward for sitting through 2 days of painful meetings. 😉
pickBruce Pascoe says about The Yield: ‘Take courage when you read this book. You will need it.‘ He is right. Through fiction, Winch faces us directly into the realities, hardships and hopes that face Australia‘s Indigenous people. Winch weaves the language of the Wiradjuri people throughout the novel, which ties the past to the present and brings hope to the future.
https://youtu.be/TE9QIA_Q9R0
#InvisibleCitiesProject
#JanuaryInJapan
Intro
Highlights
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Gallery of Clouds by Rachel Eisendrath
pickAugust returns to rural Australia after her grandfather‘s death and is forced to confront numerous traumas: losses in her past, a looming major displacement, and the history of trauma to her people. This book is a steadily building scream of the grief of multigenerational trauma resulting from colonization of Aboriginal people. It‘s superb but a tough read.
so-soAugust‘s story was a bit of a let down. The innovative conceit of using Wiradjuri language in The Yield to communicate a story and connect with the reader was muffled somewhat by a bog-standard David and Goliath fight that fell a bit flat. It‘s a good story in the sense that it hits all the beats you‘d expect, but next to the dictionary and the letter, it didn‘t shine. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-yield-tara-june-winch/
Getting ready to make my Booker Prize predictions for our blog‘s shadow panel. Starting this one today. What are your thoughts? Which books will make the list? I‘m still finalizing my list. Publisher lists as Jan 2021 date but my book says 2019. So not clear if it‘s eligible
Reread this #ozfiction by Aboriginal Australian writer Tara June Winch. Universally acclaimed by my book club 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻.
🖤💛♥️
pickI picked an #indigenousauthor for the #booked2021 #Australia prompt. This novel, about a young Wiradjuri woman who returns whom after a 10 year absence was a fantastic read. Having to confront the past, and the problems of the present, this book attempts to cover a lot of ground. I loved the format, with Poppy‘s Wiradjuri dictionary chapters, and the historical letters from a missionary interspersed throughout.
Art explanation below. ⬇️⬇️
I‘m using the 🛀 in our new house for the first time, and it is AH-MAZING!! Almost makes me wish winter wasn‘t over! 🤣🤣
We spent the afternoon making a small trail from our backyard to the creek in the woods behind our house, a bath and a book is just what I needed tonight!
Ignore the temporary blinds, we‘re still waiting for our shutters to arrive 🤣.
It‘s been a long and busy day, so I‘m putting my feet up by the 🔥 with my next book. I have a few indigenous authors on my TBR this year, and this one will also fulfill the #booked2021 #australia prompt!
Our new nightstands arrived today! And you know the first thing I put on it was books! 📚 📚
pickIndigenous peoples in Australia have had similar traumatic experiences with colonialism as in Canada, including stolen generations, racist violence & suppression of cultures. Using 3 perspectives—bisexual August‘s contemporary storyline; her grandfather‘s dictionary of Wiradjuri language & ancestral memory; & the account of a 19th-c Lutheran missionary—healing & cultural reclamation subtly unfolds in the “space between things.”
What‘s a tin mine look like?
Big hole.
Is it bad?
‘Member Wizard of Oz?
Yeah.
‘Member Tin Man?
Yeah.
Well there‘s a reason he doesn‘t have a heart, darl.
What‘s that mean?
That tin don‘t love anyone or anything back.
pickFinished this morning . Day 2 of hard lockdown. A powerful , IMPORTANT read. One of the most worthy winners of the MF award. Every Australian should read this. For me lots of tears and feeling just a little angry that my education was so limited . Hopeful that we just might be turning a corner . I see in my grandson his empathy and understanding growing and I‘m hopeful for the future.
#joysbooks2021
@MrsMalaprop
Maybe I'll have better luck with reading my #bookspin and #doublespin in February. While I read 8 books in January, none of them were my #bookspin selection! 🤓
I should be doing something work related but I have no motivation, so I came up with my TBR for #booked2021 winter picks. I couldn‘t decide which ones for SF by a woman or #covidheroes, so I have options. I‘ve also decided for the #booked2021 challenge I‘m only going to read books already on my shelves, no acquiring books for the challenge.
pickOh how I loved this book. I must read more by the author.
August returns to her family home in rural Australia for the first time in ten years. She's returned after hearing of her grandfather's death. She discovers that her family home is about to be repossessed and she tries to follow in grandfather's footsteps to save it.
