The Endless Sky

The Endless Sky is the 31st novel by Australian author, Di Morrissey. I read a number of her earlier titles many years ago and especially enjoyed those set in the Kimberley. This novel is mainly set in western Queensland among fossil fields in the red earth or in a set of secluded underground caves. 

Nicole and Stacie travelled to the region to seek a setting for a television show. They did not know what to expect when they set out but soon discover a new world with scenery they have not previously experienced. In the outback they learn about the world of fossils, including fossil smuggling, and the meaning of the land to the local indigenous people. When they are told that the caves and surrounding area are under threat from a secret potential development they decide that they should use their program to expose the impending threat to the area. A man that they met early in their adventure disappears so they naturally want to know what happened to him and why he left the camp.

As with Di Morrissey's other novels the setting of the book is a focal point and her descriptions of the landscape and sky are impressive. However much of the story is told through the dialogue of the characters and this does not quite work as disappointingly the dialogue resembles a monotone voice after a while. The book has an important story to tell but, in my opinion, it is not a must-read novel.

Before the Storm

Ellie Conlan worked as an IT project manager for a large firm in Melbourne until a crisis at work made her decide to take a break and stay with her grandfather at his home on the Victorian coast. This decision provided Ellie with the opportunity to re-evaluate her life choices, past, present and future.

Ellie had lived in Storm Bay for a short time as a teenager and she soon readjusted to living once more in this peaceful community, however events from the past still caused her to encounter periods of panic. Ellie's grandfather ran the local newspaper and encouraged Ellie to research and write some articles. When unconfirmed reports suggested that there were secret plans for a new building development which would drastically impact on the character of the area and the livelihood of some community residents Ellie and her friends became concerned.

The importance of local newspapers to a community, the use of cyber bullying and other standover tactics to intimidate individuals, the ability of community members to work together for a cause and the importance of confronting long held secrets are some of the issues occurring throughout the novel.

As in other books by Di Morrissey, the descriptions of the setting for Before the Storm, this time an small Victorian coastal town, plays an important role in the telling of the story.

Arcadia

When Jessica's marriage collapses she retreats to the area of Tasmania where she grew up to spend some time with her childhood friend on their property Arcadia. Sally's mother, Mollie, and her four year daughter also live on the property. The property has diversified from general farming to one specialising in producing truffles and saffron.

Jessica soon readapts to life in the country and she persuades Sally to spend some time exploring the places that were special in their childhood. It is on one of these expeditions that they uncover a tin of papers that hint at a family mystery.

Running parallel with Jess and Sally's adventures is the story of Stella, Sally's grandmother. Eventually the links between the two stories are revealed.

The setting and environmental issues are important in the books written by Di Morrissey and this one is no exception. Part of Arcadia contains an old growth forest which the family has preserved for generations.Care for environment and concerns about the effects of global warming are themes in the book. We also learn about studies into the many benefits of species of cultivated mushrooms and fungi.

Like most Di Morrissey books this one was enjoyable and often interesting to read, however at times the plot was a little predictable.

Kimberley Sun

This is the second book by Di Morrissey set in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The first was Tears of the Moon and her most recent book is The Red Coast. Kimberley Sun is a continuation of the story that began in Tears of the Moon with Lily Barton deciding to spend more and more time in Broome. Lily hopes that her daughter, Sami, will also come to love Broome and want to learn more about her family ties with this remote area of Australia.

Sami does travel to the Kimberley as part of the research for her university studies. In this book we learn about Sami and her friends in the outback and also about Lily's new endeavour to become involved in the pearling industry. A subplot of the book revolves around the discovery of an old artwork which may be linked with robberies and assaults in the town and also a murder. Art is a theme throughout many sections of the book. The story is also about relationships, gaining confidence in abilities and learning to trust decisions and also trust other people.

Once again the setting of Broome and the surrounding area is a feature of this book which I enjoyed reading just as much the second time as I did the first time.

