“Darnmoor, The Gateway to Happiness. The sign taunts a fool into feeling some sense of achievement, some kind of end- that you have reached a destination in the very least. Yet as the sign states, Darnmoor is merely a gateway, a waypoint on the road to where you really want to be. Darnmoor is the home of the Billymil family, three generations who have lived in this 'gateway town'.
Race relations between Indigenous and settler families are fraught, though the rigid status quo is upheld through threats and soft power rather than the overt violence of yesteryear. As progress marches forwards, Darnmoor and its surrounds undergo rapid social and environmental changes, but as some things change, some stay exactly the same.
The Billymil family are watched (and sometimes visited) by ancestral spirits and spirits of the recently deceased, who look out for their descendants and attempt to help them on the right path. When the town's secrets start to be uncovered the town will be rocked by a violent act that forever shatters a century of silence.
Full of music, Yuwaalaraay language and exquisite description, Song of the Crocodile is a lament to choice and change, and the unyielding land that sustains us all, if only we could listen to it.”
Ref: Booktopia Aust.
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The Author:
Nardi Simpson is a Yuwaalaraay writer, musician, composer and educator from the freshwater plains of northwest New South Wales. The area is known to local Indigenous people as Crocodile Country. A founding member of Indigenous folk duo Stiff Gins, Nardi has been performing nationally and internationally for 20 years. Her debut novel, Song of the Crocodile was a 2018 winner of a black&write! writing fellowship.
Reader & Industry Reviews:
*SONG OF THE CROCODILE is a moving, wise and deeply rewarding novel from an astonishing writer - Emily Maguire, author of AN ISOLATED INCIDENT
*a beautifully written and moving novel - Good Reading
*A beautiful work - New Idea
*A captivating saga from an astonishing Australian writer - Who Weekly
*A beautifully written and moving novel - Good Reading
Our Review:
Those of us who read the book enjoyed it and found it an easy, interesting read. The book has great characters in a very familiar story of Aboriginal people’s marginal life in Australia during the past decades, inspiring characters whose lives are sadly too often cut short. We found it a sad story.
Milli, the main character was both charming, in the early part of the book and confounding throughout the later part of her life. Her relationship and treatment of her son, Patrick was so sad but understandable.
This book, to me, was two stories running side by side, the story of Milli and her Billymil family lives in the town of Darnmoor and the story of ancestral spirits and spirits of the recently deceased, which gave the reader an insight into the very foundations of Aboriginal culture and beliefs. We had a lengthy and interesting discussion of this book. I loved the book and would highly recommend it.
Thank you to Margaret Cassidy for writing this review.
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