ARA Review by Matthew_James_Hunt of Ironbark Hill

[Matthew_James_Hunt]

[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, Ironbark Hill.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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The main story in Ironbark Hill is set in 1954-55, when the main character, Natalie Chapman, turns sixteen. We follow her life over the course of that pivotal and formative year. It’s a coming-of-age story with her in a war of wills against her abusive and alcoholic step-father, Alex. The family teeters on the edge of poverty on a drought-cursed and poorly maintained Australian farm. These are the conditions in which she was raised and, crucially, she comes to aspire to a better, more cultured life in art.

The storyline for the first three-quarters of the book is what I would call a gentle, meditative, meander. It’s rich with description of the Australian landscape and climate. I’ve never been to Australia, but I now feel familiar with its seasons. The author, Jennie Linnane, does a wonderful job of making you feel as if you are there. We get to know an engaging set of characters as the story builds and then, for that last quarter of the book, things get really juicy and interesting and you’re starting to will things to happen that perhaps you shouldn’t. I enjoy stories that test our perception of morality and there are a couple of plotlines that do that, one more seriously than the other. How culpable a main character is in that dramatic outcome, we are left wondering. I enjoyed that thought-provoking aspect of it.

The current book-cover artwork falls far short of a professional standard. This lets the book down in two important ways: first, most obviously, fewer people will bother reading it, and second, anyone who does make the effort is naturally expecting some level of amateurishness in the writing. This set me up to feel, in the all-important first stages, that the narrative was over-written, with prose a little too flowery and poetic (I prefer plain and transparent prose), BUT, if you stick with it, you come to realize that this is the way the older first-person narrator, Natalie, would come to speak and write – she was a poor, abused, country girl who has grown into a cultured, well-read woman who sees poetry in the world around her, perhaps an Australian Maya Anjelou type.

The cues for this realization are subtle, though, and perhaps it might have been better seeded higher in the reader’s consciousness somehow – we find the main influence of her cultural development quite late on in the book. On that subject, I was very entertained and gripped by the love interest. I was greedy for more and I think this should have featured more and earlier in the book). I just really hope they redesign the cover so readers will expect better of the content, because the content is good. The writing and editing is of a good quality and reads well. I wanted to give it 4 out of 5 stars, but, because I feel the main body lacked enough hooks and drive to urge this reader on (this is my main criticism), and because of the writerly prose (yes it was justified by character, but only just) I have to give it 3 out of 5 stars.

There were a couple of awkward moments when the mixed-race protagonist refers to the colour of her own hands when the colour was completely irrelevant to the context. Nobody of any race would do that. Apart from those very minor faux pas, I think race and gender issues were handled superbly and I was enthralled by the dynamics of Natalie in her social milieux. If you are of a sensitive disposition, then you ought to be aware that while there is violence, attempted rape, and implied sexual congress. The violence is brief, relevant to the story, and handled responsibly, and there is nothing graphic or even explicit in anything relating to sex.

If you enjoy poetic, descriptive, atmospheric, and gentle stories that put you in far off places and times, observing the fraught and intriguing struggles of innocence against brutality and hardship, willing the triumph of the oppressed over petty tyranny, and being surprised and entranced by unexpected and questionable romance, then you should love this read.

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