Admittedly, this one was a toughie. Tough because I will always feel guilty over the plight of the Australian Aborigines, though I personally have not done anything either way to hurt them or to help them. There is just no way that I can feel any sort of affinity to them, I just don't know enough about them. I have more of an understanding of the First Nations that I live and work with here in Canada.
That Deadman Dance helped me to understand a little bit, and I am grateful for that. The story is told by a Noongar named 'Bobby' Wabalanginy at various stages of his life, and in the style of his people. The way he weaves in and out of the narrative with his dreamings of what was and what could or should be was magical and mesmerizing. It was a powerful way to tell this story (which was about first contact between Europeans and the aborigines), and a perfectly simple and creative way to help us see it from the Noongar's point of view. I will be seeking out the rest of this author's work, I love his way of telling the story.
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