brenticus reviewed Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia by Anita Heiss
None
3 stars
There were a lot of interesting perspectives from a lot of very good writers in here.
It also, unfortunately, felt very repetitive. Most of the contributors had an Aboriginal parent and a white parent, experienced the same sort sof racism in the same sorts of situations, found solace in the same places, and came to the same conclusions. This is, to some extent, a fairly accurate reflection of being Aboriginal in Australia... but after a while it felt like not all of the authors needed to be included.
Again, there were lots of interesting essays, and even the repetitive-feeling ones were well written. But there's a few stories about hiding in the bush, about fights to stay with family, and about Aboriginemos that really make this collection feel like a worthwhile diversity of perspectives, not the white-passing Aboriginal person with a lot of cousins.
It also, unfortunately, felt very repetitive. Most of the contributors had an Aboriginal parent and a white parent, experienced the same sort sof racism in the same sorts of situations, found solace in the same places, and came to the same conclusions. This is, to some extent, a fairly accurate reflection of being Aboriginal in Australia... but after a while it felt like not all of the authors needed to be included.
Again, there were lots of interesting essays, and even the repetitive-feeling ones were well written. But there's a few stories about hiding in the bush, about fights to stay with family, and about Aboriginemos that really make this collection feel like a worthwhile diversity of perspectives, not the white-passing Aboriginal person with a lot of cousins.