The sleepy village of Bimbulla, Australia is a microcosm of various environmental conflicts. Locals are taking sides over whether to protect a penguin colony from marauding dogs and encroaching human development; the mayor is seen as too much of a crusading environmentalist and there is conflict in the graveyard, between those who want it to be a scene of carefully manicured lawns or a haven for wildflowers. Through all of this Digby Stuart and his colleagues conduct long running investigations into the populations of wandering albatrosses that visit the area.
This is a novel of dramatic weather and seascapes. At the same time it paints the characters in realistic grey tones, allowing them to be complex in their motivations and refusing to supply easy solutions to any of the conflicts between the characters. Personally I would have liked a bit more resolution to some of the storylines, even though its lack is realistic.
Whitecap by James Woodford published by Text Publishing.
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Meanwhile I've got a new poem up on the Leaveners' Poets Corner!
__The lack of resolutions is meant, I think, to inspire the reader's invention of resolve. To aid in the conservation of nature is to me, the greatest choice. _m
ReplyDeleteHi Mahyar, oh yes, that is the intention and i never like all the ends to be tied up at the conclusion of a novel. i just felt everything was left in the air in this one, which was less satisfactory
ReplyDeleteI do like traveling vicariously!
ReplyDeleteSo many places - large and small - are having this same "conversation". Not a lot of resolution anywhere yet, is there?
ReplyDeletesounds intriguing!
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