Explore Australia through the pages of these favourite Aussie novels.
 |
| South Australia |
Literature offers a window into a culture of a nation and is a great opportunity to view how a country sees itself. While your guidebook will be handy for helping you find the best restaurant or hostel in a new city, try these works of fiction for a deeper understanding of Aussie culture.
1. A Picnic at Hanging Rock – Joan Lindsay
Considered a classic of Australian literature, A Picnic at Hanging Rock tells the tale of a group of students and a teacher who disappear in rural Victoria at the beginning of the 20th century. While the book is framed as a true story, and is often mistaken as non-fiction, it is based on a series of the authors dreams and totally fictitious. However, Hanging Rock is a real location near Macedon, which you can visit on a day trip from Melbourne.
2. Secret River – Kate Grenville
Secret River follows William Thornhill and his family after they are transported to Australia as convicts and eventually settle on the Hawksbury River near Sydney. Originally intended to be a work of non-fiction detailing the life of the author’s ancestor, Secret River is a historical novel illustrating the interactions between the first European settlers and Aboriginal people.
3. Carpenteria – Alexis Wright
The second novel from indigenous writer Alexis Wright, Carpentaria depicts the struggles of a remote community through the interconnected stories of several characters. Set in the fictional northern Queensland town Desperance, Wright tells the story of her own people and the realities of contemporary Aboriginal life.
4. The Slap – Christos Tsiolkas
The central event of The Slap, a man hitting a child that is not his own, is described from the point of view of eight characters – not all of them likeable. The novel accurately describes modern Australian life from a range of points of view from young to old, gay to straight, immigrants to Aborigines.
5. Big Little Lies – Liane Moriarty
Now a popular TV series based in California, the original book was set in Sydney’s wealthy Northern Beaches. The thrilling and humorous who-dunnit novel is a face-paced read that makes it difficult to put down.
6. Cloud Street – Tim Winton
Following the story of two families in Perth over twenty years, Cloudstreet perfectly captures everyday Australian life and the surrounding environment.
Related article: Explore the underwater world of the Great Barrier Reef from your own home!
Popular Australia Destinations: Mount Buller, Tasmania, Hunter Valley, Kakadu, Barossa Valley, Fraser Island and many more!
This post was originally posted on https://sightseeingtoursaustraliaonline.wordpress.com/2020/06/03/six-australian-books-to-read-before-your-trip-down-under/
