Status
Available
Publication
Small Beer Press (2018), Edition: Advanced Reading Copy, 320 pages
Description
"Jacky was running. There was no thought in his head, only an intense drive to run. There was no sense he was getting anywhere, no plan, no destination, no future. All he had was a sense of what was behind, what he was running from. Jacky was running." The natives of the colony are restless. The settlers are eager to have a nation of peace, and to bring the savages into line. Families are torn apart, re-education is enforced. This rich land will provide for all. This is not Australia as we know it. This is not the Australia of our history. This Terra Nullius is something new, but all too familiar.
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User reviews
LibraryThing member ChocolateMuse
This is science fiction as it's supposed to be: a story that shows us with plenty of punch, who we are as humans, what we have done and what we might do again. It's a story that puts a fresh perspective on colonisation and as such should be read by pretty much everyone. I deeply appreciate the way
That's not to say there aren't faults to the novel - there are first-time author problems which I'm more than willing to forgive for the sake of what this novel is doing. The worst of these faults was the repeated tendency to belabour the comparison between the story and our true history - making direct comparisons in so many words. While the action was happening I was nodding in deep appreciation of how it all relates to our history, but then the author would go ahead and explain it, destroying all the subtlety and my participation in the story. Other things too could have done with a more thorough editing, but these things are in no way a reason to avoid this book: I highly, highly recommend it.
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it makes us feel what it really is like to be the Native, the one who is colonised by others - it is time, and long past time, for literature to be used for that end. I personally have so rarely come across it, especially in the context of Australia. That's not to say there aren't faults to the novel - there are first-time author problems which I'm more than willing to forgive for the sake of what this novel is doing. The worst of these faults was the repeated tendency to belabour the comparison between the story and our true history - making direct comparisons in so many words. While the action was happening I was nodding in deep appreciation of how it all relates to our history, but then the author would go ahead and explain it, destroying all the subtlety and my participation in the story. Other things too could have done with a more thorough editing, but these things are in no way a reason to avoid this book: I highly, highly recommend it.
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LibraryThing member Lindsay_W
Terra Nullius is about the colonization of the Australian continent. The story revolves around a boy on the run who has escaped from the colonizer’s forced labour and goes in search of his family. For the first half of the book I assumed the colonizers were European and that the people referred
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to as “Natives” were Indigenous. Mid way through the book though, this assumption was challenged, leaving me to deal with this mind-blowing change of perspective. Read it with a friend so you will have someone to talk to about it. You think you know, the all too familiar pattern of colonization, its oppression of Indigenous people, it all sounds familiar until it doesn’t, but then it still kind of does. I’m glad I didn’t notice it was classified as speculative fiction until after I read it. Show Less
LibraryThing member corinnegilroy
I meet intermittently with a small group of women to discuss poetry. Together we constitute, for lack of a better term, a poetry book club. During one recent meet-up, I mentioned a pattern that frustrated me in a collection by a Metis woman: her tendency to compare women to birds. From my
I kept that lesson top of mind while reading Claire G. Coleman’s Terra Nullius. Coleman is, to quote her bio, “a writer from Western Australia who identifies with the South Coast Noongar people.” Her novel is nothing if not a love letter to freedom, self-determination, and the rights of indigenous peoples. It is didactic, but justifiably so, given Australia’s colonial history; and certain passages / scenes could be riveting if read aloud (invoking the power of oral tradition?) in a junior high classroom by a teacher who cares about the work of reconciliation. But Terra Nullius is also beset by a peculiarly reticent omniscient narrator who keeps characters at arms length even while revealing their thoughts and feelings; unhelpful fictional epigraphs and epistolary fragments; and the author’s frustrating decision to conceal the book’s actual plot and setting until more than 100 pages in. (Postcolonial lit, M. Night Shyamalan style?)
