The Sooterkin

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Summary: An Australian Fairy Tale
Review: A true Fairy Tale gives a glimpse of the psyche that no other literary form can reveal. Modern Fairy tale exponents are rare but wonderfully talented beings: Mark Helprin, author of Soldier of the Great War and the Winter's Tale; Alice Hoffman author of Practical Magic and Second Nature. Add to this elite list the name of Tom Gilling, author of The Sooterkin, an amazing tale of early convict times in Van Dieman's Land, Australia. As in all the best fairy tales Mr. Gilling gives us a magical, mysterious land beneath the grit and filth of a convict colony. His characters are truly endearing, especially Ned and his baby seal brother Arthur. When the seal baby, the Sooterkin, Arthur, is borne to convict Sarah Dyer, it seems every slimey, sleazy boozer in Hobart Town is out to take advantage of these innocents: The erst while Father, drunkard Walter Dyer, is ready to sell his monsterous child to the highest bidder; the church, in the person of the dissipated Reverend Kidney would prefer to bury the baby seal as an abortion or an infancide rather acknowledge an embarrassment by or to God, and the Naturalist Society swings from scientific curiousity to, by the end of the book, a minimalist form of caring. With a clear eye Mr. Gilling looks at a day to day environment that should crush all human kindness from the stained surviors souls - but instead leads to a triumph of the human spirit. Ned's love for his brother doesn't conquer all adversity and despair but it gives us a lasting glimmer of hope, and helps us to see how such a self-reliant, humorous nation arose from 'The Stain' of its grim convict beginnings. Or, as Mr. Gilling has one of his more Dickensinian characters remark, "Suffice it to say that such remarkable Fertility, wrenched from the Barrenness of Sorrow, must instil great Hopes for the Survival and Prosperity of this beleaguered Colony." My hope is that Mr. Gilling's talent will thrive and prosper down under, and that he will again give the world another candle of hope like the endearing Sooterkin. Good on ya, mate.

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Summary: Bo-o-o-o-o-ring
Review: Absorbing fable?? I was barely able to finish this book. I kept thinking, "It has to get better." It never did. Luckily it was bought on clearance.

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Summary: Great fun!
Review: If you are looking for a well written book that is startling and just plain fun to read, this may be it! After all, how many authors are there who dare to begin with the opening sentence, "Pardon the stench," then go on to describe in graphic horror the slaughter of the whales in Hobart Town, while chastising you for not arriving sooner, "when you would have smelt eucalyptus blossom and lavender." Obviously playing with the reader from the opening page, Gilling is so entertaining with his story that the reader plays along, too, delightedly participating in this wild, carnival experience.

When a strange, seal-like offspring is "born" to a former convict woman in Van Dieman's Land, now Tasmania, everyone gets in on the action. Thought by some residents to be a sooterkin, a kind of goblin, we see that the creature, "Arthur," is a brother to Ned, a meal ticket for his larcenous mother, who sells peeks at him, and a source of much curiosity to the townspeople. Poking fun at everyone's views of reality, Gilling here satirizes all levels of Tasmanian society, from the local pamphleteer, who declares that if it looks like a seal and acts like a seal that it is a seal, to the Reverend Kidney, who tries to find a place for it in the theological chain of being. And since we readers do not know, for sure, exactly what the creature is, we become willing and amused participants in the author's greatest joke of all--on us.

In prose that is perfectly suited to his broad but light-hearted satire, Gilling keeps the reader constantly entertained with his terse descriptions and ironic detachment. To the question of what it is like to be kissed by a seal pup, for example, he answers tersely, "It's like nuzzling tripe. Or blowing your nose on a stinging nettle." A short novel with bold and offbeat humor, startling imagery, and unforgettable action scenes, Sooterkin will amuse anyone looking for a literary change of pace.

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Summary: A nice book, but not straightforward ...
Review: The Sooterkin is a nice first novel, and it is interesting for most of its 200+ pages, but it is not a directly involving story. The conflict is spread out among its main characters, and it reads like a modern TV show with an ensemble cast. I liked the story, but if you are looking for a traditional novel with one main character, then this isn't for you.

The novel follows a minister on a cross country journey, a young boy looking for his "brother," a mother who may or may not have given birth to a seal, and assorted characters who come in and disappear quickly in this novel that takes place in 1800's Tasmania. Each of this vignette-style sections is interesting, but the whole comes up a bit shorter than the parts.

I look forward to Gilling's next effort as I think he'll develop into a fine novelist based on this, but for me, this was good but not brilliant. If you are interested in Austrailia and its environs, particularly in the area of historical fiction, try Matthew Kneale's English Passengers or Peter Carey's True History of the Kelly Gang (both are superior novels).

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Summary: AN ABSORBING FABLE
Review: Tom Gilling's novel THE SOOTERKIN is simply a wonderful book. Told in the form of a fable, the tale has much to teach us about love and kindness, greed and exploitation. Set in Australia in the early 19th century, Gilling's use of language is absolutely perfect in depicting his marvelous characters, making the era and location come alive, and generally setting the tone for this story. His characters are at the same time larger than life (in their sometimes absurd eccentricities) and wholly believable, given the amazing variations of the human animal. The book reads fairly quickly, but I would advise the reader to savor it and take it a little slower than temptation might dictate -- there's a lot here to enjoy.

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Summary: whata surreal book
Review: We are in Van Diemen's Land, British penal colony off the Australian coast. It is July 14, 1821, and Sarah Dyer gives birth to a boy to be named "Arthur". A boy? He looks like a seal pup. But the local midwife, Mrs. Jakes, who is the housekeeper of the rev. Mr. Kidney and who also does abortions, swears to the true birth of Arthur. 9-year old Ned Dyer takes on Arthur and cares for him like a brother. Father goes to get drunk. Mr. Bent publishes the story and the follow-ups in his local gazette. The rev. Kidney tries to make himself invisible to avoid having to baptize Arthur. Mother Sarah Dyer quickly grabs the opportunity and charges admission for the Viewing of Arthur. We also meet Mr. Scully, the batty pseudo scientist, a band of brigands, Mrs. Fitzgerald the school mistress, and many, many more of these whacky characters, interspersed with the beautifully described lowlife of the penal colony.

Do get this book!

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Summary: Delightfully different!
Review: When I first picked up this book, I was expecting something along the lines of 'The Secret of Roan Innish'. It bears only the slightest resemblance to it, but is a worthwhile read in it's own right.

Gilling manages to evoke the atmosphere of colonial Van Diemen's Land very easily - virtually from the first sentence 'Pardon the stench.' His opening descriptions of the mud, the smells and the whaler's try-pots soon convince you that this is not a pleasant place to be.
His conversational tone when describing the Ship's Agent who can 'get you a berth out of here, if there are berths to be got' - is your first hint that there is real humour in this book.
The relationship between Ned and his 'brother' is touching and at times compelling. The mother and father are both realistic characters, as the incompetent and self-important Reverend, Mr Kidney. The relationship between Mr Kidney and his horse was one of the most amusing parts of the book!
Aside from the occassional use of colloquial language (which isn't strong) there is nothing in this book to prevent more mature children from enjoying it as well. It is certainly a wonderful first novel and I look forward to reading more from Mr Gilling.