It's fair to say that this quintessential work of 19th century Australian fiction is a bit dreary and dry to a lot of modern readers. Still, I first read this as a boy and still come back to it every now and then: a poignant melodrama that, despite its occasional silliness or longueurs, provides us with constant insight into the lives and thoughts of the first generations of white Australians. They still connected so much with the "empire", and yet already a very different society was emerging Down Under. Fantastic stuff. ( )

I was inspired to re-read this early Australian novel after a recent visit to Port Arthur and Macquarie Harbour.
The incredible plot coincidences may have been common in that era, but they just seem odd to modern readers. I found the book started slowly, with the author struggling to get on top of the long-format writing. But it improved considerably during the book. I loved the skewering characterisation of the foppish vicar, Meekin; while the vivid description of Mr North's battle with the bottle seemed surely to be autobiographical. ( )

This is a classic? How? How can this be considered a classic?

First of all. It's boooooooooooring. No, it's not because of the style of writing common back then, because I happen to usually really enjoy books written in the 19th century. Seriously, Dickens rules, and while I know one can't go around comparing everyone to Dickens because it will never end well for the other author, I do expect them to be able to write at least some dialogue that doesn't make me cringe and I certainly expect them to know the difference between "then" and "than".
What I don't look for is turgid monotonous narration interspersed with terrible dialogue that kills off the only likable character about a third of the way through the book.

Did I mention it's boring?

Still, this was a first for me. I hated it so much, that instead of procrastinating over finishing the book, I actually made myself read it quickly because I was desperate to replace it with something fun to "get the taste out of my mouth", so to speak.

I'm probably being overly harsh (I seem to have really started off this way this year! Normally I'm really nice, I promise! lol), but it really, really doesn't work for me. ( )

This classic Australian novel is based on a good deal of historical research. This particular version includes an appendix outlining the references for the historical information in each chapter. The story is rather gripping and although the coming together of the main characters at the climax is rather unlikely, it serves to render a sound plot. The conclusion wraps up a sad story with a paradisiacal ending that is satisfying if not happy. That Clarke died at age 35 serves as a reminder that such genius is routinely short-lived. Despite the numerous abridged versions and part-stories I have experienced of this novel in film and television, this is my first full reading and it was long overdue. ( )

Great read - nice to relate to the geography ( )

A sprawling, uncontrolled, uneven, unforgettable novel. Be sure to read the complete original text in the Penguin edition. ( )

It took me a little while to get into this book, but once in I was gripped. The story doesn't really get going until Rufus is on the prison ship. To me this is a story of the human spirit and how it can survive in the most desparate of situations. Rufus, is a wronged man and is constantly being crushed but he still manages to retain something of himself throughout. Also the writer must have done a tremendous amount of research, because the descriptions of the penal system in Australia make you feel like you're there, the heat, the dirt, everything. ( )

When you read this you realise why your family is so screwy.

An historical fiction of one of the world's greatest sociological experiments: the prison colonies known as Australia. ( )

This was an unexpected page-turner. I picked this up from the local high school who were selling off discarded library books. Why on earth they discarded this I cannot think. Not only is it part of the very limited pantheon of Australian classics (and we have lots of Australians here) with its great insight into early white Aussie history, it’s a very good read. Still, their loss = my gain.

There’s a lot of the influence of Les Miserables meets The Count of Monte Cristo here (although I do say that having read neither of them). A man is arrested for a wrong he did not commit and, for the sake of others, conceals his identity. He is transported and suffers the most hideous betrayals so that the life you thought could get no worse, gets successively worse throughout the novel. Along the way, many profit at the expense of his misfortune. Some are regarded as criminal for this, others are deceived into being thought as worthy of esteem in their own right. And the full spectrum of religion is on view, from the repulsive hypocrisy of the so-called Rev Meekin to the only too self-aware Rev North.

So, that’s the literary structure out of the way, which makes for a good story in itself. But what makes this a very good book are Clarke’s detailed descriptions of penal servitude and suffering. Many of the tales told of his characters are in fact based on true stories which my version referenced in an appendix. Some of them appear incredible and provide real life responses to critics I’ve read online who state that some of the story is perhaps a little too laden with serendipity.

I did not find it so. The characters captivated me in much the same way that Golding’s Rites of Passage did recently. And the story kept me going chapter after chapter: some of the descriptions of the attempted escapes are very vivid with the landscape, probably the harshest gaoler of all, playing a significant part. The ending I thought absolutely appropriate. However, I did read that, for versions published in the US, it was cheered up a bit for those who, preferring the indescribably awful writing of Radcliffe, read in order to escape reality rather than try to come to terms with it. I don’t think Clarke would have approved based on the response of Rev. North:

"The story does not end satisfactorily. Balzac was too great a master of his art for that. In real life the curtain never falls on a comfortably finished drama. The play goes on eternally."

So, in summary, this book surprised me with its rich detail and pace of its story telling. ( )

So far THRILLING! Yes and continued on as such, evocative, horrifying, sentimental, an emotional roller coaster. Ends a little improbably and abrubptly but evidently the published novel is only half of the original serialised as "His Natural Life". Contrast with English Passengers is stark - this is a far better book! ( )

An eye-opening read, that gives a true insight into the convict system. ( )

First review of this classic australian book on LT, and not by an Australian? Anyway, here goes:
I read this book in a German translation (from an East-German publisher, complete with socialist commentary on the issue of transportation and penal colonies in a capitalist system). The translation was very good (unlike the cr*p we are served by some publishers today), although the original version I now own is much more authentic in its true 1840s style.
A gripping story about one man that gets wrongly accused of murder and transported to the Antipodes. I remember watching the mini-series in the 1980s and really getting angry, and the same feeling came back while reading the story of Rufus Dawes, who always loses, despite being a good man with the best intentions. The system of penal colonies and the rules applied within the system did not allow for people to really redeem themselves. You might survive and get back home if you kept a low profile, but Dawes who unintentionally got involved in a mutiny on the way to Australia never gets a chance to prove that he is indeed innocent.
Despite its age, a gripping read. ( )

only the subject matter saves it from being a forgotten piece of moralistic Victoriana ( )