The plot of Terra Nullius follows several threads that are gradually woven together. My favourite of these, by far, is Sister Bagra’s reign of terror. She is Mother Superior at a residential school for humans (“natives”), where she contravenes her religious order by malnourishing her charges and training them for menial labour; they are slaves more than students. Sister Bagra is somewhat two-dimensional, even for a villain, and the origins of her bitterness and cruelty are never explored. But a good heel is a brilliant source of catharsis: easy to hate and rally against, especially when we recall that she is a fictional condensation of the religious authority figures who have abused, neglected, and killed indigenous children in colonial residential schools around the world.
To me, this is an important but imperfect novel– but I am a settler trained in a literary tradition that is only beginning to consider the value of indigenous storytelling and ways of knowing. So don’t take my word for it, please.
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perspective (white Anglo-Canadian; degree in English Lit), this is a cliché device usually employed by male poets to patronize and coddle female characters– to portray them as weak and fragile. I couldn’t understand why a radical young indigenous poet would frame women this way. Enter stage right: my own cross-cultural ignorance. Another group member– an inquisitive, thoughtful women of colour who looks out for other marginalized women as a matter of course– explained to me that those particular bird species have special significance to some indigenous groups on Turtle Island. My friend and fellow group member had done her homework; I was lazily relying on the homework I’d done for Intro to Women in Literature a decade and a half earlier.I kept that lesson top of mind while reading Claire G. Coleman’s Terra Nullius. Coleman is, to quote her bio, “a writer from Western Australia who identifies with the South Coast Noongar people.” Her novel is nothing if not a love letter to freedom, self-determination, and the rights of indigenous peoples. It is didactic, but justifiably so, given Australia’s colonial history; and certain passages / scenes could be riveting if read aloud (invoking the power of oral tradition?) in a junior high classroom by a teacher who cares about the work of reconciliation. But Terra Nullius is also beset by a peculiarly reticent omniscient narrator who keeps characters at arms length even while revealing their thoughts and feelings; unhelpful fictional epigraphs and epistolary fragments; and the author’s frustrating decision to conceal the book’s actual plot and setting until more than 100 pages in. (Postcolonial lit, M. Night Shyamalan style?)
The plot of Terra Nullius follows several threads that are gradually woven together. My favourite of these, by far, is Sister Bagra’s reign of terror. She is Mother Superior at a residential school for humans (“natives”), where she contravenes her religious order by malnourishing her charges and training them for menial labour; they are slaves more than students. Sister Bagra is somewhat two-dimensional, even for a villain, and the origins of her bitterness and cruelty are never explored. But a good heel is a brilliant source of catharsis: easy to hate and rally against, especially when we recall that she is a fictional condensation of the religious authority figures who have abused, neglected, and killed indigenous children in colonial residential schools around the world.
To me, this is an important but imperfect novel– but I am a settler trained in a literary tradition that is only beginning to consider the value of indigenous storytelling and ways of knowing. So don’t take my word for it, please.
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LibraryThing member TedWitham
Set in occupied Australia, Terra Nullius tells three inter-weaved stories: the first is a residential school for Natives run by Settler Nuns headed by a fearsome Mother Superior, Sister Bagra. In this school, Native children have been forcibly taken from their families and are given a basic
The second story is the escape of Jacky from a similar place. Jacky is determined to find his birth family. He is told that they may be at the former town of Jerramungup, so proudly takes the name ‘Jacky Jerramungup’.
A third group of Natives live fearful lives in a series of squalid camps, always on the run and moving to a new location as the Settlers drive them into the desert. The only advantage of this is that the Settlers cannot live in the desert.
First-time novelist Claire Coleman, a West Australian Noongar, drops little hints that this is not the occupied Australia we know when the British Settlers occupied the land and treated the indigenous people with cruelty. About half-way through the book she reveals that these Settlers come from a space-faring Empire, and these Natives are black and white survivors of their arrival.
The Settlers are nicknamed Toads by the Natives, because they need moisture to survive. Because of the ever-present threat of Settler violence, the name ‘Toads’ is never used in their hearing.