Tears of the Moon

Di Morrissey wrote Tears of the Moon in 1995, the first of three books set in the Kimberley. The star of the novel is Broome and surrounding area. In 2012 we visited the Kimberley, particularly Broome and then north to Cape Leveque. As soon as we returned I borrowed a copy of Tears of the Moon, from the library and loved reading it. After recently reading The Red Coast I decided to read this book again and enjoyed it just as much as the first time.

There are two time frames in the book, 1995, when Lily decides to investigate her family history, particularly attempting to locote information about her mother, Georgiana's, family. This leads her to Broome where she discovers family information in diaries and exhibits held at the historical society. The diaries commence in 1893 and continue to 1953.

The diaries tell the story of Olivia Hennessy who travels from Englnd to the area south of Brrome with her husband, Conrad, to start a new life. Life in the outback is much tougher than they expected and eventually they move to Broome, after meeting Captain John Tyndall, to become involved in the pearling industry.

This novel is largely a love story but part of the book also deals with how people adapt to life living in an isolated community. Olivia's story describes the impact of two world wars as well as the 1930s depression on Broome's pearling industry . The dangers of the industryfeature as well as the success stories which can occur in this mutli-racial and multi-cultural community. Race relations including the interaction of the lives of aboriginal communities with the white and Asian communities who also make Broome home form an imprtant thread of the book.

Read on a number of levels Tears of the Moon is an Australian book well worth reading.

The Red Coast

In August 2006 we spent time in Broome, Cape Leveque as well as Lake Argyle and surrounding areas. We returned to Melbourne knowing that the Kimberley region of Western Australia is a special place.

This is the third book set in the Kimberley by Di Morrissey. The other two are Tears of the Moon (1995) and Kimberley Sun (2002). When I saw that a third book set in the Kimberley was published last year I just had to read it. I was not disappointed.

Jacqui Bouchard owns the bookshop in Broome, Red Coast Books. Although she has only lived in Broome for a few years she has made many good friends and has become part of the community. She also loves Broome and the surrounding region. Jacqui is an organiser of the Broome Literary Festival and much of her time and energy, along with the efforts of other committee members, is devoted to seeing that the festival is a success including ordering extra copies of books to be sold at the event.

When Jacqui's son, Jean Luc, visits her from France for his annual school holidays in Australia, Jacqui's friends help entertain Jean Luc and introduce him to Australian life and culture, including indigenous culture. Meanwhile Jacqui meets Cameron, a childhood friend who is secretive about why he has appeared in the region, and Damien, who is shooting a documentary film about the area.

The calm of living in Broome is broken when it is discovered that an off shore gas mining project is planned 60 km from the town. This creates division among friends and family as some support the project as it may provide economic opportunities while others are concerned about damage to the land, including indigenous sacred sites.

Di Morrissey obviously has enjoyed visiting this special part of Australia and in her novel weaves a story of love for country as well as love of individuals. Jacqui faces many dilemmas as the story unfolds as she tries to understand how she really wants her life to be.

A book worth reading. I am now going to reread the other two books by Di Morissey relating to Broome.

NB: A Google search produces links to a number of articles relating to offshore gas mining in the region near Broome. Two are listed below:

Broome and the gas hub - a town divided

Proposed Kimberley offshore gas base could 'gut' Broome economy

The Opal Desert

Di Morrissey's latest book is set in the opal fields of New South Wales around Lightning Ridge including the fictitious community of Opal Lake. Here people, at times running away from problems, hope to change their luck by finding the right opal in small minig communities. Some people pass through while others just stay. The book portrays the community spirit that can exist in small outback communities but there is also a man-made darker side lurking in the background that occasionally surfaces in the striking environment of the desert.

The plot revolves around the lives of three women, Shirley who is approaching 80 and has lived much of her life in the area, Kerrie in who 40s who is looking to find new direction in her life after the death of her husband and twenty year old Anna who needs to decide whether she wants to be a career athlete. The three women become friends and gradually reveal their stories and make decisions that will provide them with positive futures.

Di Morrissey - twenty years of writing

In November 2011 Jennifer Byrne interviewed Di Morrissey in the program, Jennifer Byrne Presents. Di Morrissey has become one of Australia's most popular authors recently publishing her nineteenth book. Most of her books are set in Australia with the location being as important as the characters and the plot for the enjoyment of the story.

