The Secret River

Very well written, a joy to read. Very interesting to read the early history of Australia and what the early settlers and convicts had to cope with. At the same time such a shame that there was such a lot of misunderstanding between white and abos. Am only the second one in the series, and have the 3rd on my kindle to look forward to.

I really liked this book, different. Did not know much about being sentenced to life in Australia, a very new country. Hard life but worthwhile for people with no hope of a good life. Very interesting accounts of the natives and interacting with them. S Hunt

I found the subject matter disturbing. It does not portray people in the best light, even though they are in very difficult situations. That said, you get a true picture of the colonization of Australia in the early 1800s. Tough world. Glad I have not had to face such hardship.

A wonderful storyteller, Kate Grenville take us on a journey into history, showing us the ugliness and the cruelty of the mankind. Yet skillfully she creates such depth in her characters that despite all their faults you can still relate to.
A great read.

I really like the storytelling in the book The Secret River. It is a great story for all ages. The Secret River keeps you engage and interested until the end. This book would make an excellent addition to any library.

Wow, this blew me away. I nearly stopped reading early on, it is such a grim and gritty view of early 19th century England and colonial Australia. What a contrast to (most of) our lives today. Do you have a bored, unappreciative, self-absorbed teen? They need to read this.

Pioneer life in colonial Australia wasn't that different from in America. I enjoyed reading about how a person with nothing could strive and become somebody. I think the similarities are why many Americans have a love of Australia. We see it as a second home.

This is about the earliest English setters of Australia, the convicts sent ther to find a new life. It's a time in history I knew nothing about. The level of detail is strong and the plotlines are well developed. It was a bit too preachy for me, but overall a very good reading experience.

This book held my interest throughout and seems to be fairly accurate of the times as we know them. Both a family adventure and a case for making the best of an unfortunate circumstance. This could be the story of many who were the original "unwilling" immigrants to Australia! Will look for other books by this author now.

Hubby is a Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings enthusiast. When I saw this before Christmas, I promptly ordered it for him. He was thrilled...the illustrations are fantastic, to go along with a marvelous MKR tale. He was so pleased to add this one to his collections.

I learned so much about the development of Australia from this book. Although the bigotry was hard to accept, I'm sure it was true of the time (and replicates what the early settlers did to the Indians in the American West). It was a page turner that read very quickly. Would recommend it. Los Osos Girl

This book reminded me of the Australians (the series) I love the stories of early Australia and the depiction of the early folks that came to the strange land that is one of my favorites on earth. wonderful writing.

I just discovered Kate Grenville. What a talented writer she is! William Thornhill is a survivor.There are so many poetic and quotable sentences."it is not a sin to steal if it fills the belly."That is only one of the memorable lines.I LOVED this book.

Following the life of petty thief Will Thornhill from childhood to a man of means gives the reader insight to Australia's colonization. Will's character is complex and believable and the problems he and his family encounter are plausible.

Enjoyable book. The characters are well drawn and the story magnificent in its scope. It clearly describes to the reader the very difficult choices facing good people, both white and Aboriginal, in the European settlement of Australia. The reader is left with a profound sense of sadness, loss and regret that native peoples seem to always lose out in the face of outside settlement, often because of lack of understanding or appreciation of their cultures by settlers.

An entertaining story that follows the life of a particular family and through their story, gives the reader an interesting and personal glimpse into the lives of the earliest Australian settlers and their relationships with the indigenous inhabitants.

I never knew much about the early history of Australia, so this fictional account of early settlement near Sydney was really interesting to me. The story line is based on the life and marriage of a transported convict, with an equally compelling account of the conflicts between the white settlers and the native people living in the same area. I enjoyed it as an entire work, yet the storyteller generally opted for the unsurprising turn of events, and I also could not help feeling that this was a "woman's novel".

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It was very interesting from a historical standpoint and the characters were engaging. It took a little getting used to the conversation style, but I liked that it was authentic. Great book!

Have ejoyed The SEcret River on my newst Kindle the touch screen 3G. Now that I have finnished a baby blanket I was knitting I will be able to read more so I will review the other books I have purchased as soon as I can. Really love the 3G Touch

Even though some of the descriptive parts were a bit hard to wade through, I found this a thought-provoking book. From an historic viewpoint, it was very interesting. On the whole I enjoyed it, but I don't think I would give it an enthusiastic recommendation.

The Secret River is one of those literary treats I enjoyed a few bites at a time. Soul satisfying and intellectually sensual it reads like the literary equivalent of a fine English chocolate...but a chocolate to be nibbled in quiet and private in order to revel in Ms.Grenville's splendid wealth of low British word smithery.

Grenville is a good storyteller. But that's not all. She takes a page out of history and takes the reader on a moral roller coaster. It is difficult to takes sides here. The reader only marvels at the tremendous cost of progress.

The Secret River is a top story, creatively written with well-crafted dialogue which enthralls and impresses. The reader feels compelled to turn page after page to experience all of the highs and lows with each beautifully crafted character.

5 stars for an honest walk through Australian history and its bushland. Knowing the area quite well, it was a romp. Such stories are not one offs in our history. This just showed the determined efforts of a woman to keep a home together and his efforts were to put food on the table. History doesn't always shine with beauty on things past, but we can move on and do better.

I was somewhat surprised at what good reviews this book received. It told a well worn story to the point of being slightly corny. I wouldn't rate it as literature.

Certainly I wouldn't read any more of the author's books.

I loved this book. It was fascinating to learn about some of the history of Australia and what was really like. I knew very little of Australian history, and this really was not only a great history lesson, but a very engaging an interesting read. The characters were very well developed. The description rich. I came away feeling like I have a good sense of what it was like in the early days and the conflicts that the early settlers and the aborigines went through. I had a recommend this book.

This is historical fiction at it's best. The grit of commoner life in London and the draconian penal code both in England and New South Wales were all brought to vivid life in this story of one family's survival and eventual prosperity. Grenville captures the human drama inherent in racial and class warfare, the moral confusion at the root of evil and the discomfort of triumphing at great expense. Not to be missed.

I like the holistic representation of the lives of the early settlers, their brutalisation through privations and poverty and the relatively simple and apparently self sustaining lives of indigenous people and their style of management. Kate Grenville portrays the capacity for misunderstandings between people and the tragic results. The horrific outcome of frustration and inability to communicate is graphically represented

Kate Grenville spun a tale of early Australia that I found hard to lay down. She painted pictures in my mind with her descriptions. However the last chapter left me feeling that she wanted to get the book finished and done with. The last chapter had the Thornhills suddenly well off compared to their condition in the previous chapter. Did I miss something?

The Secret River is the story starting with a boy, then the man who is less than some but better than most,and his family making it from terrible times in London to success in Australia. The book is very well written, makes it pretty clear what Australian life was like during the time of early colonization by transported prisoners, and also has some beautiful descriptions of the land. HOWEVER, the progression of the story is so predictable, rags to riches, and even a bit plodding, that I give it merely 3 stars.

This story does have some brutal violence in it,but it is there because of the nature of the subject: bigotry and oppressive racial situations. That being said, it is well written and has a wonderful economy of words and flow that kept me interested throughout. The characters are interesting and developed and made me want to see where their choices led them.

Reading this Australian author's tale of a convict family establishing themselves in the colony of Sydney evoked great visual imagery, and made those history lessons at school come to life. This could have been set in any country really as the story of striving to survive and establish a life in a new world is a great read