Review: Secrets From the Dust by George Hamilton

Title: Secrets From the Dust

Author: George Hamilton

Published: Browsing Rhino Oct 2010

Sypnosis: Set in Australia between the 1960s and early 1970s, this historical saga follows Margaret, an Aboriginal girl who is snatched from her family and brought up by white foster parents in the outback, under the government sponsored assimilation policies. She stubbornly tries to maintain her culture until she can escape or her real parents find her, but then she discovers that she is growing to like many of the customs and material possessions of her captors, producing a crisis of cultural identity. By the time she grows into a beautiful young woman and moves to Sydney to study nursing, she has already suffered the disappointments of unrequited love and the forbidden desire for her foster father. She tries to hide behind the identity of a Southern European, but the highly charged political environment of Sydney and her love for a political activist forces her to confront her true identity

Status: Read from March 09 to 10, 2011 — I own a copy

My Thoughts:

From the late 1880’s to the mid 1960’s, Australian authorities (government, church and welfare) removed Aboriginal children from their parents care forcing them into homes to be assimilated into white culture (usually as servants). This abhorrent policy has resulted in what is called “The Stolen Generation”.
‘Margaret’, is stolen from her Mob as a young child and is placed in Radley, a care home for aboriginal girls where they are forced to deny their family, culture and language while being taught the basic tenants of servitude. The home is cruel, Margaret is half-starved and abused but the law refuses to return her to her family.Eventually she is ‘adopted’ by the MacDonalds family and joins them on their farm.
Margaret is luckier than many of the stolen generation in that her family believes she should be treated with charity, educated and cared for to fit in within white society. Margaret’s attempts to hold onto her own culture, and the hope her parents will come for her, wither under the natural desire of a child to fit in with her new family and community.
Hamilton does an excellent job of portraying Margaret’s gradual alienation from her own culture. He captures the subtle shifts in her thinking and her longing to belong. Margaret is an appealing and sympathetic character, she shows determination and spirit despite difficult circumstances.
Margaret’s situation is subtly contrasted by her ‘sister’, the other white children at the school and the ‘adopted’ aboriginal children she meets. Margaret’s adoptive mother and to a lesser extent her adoptive father and sister are well-developed as are the important minor characters.
My heart breaks knowing that while Margaret is fictionalised, her circumstances are a representation of the racism and bigotry aboriginals experienced under the guise of ‘help’. It is even harder to know that most were treated far worse, as her friends situations illustrate. The impact of the Stolen Generation is huge with the repercussions still echoing through Australian society.
Secrets From the Dust is well written, the descriptions of both place and emotion are lyrical and honest. Hamilton does well to capture details and attitudes of the time with the story spanning a period of about 10+ years during the 1950’s – 1960’s. He manages to avoid a sensational or preachy tone that is common in such a politically ‘hot’ story. Most impressively, given the author’s gender (male) and heritage (he resides in England) is his ability to explore the issues from an aboriginal teenaged girl perspective with an authentic voice.
Harrowing, beautiful and thought-provoking, Secrets From the Dust is an impressive novel from George Hamilton. With its shocking conclusion it deserves an audience, particularly from Australian’s who want to understand the impact Australia’s social policies have had on the indigenous population.

@ Goodreads

Read Chapter One at the Authors website

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About the Author

George Hamilton studied at the University of East London, majoring in development economics. He likes to know what’s going on around the world, to delve into the customs and practices of different cultures, and this led him to Australia during 2002, where he spent several months researching Koori (Aboriginal) culture at the Koori Centre, University of Sydney, amongst other places. Some of that work is reflected in his novel Secrets From The Dust, which has been compared to The Poisonwood Bible, and will spark many interesting discussions for reading groups and students of English literature. He currently lives in London, England.

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Available to Purchase

@ Amazon {Kindle and Paperback}

@ Amazon UK {Kindle}

@ Barnes & Noble

@ Smashwords