The three main characters, Sister Bagra, Jacky and Esperance the de facto leader of the ever-moving camp are vividly drawn, as well as a big cast around them: Sergeant Rohan the indefatigable hunter of runaway Natives; Johnny Starr the outlaw Settler whose little gang gathers up Jacky Jerramungup on their way to an eventual show-down with Settler power, and Father Grark the reluctant Inspector sent to Sister Bagra’s mission.
I liked Terra Nullius very much. An atmosphere of dread induced both by the Settlers and the difficulty of surviving in the desert pervades the book. The West Australian settings are familiar but changed. The characters are never reduced to caricatures: most Settlers genuinely believe that the Natives were not human; the Native characters are clear individuals.
The pacing is well-handled. Towards the end, I couldn’t put the book down I was so afraid for Jacky and Esperance, and with reason!
It is a didactic novel. I suspect that Australians sceptical of Aboriginal claims will not be convinced by its premise, and may even be annoyed by its ideas. However it will appeal to people looking for reconciliation and deeper insights into our shared history, settler and native.
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education so that they will graduate to domestic service for the Settlers. The second story is the escape of Jacky from a similar place. Jacky is determined to find his birth family. He is told that they may be at the former town of Jerramungup, so proudly takes the name ‘Jacky Jerramungup’.
A third group of Natives live fearful lives in a series of squalid camps, always on the run and moving to a new location as the Settlers drive them into the desert. The only advantage of this is that the Settlers cannot live in the desert.
First-time novelist Claire Coleman, a West Australian Noongar, drops little hints that this is not the occupied Australia we know when the British Settlers occupied the land and treated the indigenous people with cruelty. About half-way through the book she reveals that these Settlers come from a space-faring Empire, and these Natives are black and white survivors of their arrival.
The Settlers are nicknamed Toads by the Natives, because they need moisture to survive. Because of the ever-present threat of Settler violence, the name ‘Toads’ is never used in their hearing.
The three main characters, Sister Bagra, Jacky and Esperance the de facto leader of the ever-moving camp are vividly drawn, as well as a big cast around them: Sergeant Rohan the indefatigable hunter of runaway Natives; Johnny Starr the outlaw Settler whose little gang gathers up Jacky Jerramungup on their way to an eventual show-down with Settler power, and Father Grark the reluctant Inspector sent to Sister Bagra’s mission.
I liked Terra Nullius very much. An atmosphere of dread induced both by the Settlers and the difficulty of surviving in the desert pervades the book. The West Australian settings are familiar but changed. The characters are never reduced to caricatures: most Settlers genuinely believe that the Natives were not human; the Native characters are clear individuals.
The pacing is well-handled. Towards the end, I couldn’t put the book down I was so afraid for Jacky and Esperance, and with reason!
It is a didactic novel. I suspect that Australians sceptical of Aboriginal claims will not be convinced by its premise, and may even be annoyed by its ideas. However it will appeal to people looking for reconciliation and deeper insights into our shared history, settler and native.
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LibraryThing member harryo19
This is a first novel from an Australian Aboriginal author that tells the story of the colonization of the continent mostly from the native's point of view. It tells it as a science fiction tale, but takes over a hundred pages before that becomes clear. I hope that isn't a spoiler. A
The writing could have used a strong editor's hand. Errors in grammar, mixed metaphors occur frequently. The characters are fairly one-dimensional and there are some logical inconsistancies. But the story is told with passion and is not bad for the first time out.
This was an Early Reviewer book.
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technologically advanced amphibious type species called the Settlers invades and enslaves Earth's population. The main character, Jacky, runs away from a cruel master and eventually becomes a symbol of resistance. Another plot thread involves a mission where an abusive headmistress, Sister Bagram, thinks of the native children as animals, starves and mistreats them in an effort to mold them into good slaves. Mostly the story is a chase through the desert in which the Settlers are trying to capture the runaway.The writing could have used a strong editor's hand. Errors in grammar, mixed metaphors occur frequently. The characters are fairly one-dimensional and there are some logical inconsistancies. But the story is told with passion and is not bad for the first time out.
