Customer Reviews

Deadly, Unna?

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I am a bit dismayed at the other reviews of this book. I found it to be a sensitive, insightful, and hilarious observation of culture and youth. Blacky is growing up in a remote town where footy (Australian rules football) is the only entertainment around. The whole town focuses on footy, but since the town is so small, in order to field a team, both Gunjas (whites) and Nungas (aboriginals) are needed. The aboriginals have an entirely different style of play, and one of them, Dumby, is an outstanding player. Blacky, the narrator, is not an especially talented footy player, but he is an excellent observer of adolescence and small town life. He and Dumby start out as enemies, but become friends, when Blacky is forced to respect both Dumby's excellent play and his honorable behavior.

The book on the surface is about footy, small towns, and adolescence, but there is a deeper exploration of racial, family, and community relationships, and the tragedy that throws a flood light on everything.

I am not sure where the other reviewers are coming from, but I recommend this book highly, along with its sequel Nukkin Ya, which is even more outstanding.

I can understand many of the young reviewers who have struggled with this book - it is very much an insight into the Australian Psyche. The dialect and humour are Australian and the concerns over race and identity and the development of relationships between indigenous and white Australians require a sense of maturity, a capacity to handle language that is not so mainstream and also an appreciation of the effects of colonisation on both the Aborigines and the poor whites. Magic book and well worth the effort if you stop fighting it.

First of all, I would like to say that this book is not for everyone. This book is not well-understood by those who gave it horrible reviews- Deadly Unna? is worth much more. This book is quite deep, and has many metaphors.

Neither is this book for those who prefer fairy-tale endings. This book is the truth, about issues and morals that are hidden from sight.
The only thing that I didn't like, was the amount of stereotypical people that were introduced- though this did make the book better understood.

Phillip Gwynne has put something special into this book. I cannot describe what this special thing is, because there are no words in the English language to describe it. That special thing leaves you awestruck, feeling that you are there, watching and listening the happenings, instead of reading them off paper. It makes you cry with the characters, and laugh.

This book does have plot. It just takes a deeper eye to understand it. Don't try to fight it.

I would advise the reader to read the sequel, Nukkin ya, because you will be asking for more.

This book has been given a handful of terrible reviews, all seemingly based on the premise that it is, and I quote, "stupid". Thankyou to all those people who wrote these reviews. You have done the literate world a service. Truly.
Now, to write a real reviews of Deadly, Unna?. Based on happenings in a small rural town called Port Lincoln, South Australia, 'Deadly, Unna?' centres on the relationships between two boys, Blacky and Dumby Red, and their town.
Blacky is a normal kid with a violent drunk for a father and no apparent talents whatsoever. Dumby, a boy from the Aboriginal mission, is the kid other kids love to hate - cool, good-looking, athletic, popular with the girls. The pair meet at the local footy club, the only place where Aboriginals and whites ever come together, and become friends despite their two groups being very separate. They become best mates, until Dumby is shot down in a robbery attempt, and Blacky's world caves in around him.
'Deadly, Unna?' looks at the idea of friendship beyond colour and race, that you can be friends with anyone you like. It also discusses the idea of white hypocrasy in Australia where Aboriginals are concerned.

An interesting and enguaging read for teenagers, this book is probably best suited for Australian audiences as there are countless uses of Aussie slang and of course the focus on Austrlian Rules Football for the first half of the novel. A good book to read and discuss with others, as it is very good food for thought. Despite what some of the other pityful reviews for this book may say, well worth a look.

I thought this book was an excellent book for teenagers. It is funny and keeps your attention yet, it also has a real crisis and shows a problem that has been prevalent throughout Australian history and is still somewhat present today in small areas. I think that even though this book is very Australian, American teenagers can relate to it based on American history and the race problems that are still around today even though many Americans would like people to think otherwise.

