Our shadows by Gail Jones
Text Publishing, 2020. ISBN: 9781922330284.
Centred around three generations of Irish extraction and the gold
mining town of Kalgoorlie first we meet poor families in Ireland,
many of whom fled the potato famines of the 1850s, sailing to
America and Australia in search of better lives. Paddy Hannan was
one of those and it was he who stumbled upon the Kalgoorlie gold
deposits, becoming wealthy, living every prospector's dream. Digging
the wealth from the ground provided work for generations of miners
in the hot, dusty outback town which has grown to have the biggest
open cut goldmine, the Superpit. In 1977, when their mother died
giving birth, baby Frances, and her sister Nell, 18 months, were
sent to Kalgoorlie to be brought up by their grandparents, miner
Fred, Else and their aunt Enid.
The fragmented narrative shifts between reflecting on the life of
Paddy Hannan and the lives of the family, shifting between Fred and
Else's lives, the girls' childhood memories and adult struggles.
Reflecting on what is shared and what is suppressed and the damage
done by greed, war, mining and emotional repression the author picks
away at their lives sorting through seemingly trivial memories that
pivot on significant moments in their lives. I tired of the constant
analysis of the character's emotional states and questioned some of
the feelings assigned to the historical figure of Paddy Hannan. I
was ready for the book to end at page 227 when Part Two was
introduced. While it was a nice addition and I felt the character of
Val was beautifully drawn, it seemed to be there to fill the need
for an indigenous voice.
Lovers of historical fiction and Gail Jones' other works will enjoy
this book and it shines a light on Australia's biggest goldmining
town.
Sue Speck