A review by nonsensicaljourney
Flock: First Nations Stories Then and Now by Ellen van Neerven
3.0
3.5 stars!
This was a broadly enjoyable book of short stories which I picked up becuase I'd enjoyed van Neerven's other work in Throat (an anthology of poems). The book pulls together fifteen or so different short stories by various First Nations writers - from relatively well-known authors like Tara June Winch and Tony Birch to unknown but emerging First Nations writers, poets and screenwriters.
Let me just say, this book deserves every bit of attention it can get - it's not just something worth reading for NAIDOC week. It deserves to be read and appreciated by every Australian. It blended my own understanding of general "Australian" culture with a deeper First Nations understanding of country, and its stories ranged from deeply cultural reflections on Noongar country (in Western Australia) to short little conversations about queerness in the modern day. Each story was refereshing in its own way, and it made the short stories feel complete as an anthology curated by van Neerven.
It was a privilege reading these stories. I felt the writing was sometimes a bit hit-and-miss, but ultimately there were enough hits to make me appreciate it on the whole. Not to mention all of the important things I've learned about First Nations people by my reading of it.
This was a broadly enjoyable book of short stories which I picked up becuase I'd enjoyed van Neerven's other work in Throat (an anthology of poems). The book pulls together fifteen or so different short stories by various First Nations writers - from relatively well-known authors like Tara June Winch and Tony Birch to unknown but emerging First Nations writers, poets and screenwriters.
Let me just say, this book deserves every bit of attention it can get - it's not just something worth reading for NAIDOC week. It deserves to be read and appreciated by every Australian. It blended my own understanding of general "Australian" culture with a deeper First Nations understanding of country, and its stories ranged from deeply cultural reflections on Noongar country (in Western Australia) to short little conversations about queerness in the modern day. Each story was refereshing in its own way, and it made the short stories feel complete as an anthology curated by van Neerven.
It was a privilege reading these stories. I felt the writing was sometimes a bit hit-and-miss, but ultimately there were enough hits to make me appreciate it on the whole. Not to mention all of the important things I've learned about First Nations people by my reading of it.