by Alan Garner
First published 1996
William Buckley stands on the deck of the convict ship Calcutta as it founders off the Australian coast in 1803. The young soldier escapes the wreck but finds himself alone in an alien landscape. Aboriginal people discover him near death and take him into their community. Buckley learns their language, customs, and ways of survival in the harsh wilderness. Years pass as he transforms from desperate fugitive to accepted member of the tribe. He hunts kangaroos, participates in ceremonies, and gradually forgets his former life as an English soldier. When white settlers finally encounter him decades later, Buckley must choose between two worlds that have shaped him. Garner explores how landscape and community forge identity in ways that transcend birth and blood.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, 19th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Australia, Calcutta
Period: 1803
200 pages · Hardcover · The Harvill Press