Description
Product description
Review
‘A heartfelt story of colonisation and its negative effects … A powerful and affecting tale of Aboriginal people’s identity, community and deep connection to country.’ —
Canberra Times‘Heiss fuses fiction with realism, conjuring a resonance still felt in Blak struggle today … packs heart into every page.’ —
Saturday Paper‘Celebrating family, love, and connection to the land,
Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray is a profoundly moving showcase of Heiss’ skill for crafting stories and relationships … A novel that is intimate, reflective, and impossible to put down.’ — The AU Review‘A powerful story of family, place and belonging.’ —
Kate Grenville, author of A Room Made of Leaves‘Engrossing and wonderful storytelling. I really loved these strong, brave Wiradyuri characters.’ —
Melissa Lucashenko, author of Too Much Lip‘A remarkable story of courage and a love of country … Anita Heiss writes with heart and energy on every page of this novel.’ —
Tony Birch, author of The White Girl‘It is a love story, a story of loss, a hopeful story. The river is a guide, but you have to be open to its spiritual lessons.’ —
Dr Terri Janke‘Lyrical and tender, Anita Heiss’s
Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray tells a story of courage, connection and belonging which is both universal and deeply personal, with the river singing through every page. A grand achievement and destined to be read for a long time to come.’ — Meg Keneally, author of Fled and The Wreck.‘Epic storytelling with a deep warmth at its heart … This story will stay with me forever.’ —
Pamela Hart, author of The Charleston Scandal‘Anita Heiss is at the height of her storytelling powers in this inspiring, heart-breaking, profound tale.’ —
Larissa Behrendt‘The novel flows like the great Murrumbidgee River itself, with powerful undercurrents that sweep the reader along – I feel it’s a book that all Australians should read, to try and understand why our colonial past still causes so much pain and grievance.’ —
Kate Forsyth, author of The Blue Rose‘Anita Heiss is an incredibly masterful stroyteller; weaving song, language and history into an epic tale of love, loss and belonging … my favourite of Heiss’ novels!’ —
Better Read than Dead‘Far more relevant than a library bulging with Greenes and Hemmingways, Heiss’s book is as pulsing as the river that runs through it … A romance, a history lesson, a language study and a rollicking read all in one.’ ―
Courier MailAbout the Author
Her novel,
Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray about the Great Flood of Gundagai, won the 2022 NSW Premier’s Indigenous Writer’s Prize and was shortlisted for the 2022 HNSA Prize and the ABIA Awards. Anita’s first children’s picture book is Bidhi Galing (Big Rain) about the Great Flood of Gundagai. Anita enjoys running, eating chocolate and being a creative disruptor.‘There are books you encounter as an adult that you wish you could press into the hands of your younger self. Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray is one of those books – a novel that turns Australia’s long-mythologised settler history into a raw and resilient heartsong.’ – Guardian
*** WINNER 2022 NSW PREMIER’S LITERARY AWARD INDIGENOUS WRITER’S PRIZE***
***2022 ABIA SHORTLIST***
***2021 ARA HISTORICAL NOVEL PRIZE SHORTLIST***
*** 2022 STELLA PRIZE LONGLIST***
***2022 INDIE BOOK AWARDS LONGLIST***
***2022 VICTORIAN PREMIER’S LITERARY AWARDS HIGHLY COMMENDED***
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Gundagai, 1852
The powerful Murrumbidgee River surges through town leaving death and destruction in its wake. It is a stark reminder that while the river can give life, it can just as easily take it away.
Wagadhaany is one of the lucky ones. She survives. But is her life now better than the fate she escaped? Forced to move away from her miyagan, she walks through each day with no trace of dance in her step, her broken heart forever calling her back home to Gundagai.
When she meets Wiradyuri stockman Yindyamarra, Wagadhaany’s heart slowly begins to heal. But still, she dreams of a better life, away from the degradation of being owned. She longs to set out along the river of her ancestors, in search of lost family and country. Can she find the courage to defy the White man’s law? And if she does, will it bring hope … or heartache?
Set on timeless Wiradyuri country, where the life-giving waters of the rivers can make or break dreams, and based on devastating true events, Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray (River of Dreams) is an epic story of love, loss and belonging.
Praise for Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray (River of Dreams)
‘Heiss fuses fiction with realism, conjuring a resonance still felt in Blak struggle today … packs heart into every page.’ – Saturday Paper
‘Tells a powerful and affecting tale of Aboriginal people’s identity, community and deep connection to country.’ – Canberra Times
‘A profoundly moving showcase of Heiss’ skill … Intimate, reflective, and impossible to put down.’ – AU Review
‘Engrossing and wonderful storytelling. I really loved these strong, brave Wiradyuri characters.’ – Melissa Lucashenko
‘A powerful story of family, place and belonging.’ – Kate Grenville
‘A remarkable story of courage and a love of country … Anita Heiss writes with heart and energy on every page.’ – Tony Birch
‘It is a love story, a story of loss, a hopeful story. The river is a guide, but you have to be open to its spiritual lessons.’ – Terri Janke
‘Anita Heiss is at the height of her storytelling powers in this inspiring, heart-breaking, profound tale.’ – Larissa Behrendt
‘The novel flows like the great Murrumbidgee River itself, with powerful undercurrents that sweep the reader along – I feel it’s a book that all Australians should read, to try and understand why our colonial past still causes so much pain and grievance.’ – Kate Forsyth
suzie –
Wow, what an incredible writer and story. Every Australian should red this! I am now a huge fan of Anita’s work
rodney pyne –
This book is one that I’ll never forget. It’s a heartwarming story of a young,aboriginal woman,Wagadhaany,living around Gundagai and the Murrumbidgee in the middle of the 19th century. She works for a white family;in fact,she has no choice about this job.She and her people are expected to work -or else,face the consequences.The wife of the property owner she works for is a “good Christian woman”,who tries to understand Wagadhaany and her people,without much success. All are caught up in the great flood that wrought disaster in the M I A in the 1840s.The Blacks tried to warn the Whites that this flood was inevitable but were dismissed as ignorant and fanciful.The story follows Wagadhaany as she battles to keep her identity and to be close to her people.At the end,we see that it is the Whites who ought to be pitied.It is the Blacks who know best about what really matters.The story is told without any unnecessary emotion. It is grounded in reality.Wagadhaany and her mob suffer greatly but they understand much more about life and what we should most value in life.This is story-telling at its best.
Judy Stevenson –
An enlightening story of early days in rural Australia
spud –
I was looking forward to reading this story following the reviews but the idea behind the story is stronger than the telling. A sense of an opportunity missed. The characters are one dimensional; that might be unfair it might be better to say the characters all have the same inner voice which limits them coming to life. The connection to country is present strongly but again limited in dimension. Even where the story should have grabbed me by the heart strings it was well telegraphed and so expected. Finally the compression of history at the end was wholly unnecessary and indicated that the author wanted to make some points rather than tell a story which would have made the points more tellingly.
Lorst –
This is one of the most important books I have ever read as a white Australian descendant from British ancestors. It has given me some understanding of the First Nations people’s tragic history in a way I had not understood before. I am now thirsty to learn much more about the culture and traditions of our land’s traditional custodians.