“They said you were a murdering bushranger!”
The flaming accusation is but one surprise amongst many in this wonderfully perplexing story. Its the winter of 2049 and Daniel is elderly and long isolated. After yet another devastating storm, this time destroying his beloved longan tree, he finds his fragile peace threatened by a growing friendship with a widowed neighbour and the appearance of a young reporter digging into a shameful event buried.
Spanning almost 200 years of four generations, a Queensland-based Irish- Chinese family showcases a new novel from acclaimed writer Miranda Riwoe, author of the blistering Stone Sky Cold Mountain. This is an intriguing and captivating exploration of love, longing and the ties that bind. Segueing to Autumn 2000, to the Summer of 1949, through the Springs of mid19th century, the tangled roots of Daniel’s family tree unfurl centring to the moment an Irish orphan finds her fate entwined with that of a Chinese bushranger. Opening in 2049 the author uses a reverse- chronological timeline that takes us back to an earlier period, A SHORT HISTORY OF LONGANS unfolds the experiences and memories of men, women and children by kinship. The arrival of a kind-hearted and curious neighbour to reclusive Daniel’s front door blossoms into a friendship, but it may not survive the revelation of a shameful episode from his past.
Intriguing and beautifully written this dazzling tale spans centuries unraveling the secrets one Irish-Chinese family exploring what it means to belong, to place, to ancestors, to ourselves. I found the book a truly well-crafted story of the fragile threads that bind one life to another. Wendy faces her own sense of isolation as she grapples with a dwindling grasp of her past- and the present, as the new millennium ticks over. A Jump to post World War II Hollywood, finds Ruby and her exotic appearance helps her secure film roles that perpetuate racial stereotypes, but her longing to be recognised for her talent will reconcile herself to an earlier fateful decision.
The book presents stories of individual family members and their recurring themes of identity, otherness, inheritance and strength, until the narrative brings us to recognise the passion and resilience of misunderstood men and women at the genesis of this dynasty. Following the family roots through two centuries, moving backwards through time from a climate-changed Queensland in 2049 to colonial N.S.W in 1849, each section of the book belongs to a different character , starting with reclusive Daniel, a ceramicist hiding from a troubled past to Wendy, a warm and funny writer navigating early dementia. It continues with Ruby pursuing her Hollywood dreams in 1940’ L.A and Maria Barrett, a young Irish orphan whose love affair with a Chinese bushranger Ah Yang, plants the roots of the entire family tree.
A SHORT HISTORY OF LONGANS is a richly imagined meditation on belonging, memory and history, exploring what survives across generations of disruption. The novel is particularly strong in its treatment of women navigating hostile worlds with resilience and quiet ingenuity. While the reverse chronology is inventive, it leaves some threads, particularly the mystery surrounding Daniel’s past, unresolved making the reading more like a collection of short stories rather than a cohesive narrative. That said, Riwoe moves between voices and eras with extraordinary assurance and prose that is evocative and tender. I look forward to her next novel with eagerness.
Miranda Rowie’s A SHORT HISTORY OF LONGANS ia published by University of Queensland Press
