The White Girl by Tony Birch
Odette Brown has lived her entire life on the fringes of Deane, a small Australian country town. Dark secrets simmer beneath the surface of Deane—secrets that could explain why Odette's daughter, Lila, left her one-year-old daughter, Sissy, and never came back, or why Sissy has white skin when her family is Aboriginal.
For thirteen years, Odette has quietly raised her granddaughter without drawing notice from welfare authorities who remove fair-skinned Aboriginal children from their families. But the arrival of a new policeman with cruel eyes and a rigid by-the-book attitude throws the Brown women's lives off-kilter. It will take all of Odette's courage and cunning to save Sissy from the authorities, and maybe even lead her to find her daughter.
Bolstered by love, smarts, and the strength of their ancestors, Odette and Sissy are an indomitable force, handling threats to their family and their own identities with grace and ingenuity, while never losing hope for themselves and their future.
In The White Girl, Miles Franklin Award-nominated author Tony Birch illuminates Australia’s devastating post-colonial past—notably the government’s racist policy of separating Indigenous children from their families, known today as the Stolen Generations—and introduces a tight-knit group of charming, inspiring characters who remind us of our shared humanity, and that kindness, hope, and love have no limits.
About the author
Tony Birch is the author of three novels: the bestselling The White Girl, winner of the 2020 NSW Premier’s Award for Indigenous Writing, and shortlisted for the 2020 Miles Franklin literary prize; Ghost River, winner of the 2016 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Indigenous Writing; and Blood, which was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award in 2012. He is also the author of Shadowboxing and four short story collections, Dark As Last Night, Father’s Day, The Promise and Common People; and the poetry collections, Broken Teeth and Whisper Songs. In 2017 he was awarded the Patrick White Literary Award for his contribution to Australian literature. Tony Birch is also an activist, historian and essayist. His website is: tony-birch.com
Review
‘The White Girl’ is an eye opening account of life under the Australian government for Aboriginals in the 1960s. It’s a dark tale but told with beautiful prose, interspersed with moments of humour, all encompassing love between family members and I was captivated by it. It is books like this that are the epitome of historical fiction for me - they make you learn, they can be unflinchingly honest, and they instantly transport you to another world.
Odette has always lived in Deane - she was born in the mission there and has never left the area in her life. Her daughter became pregnant at a young age and left her daughter, Sissy, and Odette years ago. It’s clear that Sissy has a white father somewhere as her skin tone is much lighter than Odette’s. And that makes it dangerous as the government is more likely to take Sissy away and place her in a residential home. For 13 years Odette has kept Sissy safe but a new policeman, who has cruel eyes, has arrived in town and Odette is now afraid for her family. But she will do anything to keep Sissy safe!
The beauty of this book is not what it says but what it doesn’t. The author could have included tense scenes of forced separations etc to highlight to the reader this barbaric and cruel system, but he doesn't. He infers all this in a quiet narrative and in a way this makes the reader always imagine the worst. Its like the ideas burrow into your imagination and the horror develops over the story in one of nightmarish proportions. It's hard to imagine that this was still occurring not even 60 years ago. It's an area of history I don't know a lot about but books like these want to me learn more and read first-person accounts. It's clear that the author knows his subject though as Odette comes across as real and authentic with a distinct voice that every readers must fall in love with.
This is a beautiful and tender story that highlights the racism that was present well into modern days in Australia. It's an illuminating read that I thoroughly recommend.
