Urgh! What a disappointment this book turned out to be. I loved Rush, Oh! and thought this sounded intriguing.
It starts with such promise. Eleanor’s life is heading in a downward trajectory, with a diagnosis of breast cancer, and then being dumped by her boyfriend. She handles all this with a wry sense of black humour, which I enjoyed very much.
But then the book starts its own downward trajectory, with Eleanor accepting a teaching post in a remote primary school, tucked away in the snowy mountains. The village and its inhabitants borrow much from a combination of Wake in Fright and The Wicker Man. There is no explanation for the sudden disappearance of the previous teacher, who appeared to be saint-like, and adored by all.

This is where Eleanor starts to show her true colours, and I found her a most unappealing character and narrator. Her ways of coping with difficult situations include drinking to oblivion, having wild sex with the carer of a troubled student, punching holes in her cottage wall and swearing at her young students. There is nothing here to like. She has absolutely no moral compass, and should have been sacked by the Dept. of Education for her behaviour very early in the piece, which would have saved me from having to read any more of her story!

The plot just got sillier and sillier, and the ending is confusing and inconclusive.
Very disappointing - thank goodness it’s not very long, so I didn’t waste too much precious reading time on this.

Part of the appeal of this book for me is that I’m quite familiar with Eden and the surrounding area. I could clearly picture the landscape as our very likeable narrator recounts the whaling season of 1908. Shirley Barrett has cleverly used Mary’s coming of age story to illuminate the lives of those whose livelihood relied on the annual migration of the whales, together with the unique relationship the Eden whalers had with a pod of killer whales. I must confess there are parts of this books that I skimmed as I found the slaughter scenes distressing. But don’t be deterred by my squeamishness. This is a fascinating telling of a unique chapter of Australia’s history, bringing it to life and making it not a history lesson, but a compassionate human story the reader can easily relate to. Oh, and I also recommend a visit to Eden - it’s not only beautiful but also seeped in history. Highly recommended.