liked it. I've always avoided this book being under the misunderstanding that it was a dry and dusty tome, ie boring! I'm glad I gave it a go, as it is certainly not boring, Sybylla is an odd girl, kind of like Anne of Green Gables with a fervent feminist streak, It's nice to see a romance written by a young girl that doesn't have a cloying, happy ending, and I admire her resolve to do the "right" thing by Harold in the end, even though that may not be what he thinks he wants.
I'm quite certain I could never have been that committed to an ideal given similar lack of opportunities, but perhaps if I'd had to grow up in the stultifying world of colonial Australia things would be very different.
The book is definitely a bit childish and melodramatic, but I think it shows nicely the way that feminism and female suffrage were viewed at the time of Federation, from the point of view of someone who lived through it.
The author based this story of a young girl struggling to become a writer despite her lowly circumstances, The movie starring Judy Davis inspired me to read this novel, Both are excellent. Maybe A thoroughly interesting read clever and compelling and thoughtprovoking, an Australian tragedy
I admit I found it hard to like the heroine consistently, Thered be a chapter where I felt better disposed towards her and then she would unravel all my good will in the chapter following.
Overall, I found her frustrating and aggravating, If I had a subtitle for the book, it would be: I Shoot Myself in the Foot Over and Over Again, She could never accept that someone might like her just as she was, warts and all, but had to sabotage a mans love for her repeatedly and determinedly.
Some beautiful writing and some extraordinary Aussie vocabulary, Colorful and obfuscatory simultaneously. When you get used to the verbiage its colorful and comprehensible,
I asked an Aussie chum which books to read for Aussie Month since Januaryth is Australia Day,
This was one of them and its a good book, But the lass didnt have to keep shredding her possibilities for a bit of love and romance in her life,.
Sybylla is the epitome of an Aussie Battler!
What started as an idyllic if tough childhood, changed when her father decided to chase dreams beyond his abilities.
When the family's circumstances change to beyond desperate, Sybylla is sent to live with her grandmother and an aunt, before her mother decides
But there is a solution,
I loved this story and the only reason this wasn't aread is the incident where
Nonetheless, I did admire Sybylla's fierce and brave spirit, her ambition and desire for an independent life.
I liked her!
sitelink
“Mi impresionante carrera” de la autora australiana Miles Franklin es la primera historia sobre pioneros australianos que leo.
Australia como país tuvo origen en la coloniacárcel que ocupaba la isla, Al estar tan alejada de Inglaterra a muchos condenados y deudores se les daba la opción de ser expatriados allí, donde las condiciones de vida eran durísimas.
También fue el destino de mujeres venidas a menos, prostitutas o víctimas de trata, Sin embargo, a pesar de su origen “criminal”, la sociedad australiana creció asemejándose a un cruce entre la metrópoli y los territorios inexplorados de lo que hoy es Estados Unidos.
Esto se refleja maravillosamente bien en la novela de Franklin quien presenta ambos mundos con una transición muy natural: la niña que nació en las praderas salvajes, pasó por una infancia dura de trabajos en una zona ingrata y salvaje y fue acogida por una abuela un poco mejor situada en la vida, cuyo hogar se encontraba en un lugar más civilizado, más inglés.
En esa narración de como va creciendo Sybylla, cuando no se centra en ella, la autora hace descripciones muy vívidas de las condiciones de vida en Australia, de lo difícil que era salir adelante si no se tenía fuerza y entereza.
Los personajes, con excepción de Sybylla que ahora explicaré, me resultaron muy entrañables, Se trata de un libro semiautobiográfico por lo que se refleja muy bien el cariño que la autora tenía a algunos miembros de su familia y amigos, y el rencor que sentía hacia otros.
Este es un aspecto de la novela del que se arrepintió después: el daño que hizo a sus padres con este retrato hizo que Franklin prohibiera que este libro se reeditara hasta después de su muerte.
Así pues el personaje de Sybylla es complicado, Tuvo una infancia muy feliz mientras los tiempos eran buenos y su padre un hombre más despreocupado, Pero la caída en desgracia y sobre todo la pobreza hizo cambiar el rumbo de vida y, más que nada, su carácter.
Sybylla es egoísta, egocéntrica, caprichosa, está llena de ira y no mira más que por si misma durante más de la mitad de la novela.
Es, en esencia, una adolescente como cualquier otra, Cada piedra del camino es una lección aprendida pero Sybylla es muy cabezota y le cuesta aprender, El resto de personajes: la abuela, el tío JJ, Archie, Harold Beecham y su familia, y sobre todo, la tía Helen, son unos personajes muy entrañables.
La novela en si es una maravilla, Me hubiera gustado que el libro hubiera tenido otro final, la verdad, Y que la relación de Sybylla con su madre no fuera tan horrible, ahi está la clave de por qué no acaba como me hubiera gustado.
De todos modos considero a la protagonista/narradora demasiado emocional como para que nos haya dado una versión justa y fiable de los hechos, nunca lo he visto tan claro como en este libro.
Sybylla no es odiosa, es más, se le acaba teniendo cariño, pero es la persona más terca y más frustrante del mundo y eso hace que, incluso en los momentos en que tiene razón, nos inclinemos un poco hacia la otra parte.
En determinados momentos este libro me recordaba a Willa Cather, Una versión mucho más severa que Cather, claramente, About time this Aussie girl read this book, written by a fellow Aussie girl, sitelinkMiles Franklin the iconic Australian author, has penned this classic, written when she was barely an adult herself, She was a woman born of another era, Her times were meant to be spent, toiling the land or should I say house, performing house duties and supporting her family that was lacking money.
She was better than that well she knew she was better spent bettering herself and continuing the continuance of lifelong learning she yearned to be able to write, perform music and use her cleverness for something better.
Sybylla isand this is her story,
I am not overly romantic or have any grandiose visions of happily ever afters or needing a man to complete a picture of happiness, but even I was disappointed for her.
Miles comments that there is no plot, as her life does not contain one or anyone else that she knows has one either, There is too much work to be toiled than to have the luxury of a plot, Harry Beecham calling her Syb made me sad as he was lovely, There was also another lovely scene where Sybylla talks of Harrys lovely large comforting hands, I borrowed the physical copy after listening to this on audio, but searching for a little paragraph to place the quote here was too hard!
An interesting classic that has its little bit of relevance today.
As an after thought, and after perusing a lovely hard copy that was donated to the University library where I work, I would not recommend listening to the audio version.
Too
much to be missed out on in regards to the poetry, .