Customer Reviews

Remembering Babylon

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I didn't read this for a class or an essay but I can see how it might have ruined it for me if I had to pick through it trying to find something tangible to say. That said, I found the trading of power (or at least the characters' perception of it) in this book most compelling. From one second to the next, as the characters in a scene come and go, or the shock of first appearances fade or linger, a feeling of control quickly becomes one of fear and distrust. It's a true Malouf masterpiece because he makes us think about the people in our own world today by letting us into a story in an otherwise distant time and place. It's a beautiful book, and reads to me- like most of Malouf's writing- like a pure stream in a dirty world.

I found the issues addressed in this novel compelling. Firstly, the title, 'Remembering Babylon' refers to Psalm 137 where Hebrew slaves in Babylon lament the loss of Zion, their homeland. The novel addresses exile in various forms: immagrants in exile, members of a small community in exile. How can these immigrants from Europe belong in a place which is not their own? The answer is provided in Gemmy Fairly. He is ostracised by the European settlers, but at the same time is not an aboriginal - he represents a meeting place between the two cultures as he hovers upon the fence in the opening confrontation with the three McIvor children. The answer he provides, is one of spirituality. Throughout the novel there are certain parallels: White understandings of power (eg authority through guns, and land ownership) versus aboriginal understandings (kinship and oneness with the land), White spirituality in Rev. Frazer versus the tribal land spirituality. This is not merely indigenous stereotyping as Germaine Greer suggests, but a suggestion as to how newcomers can learn to make the new land home. This is done not by 'recreating Zion in Babylon' and trying to recreate a little piece of Europe in this harsh environment, not through topsoil forever ruined by the trampling of hooved beasts, but by connecting spiritually with the land, and becoming one with it. This point is most strongly reinforced by Janet, the McIvor's eldest daughter, in two occasions. Firstly, when the initial connection is made, bees (native - European hybrid bees, through no accident) swarm majestically around her, attracted to her menstrual blood like honey, but leave her unharmed, leading to her involvement with the convent to study bees. Secondly, in the last pages of the novel, as she watches the night fall and the tide rise, the concluding spiritual connection with the land is made. This is the point where exile becomes home. note: This short ditty was written in preperation for an exam, and thus have failed to include relavant references from Suvendrini Perera, Susan Wyndham, Germaine Greer and Joan Maxwell. sorry.

Mr. David Malouf has the ability to take familiar topics, amend them, and create a new viewpoint, a valid book, and worthwhile reading experience. Fear generated by the unknown as perceived by ignorant or well-educated simpletons is not new. That these feelings are often expressed in terms of racial tension; hatred and violence are routine, not an exception, and anything but a novelty. In, "Remembering Babylon" the Author tells the tale in a manner new for me, and even though the behaviors of many involved were predictable, the new perspective and quality the Author brings to it made for very good reading.

As he has in previous works he sets the tale in Australia, and once again brings settlers from Europe, in this case Scotland. Mr. Malouf then takes a familiar human interaction, which is by definition tragic, and it is here he makes it his own. In terms of Race, Gemmy is as white as any of the settlers. He spent thirteen years in London, and then was washed upon the coast of Australia where he then lives amongst the Native Aborigines for sixteen years. As Gemmy has lived the better part of his life is the harsh sun he is no longer as light in complexion as the self-described white newcomers. Gemmy one day happens across the path of some children, and in fear of his safety announces he "is a British Object". The irony of this statement could be dwelt on for pages by itself.

There are many relationships a reader can explore in this story. I felt a key one was that between Gemmy and the Family headed by Jock that takes him in. Jock does so to please his wife, as Gemmy is not a person he would bring into his home with his Wife and Children. The reaction of the balance of the settlement ranges from degrees of fear, to desire to destroy the race that Gemmy has morphed into from the viewpoint of the duller of the participants. Gemmy at once becomes a trusted member of Jock's Family, and the focus for every evil fantasized, imagined, or counterfeited by others.

The storyline must be left for the book, however one experience shared by Jock and Gemmy is of note. Gemmy treated like the savage he is not, routinely stays several steps ahead of those who attempt to exploit him to gain knowledge of his tribe, and then extinguish them. Far from being intellectually inept, he combines the street smarts of the former London Urchin, with the practical knowledge of sixteen years of learning to live in harmony with the same land the settlers come to conquer. He becomes a harmless, productive and trustworthy part of Jock's Family if not the community.

