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    Rifling Paradise
    Unavailable
    Rifling Paradise
    Unavailable
    Rifling Paradise
    Ebook293 pages4 hours

    Rifling Paradise

    By Jem Poster

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    “A dubious character experiences a shattering change of heart during his specimen-collecting expedition to Australia . . . Edgy, intense and engrossing” (Kirkus Reviews).
     
    When past indiscretions catch up with Charles Redbourne, a minor English landowner, he is propelled from England to Australia, where he plans to make his mark as a naturalist. There, his life begins to change dramatically, not least when he meets his host’s wayward, artistic daughter. But it is on an expedition in search of scientific specimens in the Blue Mountains that events take a terrifying turn. Vividly conveying the unspoken codes of Victorian society, this is a gripping tale of emotional and psychological reckoning that offers an inspired meditation on the relationship between humankind and the natural world.
     
    “Immediately gripping . . . An epic tale whose figures in landscape encapsulate a turning point in history.” —The Times Literary Supplement
     
    “Poster’s prose is at its best when describing the flora and fauna (exotic birds especially), the sounds and smells, of the outback . . . A stylish, assured and thoughtful narrative.” —The Guardian
     
    “Violence seethes perpetually just below the surface, all the more powerful for the author’s restraint . . . Rifling Paradise is one of those historical novels that continually confronts us with our present world, the world created out of the brutality and disaster of the past but also out of its graces, a world we may not yet be mature enough to save.” —Historical Novels
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateFeb 5, 2008
    ISBN9781468306095
    Unavailable
    Rifling Paradise

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    Reviews for Rifling Paradise

    3.5/5

    15 ratings4 reviews

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    • 3/5
      This novel takes Victorian themes of repression and stifling structure and applies contemporary psychological interpretations to them. It also offers a post-colonial interpretation of exploration and British cultural influence. Still, the Victorian setting heightens the exotic feel and the social constraints of the era add drama to rather complex human realities.Taken as a whole, the plot is very simple: the characters suffer in fairly predictable ways, yet the metaphor of nature connected with good and evil, and the lush descriptive language used to build that metaphor, save this book from being another tiresome contemporary psychological novel. This is a moving and entertaining story. Structurally it maintains a good balance of descriptive detail and narrative movement. Because these characters seem so psychologically developed and self-aware, it is impossible not to wonder how these same characters would fare in a contemporary setting.
    • 3/5
      A good light read - I was surprised how quickly I devoured the 320+ pages.The main protagonist is of ambiguous sexuality - seems to be gay at the start, but ends up married at the end - but consummation doesn't seem to have yet occurred. None of this really matters, but it made me reflect how rarely I come across a main character in mainstream fiction who is other than straight heterosexual.Read March 2016
    • 4/5
      I truly enjoyed this book. It took me quite a while to finish it for one reason or another, but none of the reasons was boredom. It covered a lot of topics, not very thoroughly, I agree, but it was just enough to make it a complete work of art. I loved the flow, the ending, too. I liked the characters, too. I am really glad it ended the way it did, I really hoped it would when I was about half-way through. It was a nice little adventure, something I haven't really read before. Maybe a bit like a mix of some other novels and ideas I've seen before. All in all, I don't think it's really for everyone, but it was for me. 3.5/5
    • 3/5
      This wasn't a perfect book, but it was near enough for me to really enjoy it. It's the story of Charles Redbourne, a late nineteenth century English gentleman who finds himself involved in some "indiscretions" with young boys - one of whom has hanged himself. Redbourne's solution to his problem is to get out of Dodge. He heads for Australia with visions of fulfilling his childhood dream of becoming a naturalist. With the financial backing of a wealthy London uncle, he sets off for New South Wales and plans to collect specimens to bring back to Britain. "Collecting" specimens in this context means killing, skinning, stuffing, etc. birds and animals. Along the way, Redbourne meets up with a wealthy landowner named Vane and his troubled daughter, Eleanor. The reader is led to believe that Vane is molesting his daughter, but by the end of the story I wasn't completely sure if she had concocted the whole story or not. Redbourne then sets off on an expedition with Bullen, a brutish Australian, and Billy, their mixed-race guide. I think Poster gets a little too politically correct at times. The viciousness of Bullen toward Billy and his belief in aboriginal spirits, for instance, is a bit overdone, as is Bullen's attitude toward killing animals and his disregard for the landscape around him. Redbourne is set up as a civilised man who sees the beauty in the world around him, and begins to question his initial goals. It's not much of a surprise that Bullen comes to an unpleasant end. I think Eleanor is meant to be yet another "wild thing" to be tamed and brought back to Britain, as she marries Redbourne upon his return from the expedition. In the end, however, he seems to be questioning that decision as well.