A review by lenny9987
The Settling Earth by Rebecca Burns

4.0

Every once in a while I like to read a collection of short stories to take a break from novels. There are some collections of short stories where the pieces do a fantastic job of working together as a cohesive unit while maintaining their ability to stand solidly at an individual level. The Settling Earth by Rebecca Burns is one such collection. Comprised of eight of Burns’ stories focused on British emigrants’ experiences in colonial New Zealand and one story by Shelly Davies providing a native’s perspective on the new comers, the collection takes care to look at an array of experiences that crosses the lines of both class and gender.

The hopes and dreams that brought individuals from their homes in Great Britain are tested as they face the realities of life in New Zealand. While some crossed for love or marriage, others sought to escape their pasts or otherwise difficult circumstances. What they all have in common is that none of them found the new land quite what they expected, whether to their benefit or detriment. But the emigrants brought more than just themselves, and as they try to transplant their own lives, they also wind up transplanting some of the structures of the society they left behind (the very same that some of them were actively fleeing).

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