Deadly Unna, written by Phillip Gwyne, is an extraordinary book for those who love tension, excitement, and embracing themselves with the characters emotions. The book follows a boy's life in a remote town in South Australia, called the PORT. Known as Gary Black, this teenager lives through common struggles and joy, but also is faced with the worst event that anyone could imagine... the death of a friend. Gary plays for the Port Football (AFL) Club, with many players coming from the neighbouring Aboriginal village- the POINT. He becomes a close friend with one of them... in Dumby Red. Dumby is the outright star in the footy team, and marks the ball like no-one else.

The Port Football Club end up managing a Grand Final birth in the region's competion. Dumby plays his usual best, and Gary is appointed as ruck. With Gary saving the day, the team wins, and the pride is theirs. The following night, the award ceremony takes place. The McRae medal is given to Mark Robertson, the coaches son. Dumby believes that due to racial reasons, he is not given the medal. Then, probably through peer pressure, he and his Nunga mates break into the Port Pub, run by who is known as "Big Mac". Big Mac, out of anger and horror, picks up his gun and shoots them. All are injured, except for Dumby. Dumby dies.

The entire town of the PORT hears of the news. Gary is evidently devastated, is saddened by the news and attends Dumby's funeral at the POINT. Months go by, and he is still finding it hard to cope with the reality. However, Gary begins to move on with life, falling in love with an Adelaide camper (whose name is Cathy) and continues to enjoy squidding, watching the cricket, talking to Old Darcy (an old fisherman), laughing with his friend "Pickles" and mucking around with his five siblings. He unfortunately is involved in arguments with his Dad (both physical and verbal) and this results in intense rivarly.

Deadly Unna is a fascinating read, and will take you through a journey that you will never forget.

my title is self explanitory. this book smells worse then garbos and looks worse then dog crap. read it if you are blind!! Thank you

This book has got to be one of the worst books ever published it is absloutley horrible and because of that I rate it -5 stars!

Anyone who actually likes this book is either crazy or was drunk at the time that they read it! I think that Sarah from Melbourne who wrote "it was good" is an absoloute physco and I can arrange a bed for her at a physciatric clinic if she would like! She is a disgrace to her country.

Phillip Guinn I'm sorry that you had such a bad childhood but please do not make my experience as a child as bad as yours by writting crappy books such as Deadly Unna, you have put me into a state of depression and the shoddy quality of your book actually hurt me.

Next time you write a book this boring put a warning on the front of it so innocent people like me don't go wasting there money.

And as for you Sarah I really don't know how in hell you could like a book that is so crap. You have really bad taste.

For your safety please do not read this book it will really affect your writting style in a bad way and you will probably feel the same pain I'm feeling now.

Deadly,Unna?. This is the title of the bigest piece of crap I have ever read. This book makes a mockery of even other crap books like "the giver" and "specky magee"(i paid no attention to my spelling for those two books for they are not worth my holy attention). The main character's name is BLACKY. He is supposed to be the lovable character. In my wise opinion, BLACKY is the character you are supposed to hate. Since i feel so strongly about how I dislike this so called book, I would like to spoil a major incident in the book so you dont have to read it. there is a scene when two Aboriginals get shot. this acctually happend in real life. one of them that were killed is BLACKY's best freind. This book should never be read in schools or for fun. it has one purpose, fire wood. thank you.

This book is one of the most horrible I have ever read. It has horrible characters a horrendous plot and I think the author may have written it for seven year olds. Perhaps if you were interested in Australian Rules Football you might get some kind of miniscule amount of enjoyment from this book but quite frankly I hate the sport. The main charcter Gary Black or "Blacky" as he quite strangely prefers to be called is an unlikeable little twit. I constantly became frustrated with him. I don't understand why my school would even think of making us read this piece of foul smelling garbage. I assume it is because of its message about racism. But even that is barely anything. The major racist acts in the book are jokes or insults. There is also barely any conflict between Gary and the people in his town over the issues. I beleve that the most suprising part of the whole book is that somehow a movie and a sequel has been made. I have said it once and I'll say it again Dont Read This Book!!! If you don't wish to listen to my advice then you are free to do so but don't complain when you are sickened by the horrendous quality of this bunch of pages stuck together.