The first Di Morrissey novel that I read was Tears of the Moon originally published in 1995. On a visit to Broome this book was constantly mentioned by tour guides for its ability to capture the essence of the times of the pearling industry in Broome so when we returned home I had to read it and was immediately transported back to the 1890s in that remote part of Australia. The story is told via Lily Barton's quest in the 1990s to understand the history of her family - an added layer of interest. It was also an enjoyable book to read. I also enjoyed Kimberley Sun which is the sequel to Tears of the Moon.

Since then I have travelled around Australia and overseas through the settings in Di Morrissey books.  The Reef is set on a Great Barrier Reef island and portrays the conflicts between the need to protect the marine  environment and the economy generated by the tourist industy, both important to existence of this beautiful part of Queensland. Further south, New South Wales near Byron Bay is the setting for The Valley, another exploration for understanding family history secrets. Moving overseas The Islands is mainly set in Hawaii in the 1970s when an Australian tries to adapt to life in a foreign environment after marrying an American naval officer.

I look forward to reading her latest book when the reservation list for the book at the library subsides.

Water, water everywhere

Landscape plays an important part in many novels, especially in Australian novels, and in Australian fiction water is often a theme. The large coastline of the island continent ensures that much Australian fiction is set near beaches. As well as physical descriptions of the landscape the power of water, especially of the ocean, can be viewed as a force to be challenged, a world of freedom or as an opportunity for escape. It can also be portrayed as part of the Australian psyche.

Two authors whose books often feature water in their books are Robert Drewe and Tim Winton.

Most of the short stories in Robert Drewe's latest book, The Rip, involve water in some way. In a number of the stories water is in the background, not a dominant force, but in some of the stories water is a central character. The author examines a range of relationships in the stories and the reactions of people to situations but in many of the stories the catalyst for the events that occur is water. The analogy of a prison to an aquarium, the reactions to a possible tsunami, the escape of swimming laps in a pool, the need to impress someone by challenging the sea are a few of the scenarios in this book of Australian short stories.

In 1993 Robert Drewe edited The Penguin book of the beach, a collection of 25 short stories written by authors from many countries including Australia. In the introduction Robert Drewe writes that he chose these stories "not only because I think they represent the best of contemporary shorter fiction writing about the beach - the coasts, ocean shores, bays, dunes, lagoons and rivers... They share a concern with pressing personal, social and political questions,, their satiric, humorous or fantastic sidelong glance often revealing more than direct realistic examination. ... The role of the beach in contemporary fiction may be literally gauged by the stories' subject matter. The vast majority deal with escape, often from the next most possible category - family and sexual relationships. These are followed in popularity by drowning, growing up and the mysterious voyage/journey to the Apocalypse." (p 4-5) Authors in this anthology include Graham Swift, Ian McEwan, Frank Moorhouse, Helen Garner, David Malouf and Tim Winton.

Water is a theme in much of the writing of Tim Winton. This is particularly the case in his latest novel, Breath. Set in Western Australia two young boys, Pikelet and Loonie, enjoy taking risks first in the river and then in the surf some miles from where they live. The book deals with relationships between the two boys and Sando and Eva but it also revolves around the relationship of the boys with the surf - the power of the surf, the danger of the surf, the allure of the surf. The need to conquer bigger and bigger waves. The need to take risks, to face death, to survive. The novel also explores sexual risk taking. Throughout the book there are references to breathing, the necessity for life. This is a beautifully written book.

The power of the surf to take over one's life is also observed in Di Morrissey's latest novel, The Islands. A love story set in Australia and in Hawaii, primarily in the 1970s, Catherines' life changes when she discovers the freedom brought about learning to surf and meeting challenges. The power of the ocean over the lives of many of the characters that Catherine meets when living in Hawaii is a major component of this book.

Learning to conquer fear of the ocean and learning to surf is a also a theme in Kathy Lette's new book, To love, honour and betray, a zany account of coping with a broken marriage and living with teenage daughters. Set in Sydney much of the action occurs at the local surf club where Lucy faces the challenges of gaining the Bronze Medallion as well as travelling down the hard road of self discovery.