The Secret River

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, but it was far better than I had anticipated. Brief synopsis – William grows up in London’s slums, is caught stealing and is sent with his family to the penal colony in Australia where they have to make a new life for themselves. But at what cost?

The story unfolds sombrely as William interacts with the local aborigine families, and the other white families who have settled on their land. Back home William craved respectability, hated the ‘gentry’ for the way they treated him, knowing that he deserved to be equal. Now, faced with the local inhabitants he taps into a vein of brutality that takes even him by surprise.

In Australia he is surrounded by two kinds of white people – those who have committed crimes but remain despicable people, and those who learned from their mistakes and are trying to get by amicably. The lowest of the low are also those who are most active in their hatred and mistreatment of the aborigines. They are certain of their prejudice, and it takes a violent and ugly form. Although some of William’s attitudes stem from ignorance, and are a sign of the times, his unwillingness to listen to and learn from the local inhabitants is tough to take.

I was reminded of that particular section of white people in South Africa, who are poor, uneducated and racist and all the more dangerous because of it. Their narrowness has been exploited by numerous governments and they have a sense of entitlement that stems from being the dregs. They have nothing but their delusions of supremacy and that makes them scary.

Up to the climax, what strikes you most about William is the fact that he carefully keeps his mouth shut. His fence-sitting makes the decision he ultimately needs to make even more shocking. I was left feeling that this man had a lot of potential but he succumbed to his darker side.

I dreaded the last part of this book because I knew that something terrible was going to happen. I was right.