Review: Preservation

Preservation by Jock Serong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Robinson Crusoe meets Silence of the Lambs meets that old primary school song we all learned about Botany Bay.

This one is based on the true story of a shipwreck back in Australia's early (settlement) days, and man, is it a doozy.

The ship wrecks off the coast of Tassie Van Diemen's Land and a handful of men decide they need to make tracks towards Sydney in hopes of sending help. They take a bunch of slaves and don't even get me started ranting about slavery. Let's just say I'm glad this was 200+ years ago.

So among them is Figge, who is basically the devil incarnate, and while everyone is trying their best to survive in the formidable Australian bush, this guy has his own agenda that makes things a lot harder than they need to be.

So here we have:
- Hostile environment
- Discord among survivors
- White people being jerks to slaves
- Long, arduous trek
- Sneaky little criminal mastermind

So it's actually really fun and devious and I can't lie, I enjoyed it immensely.

The writing threw me at first. I was worried that it was going to be one of those books that works so hard to say things in fancy convoluted ways that I'd be bogged down by the language, but it had just the right blend of description and action. There were actually some beautiful, picturesque phrases and the words really brought the setting to life. This will be particularly effective if you've ever been out into the Australian bush, but it also paints a very clear, realistic picture for people who might want to know more about Australia.

The story is told from multiple viewpoints, which was quite effective in amping up the mystery factor, because you don't know which parts are lies and which parts are truth. They take turns in telling the tale of the trek north, but all slight variations. It did make it a little confusing at times but I think that was kind of the point. Wasn't entirely sure about the necessity of including all the present-day drama with the wife and the illness etc but I guess it was just another facet of life in this new and strange land.

Naturally, the aboriginal communities were a big part of this story. I found it interesting the way they were portrayed, particularly in the way they associated preferentially with the slaves. I think that was a powerful statement. It's also quite a vital piece of Australia's history - to communicate that these people were already here, living full lives with their own social systems, not wanting anything, all before white settlers went tromping all over, claiming the country for themselves. It wasn't a pushed agenda, though; it was just a realistic factor of the story. Handled poorly, this could have caused massive controversy I think, but it was written into the story with great respect, so kudos to the author for that.

This is a fascinating fictionalised account of a small piece of Australia's early history, but it's also a great, sinister novel on its own. I loved the references to Australian wildlife (particularly the 'fat badgers') and I felt such patriotism reading about this hostile environment that only the tough survive. That's my country! You also get to know these nasty characters - Figge in particular is such a subtle menace that it makes for a ripper of a story.

Well researched and eloquently written, I have no hesitation in recommending this one. Crime lovers, people who want to know more about Australian history, or the landscape in general. People who like adventure stories tinged with a little bit of evil. Overall, a fantastic read.

With thanks to Text Publishing for my ARC.

View all my reviews