This was an Early Reviewer book.
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LibraryThing member justagirlwithabook
I received this book as an Early Review giveaway through LibraryThing. I really wanted to enjoy this book but I struggled getting past the really choppy sentences and the repetitive thoughts of the characters. The story is told through multiple viewpoints throughout the story and the plot, setting,
That all being said, I applaud the author for wanting to tell this story as the actual historical events and individuals that this story was inspired from are important and those stories should be told; I just wish they had been told in a more masterful way that would've hooked me from the start.
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events, etc. are meant (according to my understanding) to parallel the events and native people who lived in Australia (essentially, Australia's colonialism story similar to that of the white Europeans coming to America to 'convert and civilize the natives' there). The first part of the storyline was really confusing -- the author just drops us into a character's head in the midst of him running away and it takes a lot of time for the reader to get acclimated to what is actually happening (too long, in my opinion, which had me frustrated and not wanting to read much more - the 'hook' element was not present and I had no investment in the character). As an English teacher who does also understand that there is something to be said for an author's artistic license and style, the text was so full of incomplete sentences, run-ons, and comma splices, that it was too distracting and took away from the story. I found myself asking, "Surely the editors were aware of all of these ... were they left there for a purpose? And if so, what effect was it meant to have?" The only effect these sentence structures had an me was distraction.That all being said, I applaud the author for wanting to tell this story as the actual historical events and individuals that this story was inspired from are important and those stories should be told; I just wish they had been told in a more masterful way that would've hooked me from the start.
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LibraryThing member dianeham
I just could not get through this book. Just didn't hook me.
LibraryThing member bhutton
Fantastic look at first nation experiences through shifting the story into a SF setting. Due to the research and family history of Coleman the story feels all to real and horrific with the ending being as sad and disturbing because of the parallels drawn throughout the book.
LibraryThing member quondame
In a harsh landscape a hard conquering race enslaves a tattered remnant of the native population. Bleak and mostly not very interesting. OK, so it is aliens treating humans as Europeans treated native Australians. That was probably bleaker, but at least real, this isn't even consistent enough to
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convince. And the viewpoint changes suck. Show Less
LibraryThing member arubabookwoman
When we first begin reading this book, we may think we are reading a tale of early 20th century Australia where natives are subdued and controlled by "settlers." Their children are taken from them and brought to orphanages to be trained as servants for the settlers, with tragic consequences.
But no,
I don't NOT recommend the book, but I do think it is overhyped.
2 1/2 stars
But no,
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this is science fiction, not historical fiction, and it is science fiction being used to comment on European colonization of other parts of the world in centuries past. Its twist is what brought so much hype to this book, and I was really looking forward to reading it. Although the premise was clever, when all is said and done, the execution is not special. In fact, at times, it devolves into simply a "chase" novel, with an evil settler/tracker chasing an escaped native servant and constantly being outwitted (or maybe the author was trying to evoke the Ned Kelly legend.) Episodes of near-capture and narrow escape became repetitive and went on much too long.I don't NOT recommend the book, but I do think it is overhyped.
2 1/2 stars
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Awards
Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 2019)
Aurealis Award (Shortlist — 2017)
Reading Women Award (Shortlist — Fiction — 2018)
Australian Book Industry Awards (Shortlist — New Writer — 2018)
BookTube Prize (Octofinalist — Fiction — 2019)
The Indie Book Award (Longlist — 2018)
Stella Prize (Shortlist — 2018)
MUD Literary Prize (Shortlist — 2018)
NPR: Books We Love (2018)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2017
Physical description
320 p.; 8.9 inches
ISBN
1618731513 / 9781618731517