A well written story, that weaves various voices over time to tell the story of their land.
I encouraged my husband to read this, pretty early on he described it as heavy, he reads Science Fiction and Fantasy as he finds them quick, easy and enjoyable - reading to escape - but he persisted with this book. As he just finished his shoulders slumped, stoical me asked ‘thoughts?‘ and he burst into tears. Powerful!!! Cathartic!!!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This text is fabulous, it builds and builds with a beautiful subtlety into a strong character of its own. Highly recommended! The variation in prose and description a sign of a masterful writer.
This text is building up for me, it fits really well with having read Dark Emu recently with the descriptions of fishing, cooking and life. It reads more like a history text through combining different experiences, language, culture and a modern narrative. Deep and beautiful learnings here.
I'm only about to chapter 8 and I am enjoying the movement from present to past, from August to Albert and the significance of the language learning is not lost but Im also in agreeable with @CarolynM at the moment. It's not quite grabbing me yet. Seems a bit thin but as I said only at chapter 8.
pickThere is a lot going on in this book, which I thought was a really thoughtful story about the depth of trauma wrought by colonisation. Where this novel lost a bit of its edge for me, was in the breadth of ideas it grapples with. I thought these stories were all interesting and meaningful, but at the end, many felt a bit underdeveloped. Well worth a read #indiebuddyreads
pickAnyone else watching the Stella announcement this evening? My pick is The Yield.
(8pm Australian eastern standard time)
Still working my way through the shortlist. I‘m in the middle of Here Until August (so good), still waiting on my@library hold for The Weekend and I keep putting off Diving into Glass because I‘ve heard bad things.
pick
I loved everything about this book. The timelines, the narrators, the structure and the dictionary. Even the horrific history, no matter how many times you read it, in different shapes and voices, you think you've heard it before but Winch has portrayed it so creatively here. It was deeply moving and bloody brilliant.
Had the pleasure of seeing Tara speak again today, this time about what it means to be free, at the Perth Literature & Ideas Day Two. Afterwards she signed my book 😍, which I‘ve already read, and another of hers that I bought yesterday, Swallow The Air. When she signed Swallow the Air she asked if I‘d be kind as I read it as she was only 21 when she wrote it. Honestly, WTF have I been doing with my life 🤷♀️😆? #ozfiction #indigenousfiction
pickI wanted to like this more than I did. There are 3 strands of story. 2 are told in the first person and both of these are strong, engaging voices but the 3rd, and longest, strand didn't really work for me. I realise the author needed to make it sound different from its surroundings but I think she went too far. I found the writing stilted, the dialogue flat and the characters under developed. And I didn't understand some of the plot development.👇
Stella longlist titles I already own moved to the top of the tbr. Going to try and read the whole longlist this year
New episode of Books on the Go is up now! We give our Stella Prize longlist predictions and discuss ‘The Yield‘ by Tara June Winch. Does it live up to the hype? Take a listen - whenever podcasts live. 😉🎧
pick#Ozfiction
All the love and feels for this novel. It is gorgeous and so important. I am on a journey to learn more about our Aboriginal heratige and culture. It is through books and stories like this one that will make me a better person and a better Australian.
❤💛🖤
#Ozfiction
Not a bad reading spot. 50 floors up in the Auckland Sky tower.
Enjoying this book so far! 😊
@Centique
I read lots of good books this year, but not many outstanding ones.
It was a year where I read a number of quality books by/about Australian Aboriginal people, so I‘ve decided to highlight them here and to start my 2020 reading year with Aboriginal musician Archie Roach‘s autobiography.
Australia has a long way to go to reconcile its history. My hope is that more people read these and many other fabulous books that contribute to the process.
pickI am so grateful for Australian Aboriginal writers like Winch, Coleman and Lukashenko for writing amazing contemporary fiction about Australian Aboriginal people, weaving the past and the present with breathtaking skill ❤️💛🖤.
This book was stunning. It made me bawl. It made me mad. It made me grow.
All the love for this novel, and I can‘t wait to see her speak at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in October. 🙏💕😍
#ozfiction
From one #ozfiction to the next. I don‘t know much about this book or author, but I do know she‘s Aboriginal (Wiradjuri) and that she will be at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in Bali next month, where I am lucky enough to be going again this year 👏🙏📚😊. So I‘m gonna give it a crack. #currentlyreading
