Customer Reviews

Outback

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

 

 

When I first started to read this book (first page)I thought it might be just to mind boggeling. The first few paragraphs were unclear to me. By end of page 2 I was thoroughly hooked. It is a story about an Aboriginal female who is brought to the son, of a criminal sent to Australia from England, as he is looking for a full time companion during his long days and nights caring for thousands of sheep. She is scared to death, she can't understand his language, and he doesn't understand anything she tries to say. Over a long period of time she learns to speak pidgon english and he learns to understand. They have children of their own, and a long history of the family unfolds in all its glory and excitement. This one of the best books I have read. And that is more than a thousand. Give it a go you'll not be disappointed.

A fictional account of the begining of English settlement of Australia. A wonderfully descriptive story of the hardships and triumphs of early efforts to settle this strange country with penal colonists. It is told through the eyes of an aboriginal girl and a young englishman.

From the very first page I was hooked. You can see above what the story is about, but this is so much more than just a story. The level of detail was incredible and the friendships and hardships are painstakingly described. Immediately you are THERE. The Australian Outback is so beautifully portrayed in all it's glories and evils. Highly recommended.

Fletcher's book covers three generations of the Garrity family of Wayamba Station in Australia's Outback. Patrick jumps at the chance to leave the orphanage he's been raised in and in time becomes the owner of the large Station. The Outback being short of white women, Patrick begins a relationship with Aborigine Mayrah and eventually marries her. The second part of the book focuses on Elizabeth Cummings, who arrives at Wayamba with her abusive husband and becomes involved with the Garitty's children Sheila and Colin. Circumstances land Elizabeth firmly in the lap of the Garrity family and the story concludes with that of the next generation, her sons and Sheila's son James.

That really is the story in a nut shell, you aren't going to find a whole lot of action and adventure - not much to do out there but herd sheep. That said, it is an interesting read if you want to know more about Australia and the Outback in particular, but you will learn way more about all things sheep than you ever wanted to know.

While I did enjoy this, I do have to quibble over the sudden shifts in storyline, it would have been helpful to start them off with a year and/or name of the main character so you're not scratching your head for several chapters wondering where the story has gone. I really liked the relationship between Elizabeth and Sheila, especially watching Elizabeth *toughen up*, but I felt Colin was a bit of a non-entity, merely there for the siring of the next generation. A glossary would have been helpful, there were a lot of terms used not commonly known outside of the land of OZ. This is the first book in a series and I do plan on reading the rest of them eventually. I believe this is the series order,

1. Outback
2. Outback Station
3. Walkabout
4. Wallaby Track
5. Outback Legacy

Outback is the first of Aaron Fletcher's Austrailian saga and this first novel covers the founding of the Garrity family. Illegitimate son of a female convict from England, Patrick Garrity pulls himself up by his bootstraps to become owner of one of the largest (and richest) sheep stations in Australia.

Covering the first two (and start of the third) generation to make the Garrity's fortune, the novel focuses more on the women who made it all happen.

It's a compelling read, not one that requires a lot of thinking on your part and sometimes that's a nice break. The story was interesting enough for me to look forward to picking up the book every time I had a few quiet minutes to read. Be aware that it's not a literary masterpiece, just good saga reading.

If I had any complaints it would be a wish that Fletcher had made the relationships more passionate (not sex, there's little of that in the book, but emotional passion between characters), but that's not enough to stop me from reading the rest of the novels in the series.

It was a good book,but once you got into some chararacters it switched! I will read more of the seriers to find out what happens next.

This is a wonderful story about an aboringal girl named Mayrah who was traded away to a white man named Patrick Garrity,how they made a life together through incredible hardship, and eventually raised a family and became land barons of the Australian Outback. It is a sad and heroic novel that will keep you turning the pages as each character unfolds and crosses paths with Mayrah and Patrick Garrity, its a love story and a very compelling look at the life and challengers of living or running a sheep station. I will definately read other books from this author and hope they are as good as this one, well done growing up in Australia and visiting a sheep station in my childhood I especially can relate to the isolation these people endured although today life is so much easier than they ever knew.

The Outback series of books by this author is so incredibely detailed, without overdoing it. From the 1st book to the last, I couldnt put them down. Now I have friends brrowing them and even my mother. They are all hooked. A fabulous portrayal of life in the early days of Australia. Do yourself a favor and buy the whole set of these books. You will treasure them always!

This book is about an aborigine wormen who helps a white man, who is the son of a convict. This man was as a boy sent to an orphanage then adopted by a man to tend sheep. With the help of this woman he became the largest sheep station owner in the outback. Their children, who were half abo, were strong in their own ways but it was their daughter,Sheila, who was the strongest. She befriends a city woman Elizabeth, and between them a strong friendship is kindled fueled by the aborigine woman, Mayrah. As the original owner, Pat Garrity and his abo wife die, Sheila and Elizabeth take over the running of the station. Sheila is known to be tough, but Elizabeth gets a stronger reputation. By the end of the book, all fear the wrath of Elizabeth, who is the most fearsome sheep rancher in all the outback. In the final chapters the son of Sheila returns to the staion to find that Elizabeth is matchmaking with a relative from England who she is fashioning in her own image to be the next baroness of Wayamba Station.