First Nations Fiction

Always was, always will be.

The world feels really heavy right now and while it didn’t feel right to send my normal musings last Monday, this week I wanted to spotlight some fiction from First Nations authors I’ve loved. There’s also a list of books I’ve earmarked to read in the coming months. I hope you find something here you’ll enjoy too.

The Yield by Tara June Winch

Wiradjuri author Tara June Winch has a beautiful way with words and her ability to capture the bittersweet atmosphere of Prosperous House, Massacre Plains, is a skill set I wish I possessed. While The Yield meditates on themes of dispossession and stolen land, it also zeroes in on the important legacy of storytelling and Indigenous language.

I had the privilege of speaking with Winch a few years ago for my other newsletter, The Foreword, in which Winch picked a selection of First Nations tomes she loves.

The White Girl by Tony Birch

Birch’s story centres on the Brown family and three generations of women impacted by colonisation and racist policies enforced upon them. There’s a dark undercurrent throughout but a lot of light in the characters Birch brings to life. I often think about the missing but ever-present Lila Brown and her story of trying to hide in plain sight.

Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko

It was easy to rip through this one as Lucashenko’s prose is always brimming with good humour and relatable observations, albeit with a heavy dose of reality mixed in.

I felt like I was in the room with her characters, which were all so full of life—the good and the bad.

Next

Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray by Anita Heiss
After Story by Larissa Behrendt
Swallow the Air by Tara June Winch

Always was, always will be.

Enjoy!