Customer Reviews

The Getting of Wisdom (The Academy Editions of Australian Literature)

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I remember reading this book as a teenager, and thinking, "Yes, I understand!" every time the heroine, Laura, found herself at odds with the relentless conformity of school society. Set at a turn-of-the-century boarding school in Melbourne, Australia, "the Getting of Wisdom" is a classic tale of a girl who thinks for herself and, thus, is forever out of step with both her society and her classmates. Laura tries desperately to fit in, but never quite does. Still, in the end, the reader is sure that Laura will be the one to soar high in life -- not her more conventional peers. As Richardson says, "She could not know then, even for the squarest peg, the right hole may ultimately be found; seeming unfitness prove to be only another aspect of a peculiar and special fitness." Almost 100 years old, the book's message is still fresh today, which is why Richardson is considered one of Australia's greatest novelists.

I am reading tons of books on Australia, written by Australians. I LOVED The Road From Coorain and My Brilliant Career and several others, but half-way through this book I decided to skim the rest of it. It was very predictable about a girl in a boarding school, being teased and sometimes tormented by the other students. Which is nothing new. I felt like I knew the outcome way before the end of the book, which was not true with several other Australian books I have read. However, I do have this author's book Myself When Young and I look forward to reading it to see how much of herself, how much truth, was in The Getting of Wisdom. I am sure she is a fabulous writer overall and certainly one of Australia's dearest, and that's why I was so disappointed in this book. Maybe it's just me....