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ISBN Print: 9783847113232 – ISBN E-Lib: 9783737013239
a continuum from a very personal level of engagement (“what thismeans for
me”) toa social level (the implications forAustralian society).
Withreflectionsofapersonalnature,readersappreciatedhowthestorygavea
“very interesting” account of a particular period and provoked emotional re-
actionsandalsoadesire, asone readerput it, to“knowmoreabout your [own]
family history, what your heritage is” (FG2).With reflections on amore social
level, readers began to appreciate the implications of the story, and display
emotions in relation to it. Such engagementmight lead some to articulate the
need for injustice to be acknowledged (a key theme in the novel) and the elu-
sivenessof recognitionandrestitution.Onan individual level, readinganddis-
cussionpromptedpersonal reminiscence.Oneparticipantcommented:“I really
lovedtoreadsomethingthatisAustralian.Itisreallynicetoreadyourownhistory
orhearyourownstories”(FG2).Readerswouldremembereventsfromtheirown
experiences, as the following illustrates:
Iwas talkingbeforeabout—mygrandmothergrewuponastation,Ceduna—andhow
…[Grenville]wasdescribinglifeonanisolatedfarm,withDaunt.AndIwasjustgetting
mixedupinmyheadwithmygrandmother’s stories [youcouldvisualize it]yeah,and
really feel it. (FG2)
Readers reflecting in thiswayoften expressed adesire to find outmore about
their familyhistories, or to reconnectwith relatives acrossAustralia, before the
storieswere “lost” (FG2).
Active reflection alsohappened in awider sensewith readers engagingwith
contemporarysocial issuesaroundracerelations.Forexample,readerswantedto
getatthetruthofAustralianhistory;asonecommented:“whydidn’tpeoplewrite
about it [Australian history], why is it not on TV, why is our history buried,
basically.Apart fromNedKellyandthegoldrushthere isbasicallynothingthere,
thereisabsolutelynothingthere”(FG2).Thebroaderreflectionsonthepast,and
oncontemporaryrelationswithIndigenousAustralians, includedassertionsthat
injustice should be recognized, and yet also that recognition was elusive, and
restitution almost irresolvably complex. During a lengthy discussion of In-
digenousdisadvantage,onewomanmadeacommentwhichreflectedonhowthe
bookappeared toexplicitly invokecontemporary race relations, saying:
I amprobably abitwearyandwaryandcautious about indigenous issues.Youknow,
andIamveryunconfident thatanyofushaveanyrealsolutionsto it, soIwascautious
with thebook,youknow.But thenIwascommentingonit in thediscussionthat Iwas
quite satisfied bywhere it went, and impressed with Kate Grenville.…Ok, I’mnot
posinganysolutionsbut it is important to talkabout it andkeep the storiesopenand
aliveandyoudoneed toknowwhathashappened (FG2).
This reflects howbook clubmembers read SarahThornhill as away to engage
with current debates around reconciliation, and how the historical novel has
MaggieNolan/RobertClarke
/RebekahBrown238
Open-Access-Publikation im Sinne der CC-Lizenz BY 4.0
Über Bücher reden
Literaturrezeption in Lesegemeinschaften
- Titel
- Über Bücher reden
- Untertitel
- Literaturrezeption in Lesegemeinschaften
- Autor
- Doris Moser
- Herausgeber
- Claudia Dürr
- Verlag
- V&R unipress
- Datum
- 2021
- Sprache
- deutsch
- Lizenz
- CC BY 4.0
- ISBN
- 978-3-7370-1323-9
- Abmessungen
- 15.5 x 23.2 cm
- Seiten
- 262
- Kategorie
- Lehrbücher