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terrypaulpearce's review against another edition
5.0
In the tradition of The Mosquito Coast and The Poisonwood Bible -- a driven father drags his clan to the middle of nowhere to serve God and his own pride -- but a book all its own. Prose that sings. Characters that breathe and ache and make you ache and want what they want. Plot that doesn't try to hard but makes you stay up late to read another page. What is not to love with this book? Gripping, thoughtful, brooding.
tonyriver's review against another edition
5.0
A moody, beautifully written story of a harsh country, a family challenged by the country and their mis understanding of both the land and the original inhabitants.
It is troll with the voice of a strong girl/woman determined not to lose her independence. The family is interesting and troubled with a flawed father driving all to ruin.
A delightfully subtle love story.
It is troll with the voice of a strong girl/woman determined not to lose her independence. The family is interesting and troubled with a flawed father driving all to ruin.
A delightfully subtle love story.
gemmaduds's review against another edition
4.0
Beautifully written historic Australian fiction, beginning in the 1850s.
The Finch family move from Adelaide to a remote location in the Coorong, and struggle to settle a farm together in the wilderness.
Salt Creek is a captivating coming of age story and family drama that I found myself absorbed in. Wonderful characters wrapped in romance, tragedy and hardship - a dream to read.
The Finch family move from Adelaide to a remote location in the Coorong, and struggle to settle a farm together in the wilderness.
Salt Creek is a captivating coming of age story and family drama that I found myself absorbed in. Wonderful characters wrapped in romance, tragedy and hardship - a dream to read.
katdid's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. This was good (“competent” is the right word, maybe?) but nothing special. (I feel really bad writing that.) I spent the whole novel with a sense of dread, because anything depicting interactions between colonials and Indigenous will almost certainly pan out badly for the latter. But it felt timely to be reading this on Australia Day. (Afterwards I was talking to my neighbour Will, an Indigenous man – to my shame I have no idea who his mob are, except that they’re from out past Bourke – and he’d been at the local Redfern event and said he’d never seen so many white people at it before, all wearing the Aboriginal flag and sporting face paint. “It was like spot the blackfella!” he said. #changethedate)
Spoiler
Tull didn’t get murdered, at least, which I would have put money on. And while I’m at it I thought it was really unlikely that Addie, given her headstrong character, would just meekly marry Mr Stubbs and go off to her life with him even if they did make a pact.taniemaree's review against another edition
4.0
This book came to me at a good time as I am currently studying Indigenous Perspectives in my Arts degree. It was well written, historically accurate and very enjoyable. I would recommend this book to any Australian who would like to find out how badly we treated (and are still treating) our Indigenous peoples.
miserable_biscuit's review against another edition
4.0
There are some books that surprise you with their unexpected intensity. They come out of nowhere to hit you so deeply to the core and draw you in to their world so completely that you feel as if you have become a part of it yourself. SALT CREEK is one such book. It's a fantastic novel of longing, mistakes, greed, dispossession, and, of course, love.
Characters are the heart of any novel, and SALT CREEK is no different. The characters and their relationships with one another were a delight to experience. Some were so detestable that I would grimace or almost shout with frustration, and there were equally evocative moments of pure delight and happiness. These moments demonstrated Treloar's great skill as a writer.
The background to the main act of the Finch family at Salt Creek is the slow but inevitable act of Indigenous dispossession. Treloar rarely makes this issue front and centre to the reader, but never lets it disappear entirely from the reader's mind. She presents the subject almost without judgement, inviting the reader to see the issue as it is. I think this has a greater chance of having an impact on the reader than straight moralising would. The reader witnesses the devastating impact of colonisation and ethnocentrism, knowing the end result, and must come to their own conclusion.
While it can be a bit difficult to get through the first quarter or so of the book, I think it's worth it for the reader to persevere. Here is a very poignant, very real account of the disintegration of a family, and the destruction of a people. It's a very good book, and I hope that a lot of people read and appreciate it.
Characters are the heart of any novel, and SALT CREEK is no different. The characters and their relationships with one another were a delight to experience. Some were so detestable that I would grimace or almost shout with frustration, and there were equally evocative moments of pure delight and happiness. These moments demonstrated Treloar's great skill as a writer.
The background to the main act of the Finch family at Salt Creek is the slow but inevitable act of Indigenous dispossession. Treloar rarely makes this issue front and centre to the reader, but never lets it disappear entirely from the reader's mind. She presents the subject almost without judgement, inviting the reader to see the issue as it is. I think this has a greater chance of having an impact on the reader than straight moralising would. The reader witnesses the devastating impact of colonisation and ethnocentrism, knowing the end result, and must come to their own conclusion.
While it can be a bit difficult to get through the first quarter or so of the book, I think it's worth it for the reader to persevere. Here is a very poignant, very real account of the disintegration of a family, and the destruction of a people. It's a very good book, and I hope that a lot of people read and appreciate it.
judyrigby's review against another edition
4.0
I commend the review written by #AmanadaJane; I could not say it better - this is 'a book of understanding each other and our cultures.' I do want to add, however, that for a city-girl like me who has had little face-to-face interaction with the Australian indigenous people, and as a Christian minister of religion, I found this very difficult to read. I am left feeling stricken and sorrowful - not bad feelings in this season of Lent, which is about repentance. And how our nation needs to repent.
peita_hansen's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
gemmaduds's review against another edition
4.0
Beautifully written historic Australian fiction, beginning in the 1850s.
The Finch family move from Adelaide to a remote location in the Coorong, and struggle to settle a farm together in the wilderness.
Salt Creek is a captivating coming of age story and family drama that I found myself absorbed in. Wonderful characters wrapped in romance, tragedy and hardship - a dream to read.
The Finch family move from Adelaide to a remote location in the Coorong, and struggle to settle a farm together in the wilderness.
Salt Creek is a captivating coming of age story and family drama that I found myself absorbed in. Wonderful characters wrapped in romance, tragedy and hardship - a dream to read.
nataliemeree's review against another edition
4.0
The complete hypocrisy of the white settlers is startling in every part of this story