Gemmy knows his own heart, and that of those he has come to live amongst. He is under no illusions as to how he is viewed, or how he sees the world. Jock goes through a major reassessment of what he thought he was, as events build around Gemmy. The Author explores in a thoughtful manner what our thoughts are made of, how they change, and whether it is we that change, or our views of others that change us.

The book is filled with smaller observations that are material for contemplation. The loneliness of settling a new land is a reality, but when the Author takes one player and has her ponder the thought of being the first dead to be buried here as well, and the loneliness of knowing no Family that has gone before, no one to join in the new resting place, is beyond poignant.

Another great piece of work from this Author.

Our book club recently read this novel for its monthly selection and found it to be a good choice. Although a couple of members were confused by the book's seemingly aimless direction and lack of a central character, the discussion we had was very lively and interesting. The author's nuanced insight into the point of view of each character let us see the profound effects Gemmy had on all the lives of the villagers. The work takes some digging to fully appreciate; then its poetic artistry and structure and purpose become more evident. The key is not to expect the book to read like a conventional novel of cultural conflict. This is more like a prose poem where the details are distilled to essentials, where an entire community is compressed into five or six main individuals, where symbolism expands the meaning and emotional content, where lyrical language stimulates thought, where ambiguity and mystery draw in the reader without giving way to romance. Gemmy, the catalyst for change, is complex and hard to figure: on the one hand he is pathetic, childlike, and vulnerable but on the other he is observant, considerate and spiritual. He brings out the best of those in the village who are open to new experiences and the worst in those who are close-minded and fearful. Also he touches the reader. This fable will be appreciated by the poetically-inclined and scorned by the literal-minded.

"One day in the middle of the nineteenth century, when settlement in Queensland had advanced little more than halfway up the coast, three children were playing at the edge of a paddock when they say something extraordinary." So begins David Malouf's poetic novel "Remembering Babylon," a tale based on the true historical character named Gemmy Morril. The fictionalized Gemmy Fairley is the "something extraordinary" the three children, sisters Janet and Meg McIvor, and their cousin Lachlan Beattie find and later provide shelter for at the McIvor farm home. Gemmy is twenty-nine years old; sixteen years earlier he was thrown overboard from a British ship and has since been living with the aborigines.

Upon being threatened by a stick made to appear as a gun by Lachlan, Gemmy spits out, "Do not shoot, I am a B-b-british object." How apropos those words turn out to be as the town treats Gemmy more like a carefully watched dangerous animal than the prodigal son. Malouf is a native of Australia, but his mixed ancestry (mother is of Portuguese Jewish descent, father is Lebanese Christian) has surely prompted him to explore identity. One running theme and fear is losing one's whiteness. "Poor bugger, he had got lost, and as just a bairn too. It was a duty they owed to what they were, or claimed to be, to bring him back, if it was feasible, to being a white man. But was it feasible? He had been with them, quite happily it appeared, for more than half his life: living off the land, learning their lingo and all their secrets, all the abominations they went in for. Were they actually looking at a man, a white man?"

At times Malouf's writing jumps too quickly from different vantage points such as the schoolteacher George Abbot; Jock and Janet McIvor, who protect and treat Gemmy fairly; Mr. Frazer, the minister; and other smaller side characters. But after regaining one's bearings, the reader will step into a rhythm and word choice that befits a well-crafted poem. Malouf earned his writing chops via poetry ("Bicycle and Other Poems," 1970); "Remembering Babylon" sparkles with visual imagery thanks to the author's writing foundation of poetry. Happily the ending does not fall into maudlin sentimentality or cliché. However, one perhaps would have like to read and delve into knowing Gemmy more. Nonetheless, Malouf's "Remembering Babylon" is a powerful look at what happens when one encounters the "other."

Bohdan Kot

The novel "Remembering Babylon" by David Malouf deals with the cultural clash between 19th century white settlers in Australia and the native Australian world view. Praised by many critics, the book won the 1996 International Impac Dublin Literary Award and was short-listed for the 1993 Booker Prize.
In this novel, David Malouf, an Australian himself, describes the story of Gemmy Fairley, who was cast ashore in northern Australia as a boy and then raised by Aborigines. Sixteen years later, he steps out of the "absolute darkness" of the outback and makes himself known to a small community of white settlers. Trying to find his former self, Gemmy has to deal with not only the cruelty and racism of the villagers but also with the demons of his own past. In the course of his stay, he changes the settlers' view on the natives as well as their view on themselves.
I read this book for English class, and I must say that it is not easy to read for a non-native speaker if you really want to understand the book. It took some time to get absorbed into the story, but once I had gotten the hang of it, it was an interesting and enjoyable read. Malouf uses a very poetic language and many metaphors that help get an impression of the native culture. He is also great at describing nature and impressions of it to the reader, making it easy to imagine everything. One thing I did not particularly like about this book is the fact that the narrator reveals information about Gemmy's past only in small bits, so the readers keeps on guessing and wondering what is going on sometimes. On the other hand, this way of giving facts about Gemmy is certainly what makes the reader keep on reading.
All in all, I can only recommend this book to anybody who is interested in getting to know other cultures and in learning more about "cultural clashes". Even though the story takes place in 19th century Australia, the message of "Remembering Babylon" is universal and still important today, maybe more than ever.

