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Salt Creek
- Narrated by: Ulli Birvé
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
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Salt Creek
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Summary
From the winner of the 2014 Commonwealth Short Story Prize and the 2013 Writing Australia Unpublished Manuscript Award comes Lucy Treloar's new novel.
Some things collapse slow and cannot always be rebuilt, and even if a thing can be remade it will never be as it was.
In 1855 Salt Creek lies at the far reaches of the remote, beautiful and inhospitable coastal region, the Coorong, in the new province of South Australia. The area, just opened to graziers willing to chance their luck, becomes home to Stanton Finch and his large family, including 15-year-old Hester Finch. Once wealthy political activists, the Finch family has fallen on hard times. Cut adrift from the polite society they were raised to be part of, Hester and her siblings make connections where they can, with the few travellers who pass along the nearby stock route - among them a young artist, Charles - and the Ngarrindjeri people they have dispossessed.
Over the years that pass, an Aboriginal boy, Tully, at first a friend, becomes part of the family. Stanton's attempts to tame the harsh landscape bring ruin to the Ngarrindjeri people's homes and livelihoods and unleash a chain of events that will tear the family asunder. As Hester witnesses the destruction of the Ngarrindjeri's subtle culture and the ideals that her family once held so close, she begins to wonder what civilization is. Was it for this life and this world that she was educated?
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What listeners say about Salt Creek
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Hamburgerpatty
- 14-02-17
The hook, the interest, the desire, the action
What did you like most about Salt Creek?
That the author invited me to share the experience of the family. I felt I was there even at their grim Sunday worship sessions, the slaughtering of a calf, the mending of clothes. I did resent the time away from listening to this challenging novel. I didn't want to put it down - or switch it off.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Salt Creek?
Mrs Finch meeting Mrs Robinson at Traveller's Rest.
Which character – as performed by Ulli Birvé – was your favourite?
Tully
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Seldom have I cried for joy at the end of a novel. I've listened three times to Geraldine Brooks People of the Book and each time at the end tears come freely. Tears came once again freely and without shame on my part. I even listened to every acknowledgement. What a novel, what a reader, what a story, what an exploration of human relationships and what an ending. An extraordinary novel.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Liz
- 16-05-18
Overly long and written in a passive voice
I was really looking forward to this book, but I wish I'd read more reviews before buying it.
It's written in the passive past tense, which is used in courtrooms to create distance from the events described. here it has exactly the same effect - nothing really matters, all action is reported rather than experienced and so it's hard to care about any of the characters and nothing is gripping.
It's well researched and that is rammed down the readers throat as we crawl along through the story. I listened at double speed and even with that it was painfully slow. It wasn't utterly dreadful, but I spent more time considering if I should carry on listening than I did enjoying it. Ultimately, I'd have been better off giving up after a few hours.
I'll be returning this book. it's average, not engaging and overly long. As a Guardian review I read after finishing it (and how I wish I'd read it before buying), there is probably an excellent novel in here somewhere, it's trapped in this longwinded book
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1 person found this helpful