First published 2009
Lieutenant Daniel Rooke arrives on the shores of New South Wales in 1788 with the First Fleet. The young astronomer and marine finds himself stationed in an unfamiliar land where convicts build a settlement under harsh conditions. When Rooke encounters the local Aboriginal people, he begins learning their language through patient exchanges with a young girl. These meetings challenge everything he assumed about civilization and communication. The officer must choose between his military duties and the connections he forms across cultural boundaries. His growing understanding of the indigenous language opens new ways of seeing the world around him. Rooke discovers that true friendship can bridge vastly different worlds, even as the colonial enterprise threatens to destroy them.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, 19th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: cross-cultural-friendship, fish-out-of-water
Setting: New South Wales, Australia
Period: 1788
307 pages · Hardcover · Atlantic Monthly Press