Hi everyone,
Upon reflection, I quite enjoyed this book – but only after I had to force myself to plough through the first 200 pages or so which I found to be quite tedious. As most interstaters so far have noted, Kidman’s multiple narrator structure really isn’t very successful and this is especially evident towards the end of the book when the narrative gets away from her a little and she is forced to make quick switches of voice within the chapters, with headings such as “John” and “Betty.”
And it also meant that the not-very-suspenseful-at-all confrontation at Parramatta involving most of the characters was awkwardly constructed, confused and lacking the comic effect she was attempting to achieve. I didn’t care for the characters very much, but did not find them unbelievable. I have to admit I skimmed over most of the whaling bits, having had just about enough whaling to last a lifetime with Moby Dick. The book is actually a very good example of the challenges that lurk within the historical novel genre, and I think Kidman addresses these challenges with mixed results. I thought her research was excellent and I certainly felt I learned a few things I did not know (for example, that the Maoris were cannibals – I’m assuming this is true??). I thought John Guard’s diary entries were the least successful device in that the character that emerged from these passages seemed to me to be one that would not have written those thoughts down – a circular argument, I know, but it just didn’t work for me. To be fair to Kidman, though, I think she had researched diary entries and could very well have come across some form of diary from the real John Guard . . . another issue of the historical novel, of course, is the balance of fact and fiction. I think the most successful ones allow the reader not to worry about what is historically “correct” and what is an educated guess on the part of the author. With this book, I was always wondering how much was “real” and how much was Kidman’s imagination. That was an annoying distraction. I did enjoy Betty as a character and liked the development of her love for New Zealand, despite everything.
I’m giving it 3 stars and voting for Ghostwritten.
Have a good meeting.
Anne xxx
elissa
theemc2
