An Old Favorite regarding Walkabout by James Vance Marshall
I once, years ago, kept this book at the shop to let folks read, who were waiting to be tattooed. It was quick to read and never failed to mesmerize the reader. Afterward, we could discuss the book while the tattoo went on. Someone apparently loved it more than I, and took it. It's wonderful to have it again. It was delivered two weeks after I ordered it and was in the condition the seller had stated. I'm happy.
Lost in the desert Mary and Peter are two U.S. school children on their way to visit their uncle in Adelaide, Australia. Mary is fourteen and Peter is nine. While flying over Central Australia their plane crashes and the children are the only survivors. How are two modern children to survive in the Sturt Desert? Soon Mary and Peter meet a thirteen year old, native, Aboriginal boy. He seems to be their savior but Mary cannot bring herself to trust him and modern civilization is a very long way off.
This book raises important questions about the supposed superiority of Western civilization over 'native' cultures, and the supposed inferiority of 'colored' people. It also illustrates the terrible misunderstandings that can result when people of different cultures meet.
This book was published in 1959 and it is important to realize that Australia has changed a great deal since then. Non-English speaking Aboriginals who have never had contact with white people are definitely a thing of the past, and were very rare even in 1959. Beyond the fact of a plane crash the author has not given any indication of the time in which the story is set.
Lost in the desert Mary and Peter are two U.S. school children on their way to visit their uncle in Adelaide, Australia. Mary is fourteen and Peter is nine. While flying over Central Australia their plane crashes and the children are the only survivors. How are two modern children to survive in the Sturt Desert? Soon Mary and Peter meet a thirteen year old, native, Aboriginal boy. He seems to be their savior but Mary cannot bring herself to trust him and modern civilization is a very long way off.
This book raises important questions about the supposed superiority of Western civilization over 'native' cultures, and the supposed inferiority of 'colored' people. It also illustrates the terrible misunderstandings that can result when people of different cultures meet.
This book was published in 1959 and it is important to realize that Australia has changed a great deal since then. Non-English speaking Aboriginals who have never had contact with white people are definitely a thing of the past, and were very rare even in 1959. Beyond the fact of a plane crash the author has not given any indication of the time in which the story is set.
Lost in the desert Mary and Peter are two U.S. school children on their way to visit their uncle in Adelaide, Australia. Mary is fourteen and Peter is nine. While flying over Central Australia their plane crashes and the children are the only survivors. How are two modern children to survive in the Sturt Desert? Soon Mary and Peter meet a thirteen year old, native, Aboriginal boy. He seems to be their savior but Mary cannot bring herself to trust him and modern civilization is a very long way off.
This book raises important questions about the supposed superiority of Western civilization over 'native' cultures, and the supposed inferiority of 'colored' people. It also illustrates the terrible misunderstandings that can result when people of different cultures meet.
This book was published in 1959 and it is important to realize that Australia has changed a great deal since then. Non-English speaking Aboriginals who have never had contact with white people are definitely a thing of the past, and were very rare even in 1959. Beyond the fact of a plane crash the author has not given any indication of the time in which the story is set.
See the Movie "Walkabout" is the novel that inspired the Nicolas Roeg-directed 1971 film that is considered a masterpiece. And the film is a masterpiece, so original and so beautiful to look at that it has a hypnotic quality to it. Then there's the book, which has the same plot outline but bares few similarities to the film. In the novel, we meet two American siblings. Fourteen year old Mary and six-year-old Peter, who are the sole survivors of a plane crash and are now forced to wander the Australian desert. During their walk, wondering how they're going to get food and water, they meet a young naked Aborigine boy doing his walkabout. The walkabout is a six month period of time in which a young Aborigine man-child must wander the outback of Australia using his survival skills and knowledge of hunting to stay alive (or not). Sensing that they're weak, the Aborigine begins leading the children through the desert. Since they don't speak the same language, Peter begins to try and communicate with the boy. Mary, who is a typical 14-year-old girl, doesn't try and communicate with the boy. The theme of the novel and the film is "miscommunication" and it ruins the lives of both Mary and the Aborigine, although a little more so in the movie. The book doesn't pack a real dramatic punch. It's a brisk 158 page read that is entertaining, but it amazed me while reading it that it managed to inspire such an incredible film. First off, the way the children are stranded in the desert is much more haunting in the film. The fate of the Aborigine is much more poignant in the movie. The film has a magical and hypnotic quality that the book simply does not possess. If the movie didn't exist, I'd recommend you read the book. The movie does exist though and so I must say that the only reason you should read the book is if you've already seen the movie and you're curious. I think there's a real danger that reading the book and then seeing the movie will ruin that magic of it. The movie is a masterpiece, the book is entertaining and provides a small history lesson. The book is also much more character driven then the film, obviously, because you hear what the characters think and say. The film doesn't even bless the characters with names and it gives them sparse dialogue. If you want to read the book, go ahead but I suggest you see the film first.
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