
"The island is a green boxing glove, a baseballer's mitt. It has an insolent thumb." Kristi, the fictional South Pacific island that is the setting of Astley's novel, is in a state of upheaval. Led by the charismatic Tommy Narota, rebel forces make a futile attempt to overthrow the joint English and French government. A good part of the story is centered on young Gavi Salway, grandson of a prominent white plantation owner, who is shocked to learn the truth of his racial ancestry. Gavi is caught in the middle in more than one respect; he inadvertently becomes an accomplice to the rebels' gun-running activities. Astley's story is essentially a series of scenarios involving a number of the island's residents, including Narota, Gavi's grandfather, and the representatives of the English and French governments. The result is a fragmented narrative, held together by the poetry of Astley's writing, which is often haunting but occasionally overly ponderous. This gifted Australian author also wrote A Boatload of Home Folks.
A political uprising on the island of Kristi forces a young man to confront his heritage and his complicity in a rebellion.
Gavi Salway, the grandson of a prominent plantation owner, finds his life disrupted when he discovers the truth about his racial ancestry. As rebel forces led by Tommy Narota attempt to overthrow the colonial government, Gavi becomes entangled in their illicit activities. The narrative moves through various perspectives, illustrating the friction between the island's residents and the colonial administrators. The story utilizes a fragmented structure to capture the instability of the island's social and political climate.
Readers and critics often note the stylistic complexity of the prose, which emphasizes atmospheric detail over linear progression. Discussion frequently centers on the author's ability to render the tension of a colonial setting through a series of interconnected scenarios. While some find the narrative structure challenging, others appreciate the depth of the character studies provided. The work is recognized for its focus on the intersection of personal identity and political upheaval in a remote environment. Readers often highlight the balance between the internal conflicts of the characters and the external pressures of the island's revolution.
Page Count:
192
Publication Date:
1985-07-02
Publisher:
Penguin Australia
ISBN-10:
0140079122
ISBN-13:
9780140079128
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