When abandoned 'British object' Gemmy Fairley sprints away from his Aboriginal protectors and into a white settlement of mid-nineteenth-century Queensland, it's the occasion for both wonder and hostility. For Malouf, it's an opportunity to explore many aspects of language, landscape and Australian identity. In the various reactions of the townsfolk, and Gemmy himself, he elucidates his themes. It's a novel full of complex images, acute observations, and heartbreaking lyricism. Once again, Malouf effortlessly fuses personal moments with grand themes. This is a more complex and elliptical work than his earlier novels, but no more or less satisfying - it's hard to improve on perfection. Shortlisted for the 1993 Booker Prize, 'Remembering Babylon' - from the breadth (and depth) of its scope to the finest details of its execution - leaves the actual winner for dead.

Setting this book in the mid-1800's on the nearly uninhabited north coast of Australia provides David Malouf with plenty of leeway to explore some of his favorite themes. The book begins with the return to "civilization" of an English cabinboy who had gone overboard twelve years prior and had been nursed by aborigines. With the north coast now being settled by people fearful of the shy aborigines who they think may be a threat to them, all the characters feel isolated: the settlers from life in England, from the more populated centers of Australia, from the aborigines, sometimes from each other, and certainly from the strange young man who has made contact with them; the former cabinboy from his "countrymen," from the society of the sailors he served, from the aborigines who nursed him, and from the new society now being established on the north coast. All have differing views of reality, different values, and different understandings of what is important. The reader is forced to question what constitutes "civilization" and to ponder the extent to which we can have a "real" world without recognizing the importance of the supernatural and those who allow it to inform and transform their lives. As in "The Conversations at Curlow Creek" and in "Harland's Half Acre," Malouf's main character must decide whether he will live in civilization as he has found it.

Remembering Babylon is the story of Gemmy - washed up on the Australian coast as a boy after a life of harshness that is hard to imagine, he is taken in by group of Aborigines. Sixteen years later, he makes himself known to the white community of northern Queensland, where he causes the community to examine not only it's attitude towards what is `civilised', but also causes them to look inwards upon themselves.

This is a story about frontiers - the physical frontier of the small community that Gemmy joins; the frontier of the new state of Queensland; and the frontier between civilised and primitive. There is some beautiful work in this book, especially in its examination of small community dynamics, and coming of age. But I feel that Malouf starts threads that he doesn't bother to finish - the ambiguous characters of Mrs. Hutchence and Leona are introduced with promises of an exotic past, yet we never get to know them. George the school teacher is developed, only to be left out of the second half of the story. While Malouf manages to pack a lot of punch into a short tale, I feel that perhaps just a little be of expansion would have made this an even better book. But I will admit that I got a kick out of reading a story set in my home state of Queensland - it is nice to see that there is some Australian historical fiction set somewhere other than the Southern States!

As expected from David Malouf, "Remembering Babylon" is replete with beautiful, lyrical passages. The dreamlike imagery and ethereal descriptions play upon the mind while one reads, touching the soul. Malouf is a fantastic, poetic writer, and is all-too-often ignored outside his native Australia.
However, I was a bit disappointed with "Remembering Babylon" because I expected so much more from a novel that was short-listed for the prestigious Booker Prize. The book starts out strong, but as it progresses, Malouf seems unsure about where things are headed, and begins to jump from scene to scene with little rhyme or reason. New characters are introduced in almost every chapter up until the last, only to never be mentioned again. Even the resolution regarding the main character seems contrived, as if Malouf simply had no idea what else to write about Gemmy, or how to end his particular story.
As a poetic series of images depicting colonial Australia and its white inhabitants, "Remembering Babylon" is a wonder. As a novel, the book is less than satisfying. After reading the last page, I remained unsure about the point or purpose of what I had just read. "Remembering Babylon" might have worked better as a series of inter-related poems...

Recommendations: "The Conversations at Curlow Creek" by David Malouf; "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe